Blackjack originates back to 1700 France, where it was known as “Vingt-et-Un”, which translates to Twenty-One. As the casino game with the lowest house edge, Blackjack is one of the most popular games to date. The game is so popular that it has made many appearances on the big screen, so not only can you get the lavish Hollywood experience when you visit a high-class casino, but you can truly feel like a movie star as you race to 21.
Read on to discover just some of the movies in which the game of Blackjack is featured, making sure to bring the thrill of the casino straight to the movies.
Swingers, 1996
This 1996 American comedy-drama follows the lives of single, unemployed actors who live on the Eastside of Hollywood during the swing revival of the 1990s. The movie, written by Jon Favreau and directed by Doug Liman, features a scene in which Mike (Jon Favreau) and Trent (Vince Vaughn) head to Las Vegas and fall out over a game of Blackjack. The argument brews when Trent asks Mike to double down on 11. Mike ignores the advice, and card players are left in stitches over their relatable dilemma.
Austin Powers, 1997
Austin Powers is one of a series of American spy action-comedy films. Produced and written by Mike Myers, who also starred in the films, Austin Powers parodies many films and comedies, poking fun at outrageous plots and two-dimensional characters often associated with 1960s spy films. A famous Blackjack scene to hit the big screen in the 1997 Austin Powers movie is when Number Two, played by Robert Wagner, ignores his dealer’s advice and hits on 17. Any Blackjack player would know this is an extremely risky decision, but Number Two conveniently had the benefit of an X-ray-enhanced eye patch allowing him to see the next card that would be dealt.
License to Kill, 1989
This spy film was the 16th in the James Bond series. It was the first of the franchise not to use a title from an Ian Fleming story, but was still inspired by short stories of his beloved character. James Bond was portrayed in this film by Timothy Dalton, and followed the story of the super spy as he pursues a drug lord called Franz Sanchez, after being suspended from MI6.
Bond is particularly known for his love of the casino, often playing high-stake games of Poker and Baccarat, but in this movie, he chooses to play a memorable game of Blackjack, where the stakes become so high it truly is a movie marvel.
21, 2008
21 is an American heist drama film inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack team, as told in the best-selling book Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich. Student Ben is a particularly intelligent mathematics major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and forms a Blackjack team, with the help of a professor, who fly out to Las Vegas to see if they can bag a jackpot. The plot is compelling and, for Blackjack players in particular, the theory behind it is even more fascinating.
If you want to try your luck and see if you can feel like a Blackjack movie star, then why not play at Betfair casino online, where you can test your skill, strategy, luck, and everything you’ve learnt from watching the trials and tribulations of Blackjack on the big screen? Whilst the cinematic casinos aren’t always true to real life gameplay, they can certainly provide inspiration for your next game!
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