21 | Teen Ink

21 MAG

By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

I watched the entertaining movie “21” last weekend. It is rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, and nudity.

It opens with Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) in his senior year at MIT with aspirations to go to Harvard Med. But there is only one problem: money. During class one day he impresses his math professor, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). Rosa invites Ben to join a “club.” Little does he know this is a group of professional card-counters who go to Vegas every weekend and win thousands of dollars. Choi (Aaron Yoo), Jill (Kate Bosworth), and Kianna (Liza Lapira) are other members of this group.

Ben quickly picks up the skills and accompanies the group on their weekend gambling trips. Soon he is caught up in the money and fun of Vegas and ­almost ruins his chance at Harvard, thanks to Cole (Lawrence Fishburne), who works casino security and ­eliminates card-counters. Throughout the movie you are on the edge, not sure what will happen in the end.

Overall, I give “21” a B- ­because of its decent story but poor acting, especially by Sturgess. The best perform­ances by far came from Fishburne and Spacey. Their characters keep you watching – without them, “21” would have been horrible.

The story keeps you hooked with a great ending, but I will probably not see “21” again. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes crime-thrillers. But don't be surprised if it doesn't live up to your expectations.


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This article has 7 comments.


poop said...
on Jan. 29 2009 at 8:10 pm
This movie was pretty good but not really

OMGitsLissuh said...
on Nov. 27 2008 at 12:08 am
i really don't agree. i absolutely loved this movie!

i though sturgess did a great job, as did kate bosworth. I have seen this movie many times, and probably will watch it many times in the future. It is very interesting and always keeps you thinking and wondering.

tutus said...
on Nov. 13 2008 at 11:34 pm
I agree with you also. I agree with you because i liked this movie but most of the stuff you said were true. I think you probably gave to much information on it. So that makes it less exciting for the people that didn't watch it. These people act really good and they make me keep watching. I think Jim Sturgess did really good at acting on this movie and he acted like he would do in a real life situation

Isadora said...
on Nov. 4 2008 at 9:51 pm
I agree with you on the b- part... I was rather dissapointed with the film actually. I also don't think that Jim Sturgess was especially bad. I think he was good, well you know for an 'upcoming' actor. The story line was good though. Anyway I thought your review was good:)

4lyssa said...
on Nov. 4 2008 at 3:56 pm
I agree with you that "their characters keep you watching".

foureyes14 said...
on Oct. 5 2008 at 5:35 pm
I disagree with you. I liked the movie very much. It had a good plot to it, and I thought that all the actors did very well. Sturgess did very well for only being in a few movies since the start of his career, and it's hard to play someone who's actually a real person. It can put a lot of pressure on someone, but he did very well.

Aerie said...
on Sep. 10 2008 at 10:58 pm
I agree with you on your rating of the movie, as I wasn't particularly thrilled either, but not with your comment about Sturgess; I believe him to be an excellent actor and I don't see how you can say he was "especially bad" in this movie. By the way, have you seen Across the Universe?