A breezy, fast-moving romp that trades well on its appeal as a glitzy caper movie about high-end scam artists without losing sight of its simmering greed-is-not-so-good theme.
Comment
06/07/08
21 (2008)
35
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:56
Rotten:104
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: 21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.
Australian Theatrical Release:
May 15, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $81,159,365
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, 21 mixes Las Vegas casino wheeling and dealing with college-kid angst: think OCEAN'S ELEVEN via THE PAPER CHASE. Kevin Spacey is crafty MIT professor Micky Rosa, who... [More]
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Robert Luketic
Reviews for 21
Top CriticWhile this is eager-to-please Hollywood-by-numbers fare, 21 should provoke enough interest to make you pick up a copy of the book that the film cheats to get the real deal.
06/07/08
Top CriticIt is the gilded embodiment of the American Dream.
05/16/08
Top CriticFor a film about gambling, you don’t actually see enough of it to satisfy.
05/15/08
Top Critic21 is a fast-paced tale that makes winning look not only easy, but a lot of fun.
05/12/08
Top CriticLuketic's dunderheaded, would-be caper is a morality tale where the only moral at stake is the dullard-hero's thoughtless entitlement
08/27/09
It's a slick enough movie, with an intriguing enough concept. It would be a much more enjoyable movie, however, if the wheels didn't come off script-wise.
07/24/09
One can't help but think there was a smarter film to be made from this premise.
03/29/09
When the movie 21 was announced with Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne, it sounded like a winner. When everybody else involved in 21 was mentioned, it was doomed to be a loser.
02/02/09
As ever with gambling films, it's difficult to convey the thrill of winning at second hand; the human-interest complications are unconvincing and Spacey himself, I'm afraid, is a lugubrious and deadening presence.
10/18/08
Top CriticIf only director Robert Luketic and screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb had not opted for glitz. As filmmakers, they're playing for very low stakes.
10/18/08
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10/18/08
Spacey makes a nicely chilly villain and Bosworth a warm and glamorous leading lady, if an implausible maths genius.
10/18/08
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10/18/08
Disappointing thriller that's let down by a tedious script, a frankly ridiculous final act and some dodgy overacting by Kevin Spacey.
10/18/08
This is a prime example of a movie that isn't bad, per se, just unnecessary, a competently made but wholly unremarkable trifle.
10/18/08
See this for the sheer fascination of it.
10/18/08
Regardless whether there are a number of clichés and plot incongruities, this entertaining and fast-paced flick will find an audience hoping to learn how to beat the dealer.
10/18/08
Even though you can predict what happens, 21 is still fairly compelling for a movie about counting cards at a blackjack table.
10/01/08
It has some decent eye candy, but overall this film is bluffing if they think it's a great, intelligent blackjack film. I know I just used a poker term, but I doubt 21 would have noticed.
08/27/08
Latest News for 21
January 07, 2009:
People's Choice Awards Winners Announced
The 35th annual People's Choice Awards were handed out on January 7, 2009. A complete list of film nominees, with winners in bold, follows below. More...
July 23, 2008:
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July 21, 2008:
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May 07, 2008:
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