Rotten
If only director Robert Luketic and screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb had not opted for glitz. As filmmakers, they're playing for very low stakes.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
21
They proved the Vegas Blackjack System was beatable...by beating the hell out of it.
2008 · 2h 3m · PG-13
Crime, Drama
Directed by
Robert Luketic
Overview
Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
36%
Tomatometer
Rotten
The students are so blandly written this never builds any suspense, though it probably has some value as an empowerment fantasy for debt-ridden collegians.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Although it's definitely a fictionalization of a true story, they get the essence of this insanely crazy double life that these kids led as they were breaking the bank in Vegas.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Rotten
Inspired by the real-life story of the M.I.T. students who took Las Vegas casinos for millions, 21 has been reshaped to fit a simple movie template -- and it's nearly as much fun as watching an insurance professional compute actuarial tables.
Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten
A movie with an irresistible premise that ultimately collapses around the whole issue of motivation.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
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