Sturgess and “21″ Have a Winning Hand

Posted on March 27, 2008 in Entertainment

Sturgess and 21 Have a Winning Hand

In ‘21,’ the fictionalized retelling of the story of a group of college students who teamed up to win millions playing blackjack in Las Vegas, it’s British up-and-comer Jim Sturgess who is the big winner.

Sturgess, best-known for playing Jude in ‘Across the Universe,’ portrays MIT student Ben Campbell. At the start of the film, Ben has been accepted into Harvard for medical school and is struggling to come up with a way to pay for it.

With the promise of quick money, Ben is recruited onto a blackjack team led by math teacher Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). Micky teaches the team how to count cards and flies them to Vegas to put their strategies to work.

Able to win thousands upon thousands of dollars at a time, Ben becomes enamored with the Vegas lifestyle, but his constant success attracts the attention of casino security. Card-counting isn’t illegal, but it is frowned upon by casinos, and they’re willing to go to violent lengths to keep their money to themselves.

While ‘21′ is based on actual events described in the book Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich, the film takes significant liberties in its retelling, occasionally reaching the point of unbelievability.

But the plot holes and stretched facts are easily forgivable. The action never diminishes and there are plenty of twists along the way.

Though there are few big names on the cast of ‘21,’ the acting is particularly good all-around. Kevin Spacey nails the role of Micky Rosa, and Laurence Fishburne is truly intimidating as Cole Williams, a casino security agent.

Kate Bosworth, who played Anne Marie in ‘Blue Crush‘ and more recently portrayed Lois Lane in ‘Superman Returns,’ does a fine job as Ben’s love interest and blackjack teammate Jill Taylor.

The most notable performance, however, is that of Jim Sturgess. He expertly portrays the intricacies of Ben going from being a nerdy math-whiz to living the Vegas high-life and back again. It’s worth noting that he also does a very convincing American accent.

Sturgess is on the brink of mainstream success, and his lead role in ‘21′ may springboard him to it.

‘21′ has its share of incredulous moments, but it’s a highly-entertaining film overall, anchored by a fast pace, an excellent cast, and a series of clever twists that lead the way to a satisfying conclusion.

Score: 8/10

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