I’ll begin by stating it outright: there is nothing particularly remarkable about 21, directed by Robert Luketic. However, that did not stop me from enjoying myself for the entire two hours I was watching it. This movie is far from perfect, to be sure, but it is certainly a well-built piece of entertainment.

Ben (Jim Sturgess) has everything going for him: a savant-like math ability, a perfect GPA at MIT, good friends, a loving mother and, most importantly, early admission to Harvard Medical School. What could he possibly be lacking?

As it turns out, he’s missing the $300,000 tuition for Harvard.

However, fortune smiles on Ben when Professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) takes an interest in him, inviting him to join an exclusive team of math students who spend their weekends in Las Vegas hustling blackjack by counting cards. Soon, the money starts rolling in and it seems as though Ben’s prayers are answered. He will have his tuition, and he even manages to snag a pretty girl in the process in Jill (Kate Bosworth), a fellow team member. Of course, nothing exceeds like excess, and with the stacks of money growing every weekend, Jim is faced with a choice: to quit while he is ahead, or to keep going and risk losing everything that matters to him.

A movie about a team of people ripping somebody off is usually only as good as the ensemble cast that plays the team, and 21 excels in this category. Sturgess, employing a mediocre American accent for Ben, does an excellent job showing the transition from timid newcomer to arrogant, surefooted card counter relishing in his success.

On the other hand, the rest of the characters on the team, from a quirky kleptomaniac to the experienced hot shot, and even Bosworth’s Jill, are underwritten and barely two dimensional, but the charm and personality of the actors playing them makes you overlook such things. These performers have terrific chemistry, and they all bring energy and life to their characters, involving you in the story even though you know nothing about them.

Laurence Fishburne makes a welcome turn as a world weary casino security consultant, who becomes hell bent on bringing the team down.

However, the show truly belongs to Spacey as the team leader. He gives Rosa a terrifically wry delivery and, thankfully, avoids campy theatrics that this kind of wise, enigmatic leadership role could have lent itself to in the hands of another performer. And when Rosa turns on Ben later in the movie, Spacey is nothing less than ice cold evil. He commands absolutely every scene he is in, but then again, that should come as no surprise considering it’s Kevin Spacey.

Director Robert Luketic does a serviceable job with this material; 21 has the requisite visual style and flair that any movie set in Sin City must have. When the crew is in Vegas, flash, shock and awe are the names of the game, and Luketic plays very well. He also keeps the pace very tight and very fast, as even in the slowest dialogue scenes and few character moments, we are flying to the next event. This breakneck pace suits the material very well, however, and does not detract from the film at all.

So what if there is barely any character development? So what if there are holes in the plot? Viewers will still find 21 a fun popcorn movie with an engaging cast, a terrific sense of style and plenty of twists and turns of plot to keep one engaged. Try not to think too hard, go into it wanting to have a good time and enjoy 21 for the great piece of shallow entertainment that it is.