Not Bad

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2008)

A fairly good watch if you've got nothing better to do on a rainy day.
Bad things first, I felt that the first half hour/45 minutes of this film was painfully slow and I couldn't help but chuckle at the slightly cheesy and cliché card counting montage. Although this was based on a true story, I thought the ending was also horribly predictable as I could see the "twist" coming a mile off which sullied it slightly, and despite its obvious merits I didn't feel the film sucked me in at all.
On the plus sides Kevin Spacey really stood out for me, as he usually does I suppose, but his performance was probably one of the highlights of the film. Once the film entered full flow when the counting started, as a bit of cards fan, I found the system and gambling scenes quite intriguing, and surprisingly 21 also provided quite a few good laughs.
Overall by no means one of the best films of the year, but well worth seeing.