So this is an adaptation of the story of the MIT blackjack team. Stars Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Bosworth. The lead is Jim Sturgess, who played in Across the Universe.
Overall, I thought it was OK. Not great, but good. Worth the 7.50 for the ticket. After seeing the History Channel’s take on this story a few years ago, I had an idea of what to expect.
Kevin Spacey, IMO, did a great job as the leader of the blackjack team. He was the best at portraying his character; he got really into it. Fishburne did well also.
All in all, a good show. A few laughs, not too deep of a plot, but not a bad way to spend my Friday night.
Kind of makes me want to go to Vegas. Just for the shows, of course!
The movie really downplayed the emphasis that the History Channel’s documentary placed on concentration. A solid 15 minutes of the hour or so special focused on how the players went through drill after drill to perfect their skill. The documentary did mention that the cut that the players received was modest compared to the take. Also, the gestures featured in the film were mentioned in interviews with the real MIT team.
This movie, however, takes place in current times. The MIT thing was in the 80’s I believe.
There have been multiple teams operating throughout the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and presumably even today. The people who supplied the stories for the movie were from an early-to-mid 1990’s team which was mostly MIT students, but the stories are a collection of the most interesting stories from all the teams, including non-MIT teams.
The book alludes to the fact that, of the total win, half is generally returned to the investor, and the other half divided among the team members. So if a team of 5 won a million dollars, each member would see about $100,000 (different teams divide the winnings differently).
The book is entertaining, but I haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t tell you if all the best stories were used in the movie.
There’s also a sequel to Bringing Down the House called Busting Vegas written by the same author about a different team. I found that mildly entertaining as well.