5 Great Casino Scenes In Movies
The casino scene has been a staple of movies since the early days of film, and have been represented on the big screen in a variety of ways. Sometimes they are used to show luxury and glamour, other times they are there to provide some tense moments for our protagonist. They have also been used to get the leading characters out of sticky situations, often providing some great comedy along the way. Here are five of our favourite casino scenes.
Casino Royale
Whilst many 2019 casinos have moved online, it would not be very cinematic to have Bond tapping away at a keyboard, so when Daniel Craig took over the role of 007, they sent him to the “Hotel Splendide” in Montenegro, where villain Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) and Bond do battle over cards in a high-stakes game of Texas hold ’em. The 2006 movie was a superb intro to Craig’s take on Bond, and we get to seem him reprise the role again next year in ‘No Time To Die’, the 25th Bond film.
Rain Man
The 1989 movie ‘Rain Man’ saw Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman give two stand-out performances as Charlie Babbitt and his autistic brother Raymond. When his estranged father dies, the film sees Cruise’s Charlie discover that his father’s fortune is being directed to a mental institution which houses an elder brother he never knew he had. Charlie ends up absconding with Raymond setting out on an epic road trip, but when he finds himself in need of money… fast… he uses Raymond’s ability for superb recall to count cards in a Vegas casino. The movie was a huge hit, picking up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing, along with a Best Actor in a Leading Role win for Dustin Hoffman.
The Hangover
Smash hit ‘The Hangover’ features its own ‘Rain Man’ moment, as loner Alan (Zach Galifianakis) gets a chance to shine by winning back the money required to turn around the group’s dire situation. The film follows a group of friends who wake up in a Vegas hotel room following a wild night on the town, with no memory of the night before, or how they ended up with a tiger in their bathroom! As they retrace their steps they meet a local gangster who accuses them of stealing $80,000 from him, which is where they hit on the idea of trying to win the money by counting cards playing blackjack.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Ahh, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’, the marmite of Star Wars movies… One of the more controversial bits (besides Luke drinking that milk), came in the form of the casino subplot. This saw Finn, Rose and BB-8 travel to the resort city of Canto Bight to locate a hacker named DJ to deactivate the First Order’s tracking device. Whilst I know some people hate this film, and this subplot especially, it does show a section of the Star Wars universe we haven’t seen on screen before. It was also a great excuse for some comedic moments and some spectacular aliens.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
We end this list with something which is a parody of where we started, ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’, Mike Myers comedic subversion of Bond. The casino scene is a staple of the Bond movie, so of course, it was parodied in the ‘Austin Powers’ films. In the film, Powers, along with Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), have tracked Dr Evil’s “Number 2” (Robert Wagner) to a casino in Vegas, and engage him in a game of Blackjack. It’s a fabulous send-up of the usually tense casino card game.
