21

Recently, I flew a long trip with a copilot who knew one of the people involved in the MIT card counting scheme upon which the film _21_ is based. He hated the movie because it so distorted and sexed up the facts of the case that it barely deserved the label, "Based on a true story." I countered that _21_ had no obligation to be a faithful retelling of the actual events. Its only obligation, I asserted, was to be a good movie. He didn't buy it, but I stand by it. Narrative film's first duty is to entertain. If your picture can't do that, don't bother.

So, does _21_ entertain? Yes, it does, though not particularly well. The film tells a (sexed up) version of the MIT card counting story, in which a team of MIT math wizards mastered the only way to beat the house at blackjack. It throws in some sex, some violence, some cool, and generally keeps things rocking along for an hour and a half. It doesn't blow you away; it doesn't stay with you; but it eats the time on a transatlantic flight well enough.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it? Perhaps if it were more true to life.