This movie managed to ruin a great book and a true story.

Rating: 3/10 (28 March 2008)

THE BAD: The director clearly didn't understand the book or the story and tried to compensate for this by making it about the game of blackjack, which itself isn't very interesting or much of a spectator event. I also hope Columbia Pictures doesn't hire the screenplay writers to pen another movie. The book was fantastic and didn't need to be punched up or Hollywood-ified. The rule of Keep It Simple Stupid would have been a good one to enforce here.
THE GOOD: Certainly a solid cast, although they were directed poorly. How the actors managed to give solid performances when handed such a dull-average-boring and horribly written script is a tribute to their talents.
The movie is a great example of Hollywood thinking they're in touch with the American movie-going public. They've put a giant piece of crap on a stick and they're marketing it to us as a bouquet of roses. We're smarter than that and anyone who sees this film should be entitled to their money back.