The movie "21" offers the appealing notion that success is just a matter of number crunching and calculation. Learn to count the cards in Las Vegas and you'll never struggle for money again. There's a catch: You have to be an exceptional MIT student.

Directed by Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde"), "21" is a slick movie whose cast includes Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth, two performers who exude vigor, youth and beauty. The master of proceedings is Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), MIT professor by day and gambling entrepreneur by night. Micky recruits six of his best and brightest students to fly to Sin City on weekends and cheat themselves rich.

Ben Campbell (Sturgess) is a sweet, lower-middle-class kid who has dreamed all his life of going from MIT to Harvard Medical School, and who accepts Micky's invitation into the circle only to put himself through his dream school.

Like a junior "Mission: Impossible" team, they take mental note of the cards played and assess the probability of what will turn up next. And they communicate with one another in a language of subtle gestures and coded conversation.

The story is based on real events detailed in Ben Mezrich's book: "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions."