In 1993, a group of MIT students found a sophisticated and complex way to beat the casinos. They worked out strategies, code words and signals, before becoming a resounding success and earning tens of thousands of dollars along the way. Their story was made into a History Channel documentary called “Breaking Vegas,” a fictionalized best-selling book called “Bringing Down the House” and now another of Hollywood’s pre-summer successes. 21 may be a straight-laced popcorn movie, but it’s saved by a director and cast bent on making the movie a hit.

21 focuses on Ben Campell (Jim Sturgess of Across the Universe), a brilliant mathematician who decides to join the low-profile card-counting team in order to pay the $300,000 needed for Harvard Medical School. With the help and resources of one of their professors (Kevin Spacey), a group of MIT students set up shop in Las Vegas to beat the game of black jack. As the team gets further down the rabbit hole, they run into trouble in the form of a “loss protection officer” (Laurence Fishburne).

The story shouldn’t surprise most people like Vegas thrillers of the past, but the base story following Ben and the intricacies of their operation will keep you occupied. Robert Luketic, who also directed Legally Blonde, does a great job at keeping the two-hour long movie moving forward.

The one thing 21 does really well is visualize the lure and appeal of Las Vegas. The team regroups in an extravagant strip club, stays in plush hotel suites and partakes in the many vices of Vegas. The city itself also looks gorgeous. Luketic shows off the elaborate lighting of the casinos on the outside and makes the tables inside glow. There’s a feeling that these college kids are getting lost in the city’s many offerings and the freedom to be anyone they want to be.

The young cast does an excellent job transitioning from the glamour of Las Vegas to the frigid and comparatively boring city of Boston. Complementing the students are the two older members of the cast. Spacey has his moments as the teacher-slash-mastermind, particularly when he goes into full bad guy mode after one of his pupils loses money. Fishburne has some Vegas magic of his own as a security officer watching his older methods be replaced by software.

The only thing I can really complain about is the movie’s popcorn feel. Every now and then, a shot will come up that oozes of stereotypical Hollywood, such as the player’s walk out of the casino after a successful night of card counting. The end of the movie is straight out of Hollywood’s playbook and isn’t likely to catch anyone off guard.

In the end, if you go to 21 looking for a Vegas movie with the creative likes of Ocean’s Eleven, you’ll be disappointed. But if you are willing to set the storyline’s weak twists and turns on the side burner, you’ll be rewarded with an enjoyable and fun movie that will have you planning your next vacation for Sin City.