21 (2008)

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writers (WGA):

Peter Steinfeld (screenplay) and
Allan Loeb (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Inspired by the true story of five students who changed the game forever.

Plot:

"21" 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.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Student | Professor | Harvard | Card Counting

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jim Sturgess	...	Ben Campbell
Kevin Spacey	...	Prof. Micky Rosa
Kate Bosworth	...	Jill Taylor
Aaron Yoo	...	Choi
Liza Lapira	...	Kianna
Jacob Pitts	...	Jimmy Fisher
Laurence Fishburne	...	Cole Williams
Jack McGee	...	Terry
Josh Gad	...	Miles Connoly
Sam Golzari	...	Cam
Helen Carey	...	Ellen Campbell
Jack Gilpin	...	Bob Phillips
Donna Lows	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #1
Butch Williams	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer #2
Ben Campbell	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer Jeff (as Jeffrey Ma)

Also Known As:

21 - The Movie (USA) (promotional title)
Untitled Blackjack Picture (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Ireland:12A | Sweden:11 | UK:12A | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | New Zealand:M | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43290) | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | South Africa:13V | Singapore:PG | Poland:15 | Brazil:14 | Italy:T | Greece:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIB | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Norway:11 (theatrical rating)

Filming Locations:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

The main characters upon which the film 21 is based were Asian. Controversially, mostly Caucasian actors were cast. Jim Sturgess required a dialect coach to speak with an American accent.

Goofs:

Continuity: The first night the group gambles in Las Vegas they are in the Hard Rock Casino, however the table at which Ben gambles says "Red Rock Casino". When he switches tables it says "Hard Rock Casino."

Quotes:

Ben Campbell: I had a 1590 on my SAT, I got a 44 on my MCAT, and I have a 4.0 GPA from MIT. I thought I had my life mapped out, but then I remembered what my non linear equations professor once told me, always account for variable change... I let down my good friends...

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Young Folks

much better than you would expect!!

I was lucky enough to see this film for free at a special screening in greater London as part of a market research by the film industry. even though it was free i would have paid good money to see that film. but I was presently surprised about how good the film was and everyone seemed to agree that the film was really good. I thought it made the card playing parts actually riveting even though i am not a card player myself. i thought the acting performances were all good especially that of Kevin Spacey's. In terms of the story. In many ways it reminded me of all the good things that was in the BBC TV show hustle. But in a much more real way. On the down side, you may see the ending coming and there is a romance part of the film that feels unnecessary. However it is a very slick film that gets away with it. I would say that it clearly the best film in this genre of film. I enjoyed it more than films such as Confidence and the Oceans 11 type films. I would highly recommend it to anybody when it eventually comes out in April!! I would have thought that they would cut down and re-edit it a bit on the basis that it was quite long. however it kept my attention for the whole film and that is not something that is also done during these sorts of films