INSPIRED BY THE TRUE STORY OF FIVE STUDENTS WHO CHANGED THE GAME FOREVER.Ā
The brilliant Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is introduced to a small group of fellow students who are trained by a math professor (Kevin Spacey) to count cards at blackjack without getting caught; Las Vegas is next. Loosely based on a real-life event, this drama struggles for a while but the director builds a certain attraction in spite of the uneven writing; the Vegas locations help. The story follows a familiar formula, but offers at least one surprise. Sturgess is less than engaging as the kid who desperately wants to go to Harvard, but Spacey expertly knows how to turn his charm into borderline psychopathy.
2008-U.S. 122 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed byĀ Robert Luketic. Book: Ben Mezrich (“Bringing Down the House”). Cast: Jim Sturgess (Ben Campbell), Kevin Spacey (Mickey Rosa), Kate Bosworth (Jill Taylor), Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira.
