Think of it: One part World Poker Championships, one part Oceans 11, one part Good Will Hunting, one part Lock Stock... AND Kevin Spacey!
Inspired
by a true story (and it's not that far fetched, my High School maths
teacher took a group of his better students to the casino several times
over the course of my schooling life), 21 mixes Las Vegas casino wheeling and
dealing with college-teen angst.
Spacey peddles his wares as crafty MIT professor Micky Rosa, who trains
brainiac students to count cards and then flies them out to Vegas to
raid the blackjack tables between classes.
At first they rake in a
bundle, but then catch the unwanted attention of tough-guy security
chief, Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne, for once, not narrating something!) who wants to prove himself
before he's replaced by face recognition software.
Throw
into the mix a super math genius (Jim Sturgess) and a resident babe
in Kate Bosworth (who has been strangely quiet since Superman Returns)
and a twist that reveals that good ol' Professor Rosa has been skimming
some cash off the top - and you've got yourself on fine Friday night
flick.
DVD EXTRAS
A
stupid amount of extras are thrown on here, Sony have gone all out on
this one - which is superb to see in an era where distributors are
spending less time on Extras and more time perfecting how "clear" a
picuture can be via Blue Ray.
Along with the awesome addition of
a digital copy of the flick to chuck on your laptop or iPod, there are
so many featurettes included in the two disc edition - any potential
gambler may have some kind of corinary.
It's that exciting.
There
is of course the commentaries and fluff cast interviews - but the
shorts on Card Counting and beating the house are worth purchase price
alone.
Easily one of the best DVD releases of the year.
Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 75%
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