Quite good movie and acting - could have been better

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2008)

The movie 21 was effective in it's efforts to pull you into the heart pounding world of math nerds gone underground blackjack hustlers. In this respect it was very successful and able to keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know how they devised their systems and if they would get a away with it.
The acting was also very good with most of the main characters delivering good to excellent performances - not only Spacey and Fishburne - but also some of the new comers.
The plot setup was good - but there were some left to be desired points when Spacey's character, whom at first is made out to be a humorous math professor, switches to a maniacal genius whom is more dangerous than Tony Soprano himself, and then later seems as gullible as as the Elmer Fudd falling for a trap by Bugs Bunny.
There is also a romantic interest between Sturgess and Bosworth, that adds little to the story and is more a distraction from the action and fast paced scenes of tense gambling schemes and high dollar excitement.
Though slightly long, the movie energetically carries you through the majority of it wanting to watch every detail. It's a shame that they didn't cut the unnecessary moments to add more detail to the critical shifts in the plot and create a more believable experience during these key moments.
I suspect the book was better than the screenplay (from speaking to some whom have read it - though I myself have not). Definitely worth seeing. Disappointing in that it could have been an 8-9* movie.