I’ve been forced to watch a lot of bad DVDs this month. Every time I go to rent movies, the New Releases section is littered with straight-to-DVD movies and bad farces that have no idea how to do satire (think Superhero Movie, Meet The Spartans, and the list goes on). Then came 21.

Starring Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, American Beauty) and Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), 21 is based on the true story of a team of students from M.I.T. who proved that math really is good for something when they took Las Vegas for a few million dollars by counting cards.

The big appeal to 21 is that it is based on a true story and my only real complaint is that Hollywood tries so hard to glamorize things that the movie adaptations often look nothing like how it really happened. The M.I.T blackjack team started in 1979 and continued into the 90′s. When Las Vegas finally caught on, they started ordering M.I.T. yearbooks every year so they could learn what these cardsharks look like before they ever even made it to Nevada.

But 21 is set in present day and features Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix movies, Fantastic Four 2) as a security guard whose job is increasingly threatened by computers. This is a crucial plot element in the movie and must be significantly different from what actually happened in the early 90′s — remember Windows 3.1 and no Internet?

Anyone who has ever seen Las Vegas on NBC or any of those documentaries about the CCTV cameras that are all over Great Briton will immediately wonder why Mr. Fishburne’s team doesn’t just adapt to use the computers (thus no longer needing to worry about losing his job) with that facial recognition software and nab the kids no matter what disguises they’re wearing.

If they had just been true to the real life events and set the movie in the mid-90′s, 21′s big flaw would have been solved.

Final Thoughts:
If you can get over the fact that they rested a large part of the movie on and issue that makes no sense, simply so they could set the movie in 2008 Vegas, 21 is an enjoyable movie that makes you want to cheer for the nerdy kid to get the girl, take down Vegas, and ride into the sunset. Great acting and directing redeem 21 from its shortcomings and make it a decent flick.

Rating:

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