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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:56
Rotten:104
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: 21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.
Theatrical Release:11-04-2008
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, 21 mixes Las Vegas casino wheeling and dealing with college-kid angst: think OCEAN'S ELEVEN via THE PAPER CHASE. Kevin Spacey is crafty MIT professor Micky Rosa, who... [More]
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Robert Luketic
As ever with gambling films, it's difficult to convey the thrill of winning at second hand; the human-interest complications are unconvincing and Spacey himself, I'm afraid, is a lugubrious and deadening presence.
Top CriticThis movie's script sticks so closely to formula that it could be a film school project.
Spacey makes a nicely chilly villain and Bosworth a warm and glamorous leading lady, if an implausible maths genius.
Despite primal instincts and fast-moving montages, 21 is a tired, music video-style fable.
Top CriticSturgess quietly sparkles as the born loser who struggles to adapt to life on winners' row.
Top CriticThe Ocean’s Eleven: The College Years mood makes for a breezy good time, even if there is, like Vegas, precious little substance beneath the glitz.
Top CriticGiven the true story that inspired it, 21 really should have been a sure-fire bet. As it is, it’s a split hand that only pays off thanks to Fishburne and Spacey. Still beats Lucky You, though.
Disappointing thriller that's let down by a tedious script, a frankly ridiculous final act and some dodgy overacting by Kevin Spacey.
The whizzo-conceit and slick visual bling do give it an undeniably diverting buzz, yet the movie’s cautionary formula shows its hand way before the clunky final reel.
Top CriticThere is a message about life, money and happiness in here somewhere but it’s undone by a contrived ending.
Top Critic"We're not gambling... we're counting," says Kevin Spacey in the new Las Vegas tale 21, which is a very appropriate way to sum up the film itself.
Jim Sturgess turns up the heat as an untapped genius who takes a walk on the wild side.
It’s the old Hollywood game of payback in place of amends, which makes for short-term satisfaction but a hollow payoff.
Much like in Vegas, whatever happened in the book and made it so marvelous stayed in the book.
21 shares with the Las Vegas mythos the same stale temptations: empty glitz and little substance.
It has some decent eye candy, but overall this film is bluffing if they think it's a great, intelligent blackjack film. I know I just used a poker term, but I doubt 21 would have noticed.
The glossiness of director Robert Luketic's staging offers reassurance even when events turn grim, as if Luketic was unable to shake the good-time vibe of his previous films...
None of the main stars is remotely convincing as a smart person.
It may take a rocket scientist to successfully count cards, but not to wite a smarter script than what 21 delivers.
While I'm firm believer in the adage 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story,' 21 doesn't spin a good enough yarn to justify all the changes.
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