21 (2008)

Voti degli utenti:

6.8/10   

Regista:

Robert Luketic

Scrittori (WGA):

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

Data di uscita:

28 marzo 2008 (USA)

Genere:

Drammatico

Slogan:

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 | Card Counting | Harvard | Professor

Premi:

1 win & 5 nominations

Recensioni degli utenti:

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

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)

Alias:

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.

Durata:

123 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sonoro:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Divieti:

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) | Iceland:12 | Germany: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)

Luoghi riprese:

Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Compagnia:

Columbia Pictures

Curiosità:

Boston University students were used as extras in many of the classroom scenes.

Errori:

Anacronismi: In the bar scene after Ben's first trip to Vegas when he buys Jill a beer (Bud Light), the Bud Light bottle has the label from the year the movie was made (2008), not the year(s) the film was based in (mid 1990s).

Citazioni:

Micky Rosa: What's the count?
Choi: Uh, plus nine?
Micky Rosa: You're just saying that because Jill did.

Collegamenti:

incluso in The 35th Annual People's Choice Awards (2009) (TV)

Colonna sonora:

Mad Persuit

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

Slick camera work and some good performances rev up the technical quality of this fact-based story about a 21 year old MIT student named Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) who, along with his brainy Ivy League chums, travels to Vegas to win tons of money at the blackjack tables. Their sleazy math professor, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), leads the group. Rosa has devised an elaborate and conspiratorial card counting scheme that consists of code words and hand gestures. With all that preparation, the group's scheme does work ... for a while. And in the process, the shy, cautious Ben, who only wants the money for tuition costs, morphs into his alter ego, a person quite unlike his original self.

The film's pace starts off leisurely, then alternates between fast-paced Vegas casino action and periods of downtime wherein Ben and his girlfriend, fellow conspirator Jill (Kate Bosworth), talk shop and take in the high life. The story does have a villain, but it may not be who you think it is.

The script's dialogue is snappy and hip, and contains minimal tech jargon. "Variable change" is one such math term, and it has thematic implications toward the end, as the story twists and turns in ways that may surprise you. And "winner winner, chicken dinner" is the group's lingo for gambling success.

Production design is realistic and lavish; this is a big budget film. Color cinematography, by DP Russell Carpenter, is polished and slick. There are lots of elaborate camera dissolves and close-ups. The best parts of the film are the close-ups of the characters at the blackjack tables. Film editing coincides with plot pacing, and ranges from slow to super fast. Acting is all-around good. Kevin Spacey gives his usual topnotch acting job; Sturgess and Bosworth also give fine performances.

It's not a perfect film. Background music was noisy and rather nondescript for my taste. And I could have wished for more card playing, and less time spent on Ben's college buddies in the first Act; the result is that the film gets off to a slow start. Still, the script is credible, and stays close to its book source "Bringing Down The House" by Ben Mezrich.

Thematically relevant in today's world of greed and materialism, "21" is a terrific film, one that has greater import than other films, because the events in "21" really happened. And the fine performances and polished visuals enhance the overall look and feel, to create a film that is both engaging and entertaining.