21

Times Watched: 1
Watched With: Ms Sharky @ The Cathay (29/06)
Snacks: None

"Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!"

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a genius. Seriously.
But he's also a nerd. Besides building robots with his buddies Miles (Josh Gad) & Cam (Sam Golzari), he's also top of the top and MIT and has even gained entry to Harvard Medical School but like most he has trouble with the tuition fees and such.

His professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) recognizes Ben's talent and smarts when dealing with numbers and math and recruits him into his 'Blackjack Team' comprising of Jill (Kate Bosworth), Choi (Aaron Yoo), Kianna (Lisa Lapira) & Fisher (Jacob Pitts).
The skill of this team is card counting which is not illegal per se but highly highly frowned upon and you're in deep shit if you get caught.
So they scam is that they work as team to rake in the big bucks in Las Vegas casinos under the supervision and leadership of Prof. Rosa.
Ben's got the skill and he needs the money. How can he lose right?

This movie is based upon a true story about Jeff Ma who was really part of the 'MIT Blackjack Team' and even though some of the events were exaggerated, it is for the most part a re-telling of what happened to him and his buddies.
(Look out in the movie for the real Jeff Ma as a dealer named Jeff)

And since this is a true story (and it's based on a book no less) you already know how it's probably going to end so it's a matter of seeing what happens in between and hope that the ending turns out differently that it should. Which it won't.
But hey everyone loves a movie about gambling right?

Well this movie was number 1 at the box office in the States for a few weeks so it's obvious that the draw is there (pardon the pun).

Final Verdict: