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Movies / On DVD / 21
21

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21 (2008)

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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.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.

Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins

Genre: Dramas

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... 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 trains brainiac students to count cards and then flies them out to Vegas to raid the blackjack tables between classes. At first they rake in a bundle, but then catch the unwanted attention of tough-guy security chief, Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne) who wants to prove himself before he's replaced by face recognition software. Super math genius Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) originally joins the ring in order to come up with the $300,000 he needs for tuition money, but he's also gaga over the ring's resident babe, Jill (Kate Bosworth). When he finds out Professor Rosa hasn't been dealing entirely from a straight deck, Ben's high-end shopping spree dreams turn sour (though card counting is not illegal) and the battle of wits is on, no second chances given. Spacey is in his preternaturally calm, morally compromised element, stealing scenes left and right; Fishburne brings the hangdog depth; and everything bubbles over the 24-karat rocks, courtesy of director Robert Luketic (LEGALLY BLONDE). 21 is based on the bestseller BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE by Ben Mezrich. [More]

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne

Director: Robert Luketic

Director: Robert Luketic
Screenwriter: Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb
Producer: Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, Michael De Luca
Composer: David Sardy
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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Reviews for 21

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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21 rarely flags in its ability to entertain, but is never particularly convincing.

Full Review Source: Mansized | comment Comment
05/13/08
Chris Laverty
Chris Laverty
Mansized

21 is a fast-paced tale that makes winning look not only easy, but a lot of fun.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
05/12/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

(The book) raises a number of interesting arguments, most of which (the movie) ignores.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Weekly | comment Comment
05/02/08
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly

The only element in 21 that saves the film from being a dreary coming-of-age story grafted onto a two-hour commercial for the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Bureau is Spacey.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

O implaus?l terceiro ato praticamente arru? o que o filme vinha mostrando de interessante at?nt?

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
04/18/08
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Too bad most of the performers can't seem to pull off the insane IQs they clearly do not have.

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
04/15/08
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

For a movie about high-stakes gambling, 21 settles for penny-ante dramatics.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
04/14/08
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

This is a really stupid movie about such smart people... When they make references to Ferris Bueller and Swingers, it just feels desperate.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment Comment
04/04/08
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

In real life gambling is exciting; on movie screens it generally is not.

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
04/04/08
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

For most of its length, 21 seems like a cautionary tale ... at least, until the whole point is negated by a tacked-on happy ending.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/03/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Fun and nothing else, but enough so that it's worth the while.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
04/03/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

A film that makes Rounders seem like a work of great seriousness and import.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/02/08
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

A lot of attractive people standing in for real-life nerds, and a plot that knows all the clichés and isn't afraid to use them.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
04/02/08
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

It's a gamble whether or not "21" will provide enough excitement to make you shout, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner."

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment 1 Comment
04/01/08
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Across the Universe star Jim Sturgess reaffirms himself as a sympathetic, highly likable screen presence.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
04/01/08
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
FilmStew.com

... it seems they used Film Adaptations for Dummies and thus missed an opportunity to make a great movie with style and atmosphere.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
03/31/08
Matt Kelemen
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife

A light-weight teen romantic comedy [dressed up as a gambling movie and] filled with nothing but one-dimensional characters.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment 1 Comment
03/31/08
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Like the Strip itself, it's all lights and music throbbing so hard you confuse yourself into thinking you're having fun.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
03/31/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

The students are so blandly written this never builds any suspense, though it probably has some value as an empowerment fantasy for debt-ridden collegians.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/31/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Although it's definitely a fictionalization of a true story, they get the essence of this insanely crazy double life that these kids led as they were breaking the bank in Vegas.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 1 Comment
03/31/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Latest News for 21

January 07, 2009: People's Choice Awards Winners Announced
The 35th annual People's Choice Awards were handed out on January 7, 2009. A complete list of film nominees, with winners in bold, follows below. More...

July 23, 2008: Treating card playing as an exciting spectator sport rather than, say, about as thrilling as watching fishing for two hours, this offbeat cautionary tale warns all those impulsive casino-bound eggheads out there, that losers come in all IQ's. Opens in new window
More...

July 21, 2008: RT on DVD: Geek Alert! Spaced Exclusive, Robot Chicken Star Wars
This week we're going in-depth with a look at this week's highly anticipated cult television series, Spaced. If you like Brit comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, then... More...

May 07, 2008: UK Box Office Breakdown: Summer Season Begins With a Bang
Summer box office season began with a bang last Friday, with Iron Man the first of the pumped up, big-budget teen-friendly blockbusters to emerge from the bowels of the... More...

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