MIT Student Genius Comes of Age in Vegas--Ocean's Eleven meets Rounders

Rating: 9/10 (23 August 2008)

Life experience versus book knowledge is at the heart of "21", which is apparently based on a true story. This perfectly enjoyable but somewhat fantastical film centers on a mathematics genius who climbs out of the womb of academia and into the fast lane of Sin City, via everyone's favorite Vegas game, Black Jack. Ben at first seems an unlikely candidate. At MIT, he has an IQ measured in light years, but he has about as much street smarts as Mister Rogers. Seems the last time he was outside of Boston was during a previous life. He hangs out with two similar like-geniuses who get A's in chemistry and physics and F's in sociability and charisma. They giggle at the local pub but have no idea how to approach any girls.
But one of his professors, a conniving mathematics professor with ulterior motives, played with sly intelligence by the incomparable Kevin Spacey, detects the computer-in-tennis-shoes in one his classes. Spacey signs him on to an underground group of Black Jack players that make money for themselves and their mentor on weekends. And they return to Boston to their "normal" lives of students and professor. Much of the film flip-flops between the glitz of Vegas and the snow-clad streets of Boston, similar to Rounders where the poker playing world and the law school world are contrasted.
Ben learns not only the subtleties of the game but also how to use his computer mind to discern when to bet high and when to lay low. The other members of the team act as scouts to determine which tables are ripe for action and those to be avoided. They wear disguises and use assumed names. The only thing that was a little hard to swallow was that when Ben gets to the table, he can't seem to lose. No matter how good a player may be at determining what cards have yet to be played, they don't always turn up the way you want. I might have wanted him to lose a little bit to differentiate when he won he big.
Like Rounders, Ben is flying high. He is winning hundreds of thousands of dollars for himself and the team, and particularly Kevin Spacey. Until a savvy spotter (Laurence Fishburne) starts to see Ben a few times too many. And see him win one times to many. How this plays out is the best part of the film, with a good twist towards the end.
Some have complained that the movie is predictable, but I found it a breath of fresh air when compared with most of the Hollywood sub-par Vegas fair being offered today. "21" is far better than the likes of the ridiculously silly movie "Lucky You". "21" is well-written, mostly believable, and with an outstanding performance by Jim Sturgess who carries the whole film much like Matt Damon in Rounders. Sure, maybe it follows the typical W form of story-telling a little too closely, but I was never bored and I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. Overall a winning hand, I mean film.