review: 21 (Blu-ray)

Sony  //  Buy from Amazon.com Ben Campbell (Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant MIT student who finds a way to pay for medical school through his skill at playing cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students who head to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the blackjack odds in their favor. With unorthodox math professor Micky Rosa (Spacey) leading the way, they've figured out a way to crack the code by counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only to keep the numbers straight, but to stay one step ahead of the casino's menacing enforcer, Cole Williams (Fishburne). I'd read about the MIT students who managed to take some Vegas casinos for a lot o' cash with their mathematical intelligencia, and now we have Hollywood's (very polished) telling of the tale. No doubt some massive liberties were taken with the story/characters/outcome, but even still, the film is just pure popcorn entertainment - sit back, enjoy a well-shot, well-made film and disappear into the images on the screen for a couple hours (you could definitely do worse.) Not sure what the appeal for Kevin Spacey or Laurence Fishburn was to roll their talents into this one, but I suppose everyone has to pay a mortgage (or 7...) As expected, they're both solid in their respective roles, and the primary cast - a collection of young folk that try to put an uber-cool sheen on their brilliant MIT intellect - are also well-acted and delivered. Look - again, this isn't "There Will Be Blood" - it's about a bunch of kids making crazy money in casinos, so don't expect a Shakespearean tale. What you do get is exactly what you'd hope for: a fun, entertainming movie. Enjoy! Video A truly gorgeous-looking high def film, the bright lights of Vegas will light up your entire living room. Apparently shot on digital (rather than 35mm), this is a pristine-looking film, with (obviously) zero defects. Audio The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround mix is impressive, kicking into high gear during the action-packed scenes and delivering a booming electronic soundtrack. Extras audio commentary w/ director & producers "The Advantage Player" featurette on blackjack "A Complete Film Journal" making-of featurette "A Tour of the Good Life" featurette on production design virtual blackjack game trailers Closing Thoughts Solid piece of cinematic entertainment + decent selection of extras = nice bit o' entertainment for an evening