Casino gaming, whether it is in a traditional land based casino or in a virtual casino, has become a popular pastime for many around the globe. As a result, many films have been released that incorporate a casino theme in some manner. Typically casinos are linked to organized crime and high risk which can help heighten the drama in a motion picture such as is the case with the film “The Last Casino”.
Released in 2004, “The Last Casino” was a popular made for TV film in Canada. Starring Charles Martin Smith, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Julian Richings and Albert Chung, the film focused on card counting in the game of blackjack. The movie begins with math professor Doug Barnes being blacklisted from many casinos after being caught card counting. At that point, Barnes owes $40,000 to his loan shark and must find a way in which to earn the money back. He decides to establish a team of students from his university to be in a card counting club. After recruiting three top students, Barnes then trains them to count cards and increase their money in record increments as they hit the blackjack tables in the local casinos. Of course, things get a bit complicated as their little plan becomes unravelled.
In some casino movies, it can be difficult to effectively portray the emotions of players as they gamble given the internal conflict. However, “The Last Casino” does well in this respect using the speed of the film to express the excited feeling of the players. The movie’s plot is very engaging with several revelations, unspecified here due to spoiling them for viewers that take place through the course of the movie.
Whether you are a fan of gambling or just action packed movies, “The Last Casino” is a very well made film that can appeal to a variety of viewers.