Excellent, a Must See

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Kevin Spacey plays an MIT mathematics professor who recruits his brainiest students to be part of his secret team of blackjack card counters and spotters. Jim Sturgess is the main character and is Spacey's newest recruit. Loosely based on a true story (in real-life all of the mathletes were Asian) the film does stretch credibility at times, but Spaces is amazing and in one of his wonderfully acerbic and snarky roles, and the film has a hip feel to it, featuring cool songs by MGMT and Peter Bjorn & John, and Laurence Fishburne is a lot of fun as a glowering casino fixer type of character who's out to get Spacey over an old beef. This film is breezy summer entertainment and is not a dark edgy poker movie like John Dahl's "Rounders," but it is still solid entertainment.

Reviewed November 2011Winner winner chicken dinner, a lot of cheese dripping all over. Featuring good looking leads, a real big mentor and a simple script that may not go too wrong. The director messed everything up spectacularly. Trying to pull in every known stereotype attached to the game and genre, way too long in duration and he may better end up being known as the director who brought the worst in Spacey. Features a typical brilliant boy (Jim Sturgess), with an ordinary life and in need of money/scholarship to get into Harvard Medical school. He realizes his scholarship is in jeopardy and at the same time gets noticed by a shrewd professor (Kevin Spacey) who offers him a spot in his team that specializes in counting cards to beat the dealer in Blackjack. He accepts the offer for two reasons. 1) As a means to an end. 2) His long time crush Jill (Kate Bosworth) is in the team. Finally he ends up getting sucked by the glitz, glamour and easy money of Las Vegas. How he gets his act together comprises the rest of the story. Extremely cheesy with enormous number of redundant scenes featuring characters that are mere caricatures. Cinematography is good, background score is peppy, editing is slick and the lead character is believable. Kevin Spacey has given the worst performance I have seen of him and was a total letdown. They could've added a little more fun while presenting the Blackjack games than just the calculations in the minds of the geniuses that we should imagine. I was a bit disconnected with that.I could not think of any recommendation like 'Watch it only if ...'.. nothing comes to mind. Just drop it. It's easy and more fun.

Loosely based on the true story of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students who counted cards while playing blackjack in casinos.Jim Sturgess plays an MIT student who is a genius with crunching numbers in his head. Accepted to Harvard med school, one thing holds him back: lack of money. Enter Kevin Spacey, a professor who takes Sturgess under his wing and teaches the young man how to count cards while playing blackjack. Desperate for funds to go to med school, Sturgess joins Spacey and his crew of four MIT students to go to Vegas on a regular basis and win as much as they can from the casinos. The money comes fast and easy; but someone is always watching, and luck always runs out.My most memorable, movie moment of "21" is **SPOILER ALERT** the scene when Sturgess finally gets caught by a vicious, casino head of security (played by Larry Fishburne) and has to endure some vigilante justice."21" has a few shenanigans, the biggest being: Spacey tells his crew that when they go to casinos, they are to act as if they don't know each other; yet the five students all go in at the same time, go to bars and clubs and shows together…what the hell? "21" isn't for everyone, but for gamblers, this movie should provide a bit of a rush.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

21. It is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. First lack of money drives characters to do something insane and then abundance of money make them insane. Genius and selfish Professor Mickey played by master actor Kevin Spacey and simple sober smart student played by Jim Sturgess both are the strength of the movie. Supporting actors also do OK. Movie aimed at youthful emotions in an easy ride never getting dark or overly emotional. The big guy Laurence Fishburne playing the spoiler in the otherwise a foolproof plan makes his character quite enjoyable. I am going with strong 7 out of 10 for 21. If you want to enjoy an easy ride which does require your mind to read the game then 21 is right one.