An Entertaining look at the World of Blackjack players

Rating: 6/10 (13 April 2008)

Kevin Spacey has been a fine actor through his career with some stellar performances under his belt. In this movie he has decided to star in this adaption of a book based on a true story of a university mentor who takes a group of MIT maths prodigies to Vegas to make money big time. How do they do it? They are picking away at the weak point of BlackJack ("21") by card counting.
Basic story is that one graduate is desperate to fund his way through Harvard Med (not cheap!) and gets noticed by a university mentor (Spacey)for his arithmetic ability, so gets roped into the Blackjack group. They then go on romps to Vegas to cash in while they can, hammering away at the BlackJack tables.
As per other films in a similar vein it follows standard certain routes: a will-they-won't-they with a good looking girl, jealousy from a fellow player, rise and fall of the whole plans, damage to previous friendship, being consumed by the money/lifestyle etc etc. Regardless, the story still comes together.
Direction is pacey and the settings in Vegas are fun. The film is nothing special, and at heart is really a simple general feel good movie. An enjoyable romp and ride with a likable cast.