CINEMA: 21

Maybe it’s the lights, the razzmatazz, the tacky glitz of the city, or just the fact it has attracted more than its fair share of hoodlums, lowlifes and gangsters over the years, but there’s something about Las Vegas that keeps filmmakers returning to it as the location of choice.

21 is no different in that, like so many movies before it, it concentrates on a scam involving the city’s numerous casinos and gambling tables. The twist is, 21 is based on the true story of how a bunch of ultra-intelligent students at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) managed to beat the system.

All geeky student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) wants to do is earn enough money to put himself through med school, so when his math(s) professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) invites him to join a group of fellow students travelling to Vegas to play and win at blackjack he sees the answer to all his prayers. Basically, the group count cards – a mathematical way of working out how to beat the odds – and soon the once shy and retiring Ben is hooked on the thrill, the money he’s earning and his close proximity to his teammate Jill (Kate Bosworth). But the group is attracting attention of the wrong sort in the shape of security chief Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne), who knows they are up to no good and swears to bust up their party.

If you’re not a gambler and find most films about gambling incomprehensible then 21 is a real breath of fresh air because it simply and very graphically allows you to see exactly how the group operates. The youngsters (especially Sturgess) are typically brattish, smug, out of control and yet rather endearing in their immaturity and fallibility and you soon become so caught up in their Vegas adventure you find yourself egging them on although the slightly oily and menacing charms of Spacey’s character are less easy to swallow. What ensues is a really enjoyable romp with plenty of twists and turns, some nice nerd humour, lots of Vegas glamour and swagger, and a fantastic soundtrack pumping in the background. It’s all so enticing you’ll be dying to try your luck at the tables yourself.       Dee Pilgrim