In a world of high stakes risk always have to be made, but how about making illegal risks? 21, asks that very question as the premise is a nifty little story about some harvard-wannabe's that cheat at the tables to win loads of cash. Jim Sturgess plays Ben Campbell, a young man that want's so badly to go to harvard med. The only problem is that he need three hundred thousand dollars to afford tuition. During one of his classes his teacher (Kevin Spacey) notices that he is a genius and reels him into a little club. This club has four other students, one of them is a cute girl (Kate bosworth). This club is special, they count cards at tables in vegas and beat the system, they get rich very quickly. Ben is not wanting to join but he wants to go to harvard; so he needs the money but a moral lesson is to be learned here.
This movie is fast, slick, and the cast is perfect for what they need to be. Sturgess and Spacey play well together and Spacey of course brings his sly charm to a very sick character. It almost feels like that Spacey is here to mentor young actor Sturgess, as Spacey plays his character with spunk and energy. Sturgess isn't terrible good but he plays the character the way he's supposed to be; and he's also a very likeable actor so the girls will love him. That is what brings this movie down, a superficial sense of life. The film brings up really intense moral issues, stealing, lying, cheating and backstabbing the ones we love. Just because these issues are brought up doesn't mean the movie has tons of meaning. It never really deals with the issues, things happen, characters feel bad, and the movie rolls right along has fast as it can. It never stops to bring real life to it's characters and the only two characters that matter are Ben and his teacher. Kate Bosworth is there to bring eye candy and a superficial love affair that has no meaning. The three others in the club might as well shouldn't even exist, they are there simply because they have to. Ben's two other friends he ditches are barely in the mix as well. I wish the writer and director would try to bring more flesh to these bare bones characters as they are all so very interesting. Laurence Fishburne plays the vegas boss who is in charge of security and he's just awesome. He brings an awesome tough as nails character to the screen, I wish the movie was about him.
This movie could have been a whole lot better than it was, but it was wasn't bad either. Sure the acting is surface level (Except from Spacey and Sturgess), sure this could have been way cooler, but the movie was a fun watch. It's fun, fast paced, sexy and very slick. Watching these people in action as they beat the system and deal with the consequences is awesome. The one moral they do deal with in full force is retribution and a long life criminal getting his due, you may run but you can't hide from your personal demons. This movie could have gone two ways, it could have been an engrossing drama with many moral questions and answers, or it could have been a slick fun good time. It took the lesser way, and it was a good time, nothing more and nothing less.
No comments:
Post a Comment