Gambling and casinos have been a mainstay of the film industry since it was launched. The drama and excitement that come with gambling are good on the big screen, and filmmakers like to use this scenario, although, in the end, it is not always worth it for the studios or the audience.
Casino Royale
Daniel Craig’s first appearance as the well-known British spy is also considered his best portrayal of Bond in a series of 4 films. Casino Royale brought an interpretation of the bond genre with less focus on gadgets and exaggerated bad guys and more on daredevil action and espionage. Much of the film shows a high-risk poker game at Casino Royale, where Bond and the main villain Le Chiffre measure themselves against the brains and cards, with tens of millions of dollars at stake.
Rounders
Rounders is a cult poker classic that revolves around the Poker World Series and players like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan long before they became so famous through the poker boom. It tells the story of the little poker player Mike (portrayed by Matt Damon). Rounders doesn’t try to turn the character into a giant hero who does great things, but focuses on the character’s development as he tries to free his friend from debt and raise enough money to start the WSOP himself.
Casino
The casino has long been considered the gold standard of casino films, but it doesn’t show a lot of gaming action but paints a very vivid picture of what is going on behind the scenes of a gambling hall in the mafia era. Directed by Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro played the casino boss Sam “Ace” Rothstein. The film shows a lot of violence, but if you can overlook it, there are a lot of interesting insights into the casino business.
Ocean’s 11
The remake of a film in which the Rat Pack originally played (Sinatra, Martin, Davis, etc.). Ocean’s 11 has today’s stars, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, and Andy Garcia. As a film about an extremely exaggerated robbery, Ocean’s 11 never takes itself seriously, making it easier to digest the absurd scenarios the team finds themselves in as they try to rob the Bellagio Hotel’s vault on the evening of a top-notch boxing match.
21
Based on the book “21”, which tells the real story of Jeff Ma and his MIT card-counting colleagues. 21 has the same advantages as all films that are inspired by real events. The film is largely close to the truth of the book but adorned to Hollywood standards. It is a group of college students gifted with math who count cards in different casinos to clear blackjack.
Maverick
The remake of the eponymous TV series with Mel Gibson in the lead role follows a card-playing fraudster who tries to make money to get into a high-risk poker game. Maverick has some very interesting and entertaining card game scenes and also brings back the original TV Maverick, James Garner, as the father of Gibson’s character.