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21

Play trailer Poster for 21 PG-13 Released Mar 28, 2008 2h 2m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
36% Tomatometer 168 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a brilliant student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, needs some quick cash to pay his tuition bills. He joins a group of students who, under the leadership of unorthodox professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey), use their math skills to win big in Las Vegas. Seduced by a beautiful teammate (Kate Bosworth) and loads of money, Ben learns that the stakes are higher than he ever imagined when he crosses paths with casino enforcer Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
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21

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Critics Consensus

21 could have been a fascinating study had it not supplanted the true story on which it is based with mundane melodrama.

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Critics Reviews

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian As ever with gambling films, it's difficult to convey the thrill of winning at second hand; the human-interest complications are unconvincing and Spacey himself, I'm afraid, is a lugubrious and deadening presence. Rated: 2/5 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Peter Rainer Christian Science Monitor 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. Rated: C Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Jim Schembri The Age (Australia) A breezy, fast-moving romp that trades well on its appeal as a glitzy caper movie about high-end scam artists without losing sight of its simmering greed-is-not-so-good theme. Rated: 3/5 Jun 7, 2008 Full Review Luis Miguel Cruz Cine Premiere Well made. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3/5 Jul 21, 2021 Full Review José Ignacio Cuenca Cinemanía (Spain) An entertaining film that... as simple as it is passionate. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 3/5 Nov 6, 2020 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Kate Bosworth, who's made three films with Spacey now, seems to fare the worst here. Rated: 2.0/4.0 Sep 24, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/04/25 Full Review Faiz D An entertaining thriller. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/13/25 Full Review Topher S Rounders for the next generation. Semi-true story but watch out for all the white-washing. A fun watch, but too focused on the characters rather than the more interesting gambling story thread. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/25 Full Review Julian P I'm somewhat closer to the popcorn meter than the critics here. It's slick but a little frustrating - maybe I just wanted them to get away with it scott free, maybe it seems a little unlikely that Laurence Fishburne tortures card counters in a back store room, maybe the lead character just isnt likeable enough to want him to win. It's still a bloody good movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/23/24 Full Review David S Honestly didn't expect for this movie to be that good. I really liked the whole plot of the movie and the way things came out at the end but the whole experience watching this was unreal. Would reccomend it 11/10. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/19/24 Full Review William B The best gambling movie that I've seen Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/11/24 Full Review Read all reviews
21

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Cast & Crew

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Robert Luketic

Director

Jim Sturgess

Ben Campbell

Kevin Spacey

Micky Rosa

Kate Bosworth

Jill Taylor

Aaron Yoo

Choi

Liza Lapira

Kianna

Movie Clips

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21

21: Official Clip - How to Count Cards 21: Official Clip - How to Count Cards 2:39 21: Official Clip - Escape from Las Vegas 21: Official Clip - Escape from Las Vegas 2:21 21: Official Clip - Beaten by the Pit Boss 21: Official Clip - Beaten by the Pit Boss 3:36 21: Official Clip - Illegal Gambling 21: Official Clip - Illegal Gambling 2:48 21: Official Clip - Secret Blackjack Club 21: Official Clip - Secret Blackjack Club 3:58 21: Official Clip - Counting Cards 21: Official Clip - Counting Cards 3:05 21: Official Clip - I Want Micky 21: Official Clip - I Want Micky 2:20 21: Official Clip - Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner 21: Official Clip - Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner 1:53 21: Official Clip - Drunken Fight 21: Official Clip - Drunken Fight 2:57 21: Official Clip - Double-Con 21: Official Clip - Double-Con 3:05 View more videos

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21

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a brilliant student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, needs some quick cash to pay his tuition bills. He joins a group of students who, under the leadership of unorthodox professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey), use their math skills to win big in Las Vegas. Seduced by a beautiful teammate (Kate Bosworth) and loads of money, Ben learns that the stakes are higher than he ever imagined when he crosses paths with casino enforcer Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
Director
Robert Luketic
Producer
Dana Brunetti, Kevin Spacey, Michael De Luca
Screenwriter
Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Trigger Street Productions, Michael De Luca
Rating
PG-13 (Sexual Content|Partial Nudity|Some Violence)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 28, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$81.2M
Runtime
2h 2m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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