Enjoyable if not a little generic

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2009)

I, like lots of others, am captivated by the idea of hitting Vegas and winning big at the tables. We would love to be able to beat the house but live with the knowledge that the decks are deeply stacked against us. Which is why I loved the premise of this film - a team of MIT students with the intelligence and guts to do so take on the casinos and win. Well, kind of.
The first point for anyone watching this who has any knowledge of the book/true story that the film is based on - creative licence has been used quite liberally. Not that this is a bad thing - without it we would have been denied Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburnes performances which are, as ever, very assured if not their best.
The story develops a little too quickly for my liking but I am aware of the time constraints a film like this suffers from. My main issue is that there just did not seem to be sufficient character depth, especially for the supporting cast. Kate Bosworths love interest almost gave us a back story but all we learnt was that her father played blackjack, lost a huge hand and is now "gone". The other team members are so transparent as to be see through. You don't care for them, shown when the other big money player (I don't recall his name!) is booted from the team. You have no empathy for him and the feelings of jealousy he is having. The story continues without a second thought.
With a little more effort from the writers I think an extra dimension could have been given to the film, particularly with Bens relationship with his teammates. Its a shame as the friendship he has with his "geek" friends seems genuine and you feel for them as he begins becoming distant from them.
I understand the reasons the film was written like this - the relationship between Ben and Kevin Spacey's character is the crux of the film and, more specifically, how easily and quickly Ben becomes corrupted. And it is this corruption that proves the second fault in the film - we go from seeing a well rounded, likable character fully focused on the job he is doing fall from grace in the space of a couple of scenes and find redemption in a few more. It all happens too quickly and without any real conviction that this is in his character to switch so violently against character in such a short space of time.
He gets everything he wants and does not seem to pay for his arrogance and mistakes much less learn from them. Indeed, he seemed proud of his story, (which includes dishonesty, double crossing, promiscuity and all the excesses of a life in Vegas as a high stakes gambler) I would question whether an establishment such as Harvard would really want to give such a prestigious scholarship to someone of such questionable character?! The other main problem I have with the film is that the ending is a little too Hollywood - he walks away unscathed and with the "life experience" he needs, the security guard gets his pension and Kevin Spacey is the only one who is punished. Lets remember that Ben was keeping the money in his roof and breaking the same tax laws as his mentor! But for these faults, however, there is a gripping thriller/drama that is well worth checking out. I always enjoy Kevin Spacey. His ability to control his menace throughout before unleashing his true, nasty personality in two or three quietly gripping scenes was a particular highlight. Here is a person who gains the full, unquestioned trust of his pupils, uses them and spits them out when they are no longer of use to him. He is manipulation personified.
Laurence Fishburne is also very believable as the old school Vegas security struggling to come to terms with the future and, indeed, his past. The scenes where he is "interogating" the card counters is reminiscent of Christopher Walken in True Romance - he exudes very confident malice, a softly spoken tough guy that you will not want to cross again.
The score of the film is perfect as well. It complements the story perfectly. The picture itself is shot very stylistically, which is something you expect from a film of this nature. I can recommend this film for someone with a spare couple of hours to fill - sit back, relax and enjoy the ride! 6.5/10