New Republic senior editor Christopher Orr has written a review of Robert Luketic’s 21 (Sony, 3.26) that’s based solely on the trailer. The point is that with 97% of today’s trailers giving 97% of the film away, who needs to see the feature? Orr says he’ll review the film itself tomorrow. I’ve seen the long version of 21 and can say with authority that Orr’s reactions aren’t very different from reviews of the film.
I knew the movie would be simultaneously pretty good and not great based on the opening trailer clip. Jim Sturgess, a part-time retail salesman, quickly tallies some numbers and percentages in front of a couple of customers. His character, an MIT student, is obviously a numerical whiz, but the moment is ruined when he smiles sheepishly and says to the customers, “I’m pretty good with numbers.” Nothing kills like over-emphasis.