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Dir. Robert Luketic
Rating: 4.4 | 0 User Reviews | Send to Friend
By Stacy Lipson
"Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner," the catch phrase shouted in the Vegas casinos when a gamer seems about to hit a winning streak, is, perhaps, as close to realistic casino action as this limp thriller by director Robert Luketic gets. A direct shame, as the film is based on fascinating real events, which, left to their own devices, should have been more than enough. For M.I.T student Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), the dream of going to Harvard Medical School is within his grasp. All Campbell has to do is impress a swanky Harvard Medical School admissions officer, proving he deserves a scholarship. With the help of Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), a genius mathematics professor and fellow student Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben learns the secret of blackjack: card counting. Every weekend, Ben and his fellow sidekicks fly out to Las Vegas to try their luck at the casinos. Although the film starts with good intentions -- cue chase scenes and angry casino bosses -- it fails on even the most fundamentally basic tenements of realism and storytelling. In some ways, it struggles to resemble the style and oozing charm of Steven Soderburgh's Vegas-based Ocean’s series, but with very little of the verve -- or the star power -- to hold our attention. Spacey’s role is regulated to the sidelines for much of the film and Bosworth -- coming off of a humiliatingly bad turn as Lois Lane in Superman Returns does nothing to burnish her tarnished sheen here. Viewers hoping for an action-packed film about the Las Vegas limelight will leave wishing they hadn’t bothered.
The disc also comes with blackjack training videos, director's commentary, and a small doc about the lifestyle of the rich and gambling.
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