What a waste..

Rating: 4/10 (31 July 2008)

This stands out as an illustration of just how difficult it is to make a good film.
Here we have a talented cast, a superb location and a script based on a successful (and true) story. It should be great, but it isn't even close. Why? Well, there's nothing amazing or even surprising about the central "scam" itself. Perhaps it was simplified for the movie, but you certainly do not need to be a maths genius to do what the MIT students do. This of course is fine in itself, but the whole movie is shot as if it's some amazing Oceans 11 style plot complete with slow motion shots of the gang exiting the casino. It just doesn't gel at all with what is a down to earth, old as the hills, easily understood method of increasing your chances of winning at Black Jack.
The biggest problem however, is the characters. The film could have stood the stereotypes of the gamblers gang if the leads were developed (including surprisingly, Spacey), but they're not. Jill (Kate Bosworth) is the romantic interest and starts off as a slightly mysterious seductress that sucks our hero, Ben, into the world of Vegas gambling. However, part way into the movie, she completely changes into Ben's sensible girlfriend, and no longer seems like a person who would even be attracted by the high risks and bright lights of their Vegas plan.
Even that would be OK if our hero kept our interest going, but, after joining up with the team of gamblers, Ben goes from sympathetic nerd to obnoxious tosser. And he stays that way. The ending suggests that we were supposed to like, or at least be impressed by him, but he does nothing whatsoever to encourage that.
All in all, this is a massively disappointing movie.