21
21 is a well documented quick shot at the big time orchestrated like an Ocean’s 12 (yes the dire sequel) but without the bigger name cast shenanigans. Like Las Vegas itself it looks all glamorous and glitzy on the outside but has precious little heart on the inside.
Robert Luketic Written by: Peter Steinfield, Allan LoebBased on the book "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Laurence Fishburne, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, Jack McGhee, Josh Gad Distributed by Columbia Pictures Film was released in the U.S. on 28th March 2008 & 11th April 2008 Review by Oliver Pfeiffer
rating: 3
Its been almost a decade since we have had a classic Kevin Spacey performance. Between 1992-1999 it seemed he could do no wrong with stand out stints as John Williamson, Buddy Ackerman, Roger Verbal Kint, John Doe, Rufus Buckley, Det.Sgt. Jack Vincennes and Lester Burnham in Glengarry Glen Ross, Swimming with Sharks, The Usual Suspects, Se7en, A Time to Kill, L.A Confidential and American Beauty respectively. O.K he was pretty convincing in his second directorial stint as Bobby Darin in Beyond the Sea but (ahem) beyond that turned in a bland Lex Luthor incarnation in Superman Returns and started in an entire slew of poorly chosen film ventures. Finally 21- a project he has been personally pushing for nine years - marks a warm welcome (albeit supporting role) return to form for the infamously secretive and continuously busy actor/director/Old Vic Artistic Supervisor. Spacey plays Micky Rosa (doesnt he just get the catchiest character names ever!), an impressionable but unorthodox math professor at a Boston college who secretively recruits a group of brilliant M.I.T students in a contrived effort to take Las Vegas by storm by turning the odds in their favour at the beatable game of blackjack. Shy, but exceptionally gifted student Ben Campbell (Across the UniversesJim Sturgess) is at first reluctant to join the group but with the persuasive talents of hot and sexy whiz kid Kate Bosworth and an expensive entry to Harvard Med looming decides that he needs to take advantage of this extra instant cash opportunity. He initially insists that he will bale out after his tuition schooling fees have been metbut, well you know the rest because you have probably seen the all too revealing trailer. Although a good enough concept with confident and encouraging performances from a multi-cultural cast (including DistrubiasAaron Yoo and a creepy, chain-smoking turn from veteran Laurence Fishburne), an all too predictable second half make this somewhat of a half-hearted letdown: The Cincinnati Kid this isnt. Ironically some of the trouble has to do with the essence of Kevin Spacey himself. I obviously dont want to give too much away here but with Spacey (I like to take an interest in my students) being Spacey - with his C.V seemingly clogged with iconic twist performances - you always half suspect something beyond the charming veneer, something more calculating and sinister at work lurking behind the shadowsand when he gives up on his group half way through, (after a too tempted Ben decides to gamble more than the groups financial limit with predictably devastating results) and the hangers on decide to take business into their own hands well you just know where your headed. Its just too bad that the guarded schematics of their own card playing dont mirror that of the overly contrived narrative plot details. Director Robert Luketic (who previously helmed the distinguishable Legally Blonde and the detestable Jane Fonda comeback flick Monster In Law), is an amicable enough showman who revels in granting us access to both the shiny and shadier parts of Las Vegas (even if we still have them etched on our minds since Casino) with the cosy contrast of Bens little home town suburbia. And like that said Scorsese classic we are shown the neat details of what it takes to try and fool the ever watchful casino enforcers. The elected teams shrewd process of counting cards and intricate hand-signal gestures to communicate and calculate their chances are a nice attribute but perhaps you suspect that, being as smart as they are, the group should have played their cards a little closer to hand and varied their communication measures a little more to ward off the ever suspecting surveillance cameras. But then again, you cant really blame the story as, believe it or not; its actually loosely based on true events of a real life group of all too numerically sharp money hungry M.I.T students. Despite this neat accolade I craved more of the nervous energy felt in Mike Hodges Croupier, or the menacing underbelly of an Alan J. Pakula conspiracy thriller, rather than a genre hybrid with a tacked on romantic element that is wholly unnecessary. Perhaps I am asking too much but I yearned for 21 to be more overtly critical of its high-school financial expenses over quick money spinning delusions. What 21 is instead is a well documented quick shot at the big time orchestrated like an Oceans 12 (yes the dire sequel) but without the bigger name cast shenanigans. Like Las Vegas itself it looks all glamorous and glitzy on the outside but has precious little heart on the inside.