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the film. We don't need to hear Ben talk about what he was thinking as the camera pans across the blackjack team signaling each other over and over again which tables are hot – we get it.
It's especially annoying because other aspects of the film are underwritten, and could've benefited from the extra time to get fleshed out: why not have more fun with all the fake identities that the team members create for themselves, and show how they're living it up in Vegas? Or further develop the mostly under-developed members of the team? I'd have been happy to see more from the minor team members played charmingly by Aaron Yoo and Liza Lapira, or from Bosworth, for that matter.
Then there are some questionable logic choices. How do I put this nicely? The film can be retarded. Exhibit A: Ben is an MIT genius, but has apparently never heard of a savings account. He keeps all of his winnings inside a ceiling panel in his dorm room. Let me say that again: he has large stacks of hundreds inside a ceiling panel in his dorm room. Why does he keep it there, and not, uh, IN A BANK? So it can get stolen three-fourths of the way through the movie, of course. (Apologies to those of you who've never seen a movie in your life and therefore might possibly have been surprised at that development.)
I'm deadly serious when I say that's the most forced plot point I've ever seen in a movie, ever.
Nothing else is that logically egregious, although the climactic chase scene plays it a bit too fast and loose; the chasers would have no way of knowing which direction the chasees were headed, or where each of them would end up.
I criticize because I care. The vast majority of 21 is pure fun; I would've loved to give it an unqualified rave, so its flaws are especially annoying. Still, it succeeds as a wish-fulfillment fantasy, elevated by the true story it's inspired from and the sharp cast. Now if only I could figure out a way to make millions while living the good life in Vegas...
Movie Grade: B+
Synopsis:
"21", based on Ben Mezrich's best-selling nonfiction book "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions," revolves around a group of young men who become experts in the art of card counting. | 
