A casino setting has a unique appeal that makes it an intriguing backdrop for a film. However, this doesn’t mean that any film set in a casino will immediately attract an audience’s attention and have critics applauding it.
There is an enigma and mystery about casino gaming that elevates primarily action or drama films. Those who can get it right and leverage the setting correctly can create a high-quality movie. That said, there isn’t a vast selection of films that explore the casino setting, gambling and the idea of getting one over on the house.
The thrill of outsmarting the house
The casino has the edge, always, and it wouldn’t be a flourishing multibillion-pound sector if there were many ways to get one over on the house. Games like baccarat have received a lot of attention, given that the house edge is lower than in some other games, such as roulette. Edge sorting in baccarat is a method that gained traction as a potential way to beat the casino, as CasinoMeister explains in more detail.
Casinos frown upon anything that gives a player an added advantage. If they find you adopting an approach like edge sorting, angle shooting or other shady methods, they will not look upon this kindly. However, for many, that’s where the thrill lies. Therefore, understandably, it is one of the strongest selling points of movies that focus on outsmarting the house and the thrill of casino gaming.
#1 – Casino Royale (2006)
If we’re talking about movies that encapsulate the thrill of casinos, then there’s no better place to start than with James Bond. It’s hard to think of any character with a stronger link to casino gaming. Although in Ian Fleming’s books, Bond had a penchant for baccarat, Casino Royale covers his expertise in poker and how he manages to keep his cool, even with a prize pot of over $100 million on the table.
There’s more to Casino Royale than just a poker game. The fact that it all builds up to the main scene against the villain of the story, Le Chiffre, and is considered by many to be the best Bond film of the 21st century, speaks volumes about how captivating the story is, especially in the seminal moment when all the chips are down. Although The Guardian ranks Skyfall as a better Craig performance, this is not the general consensus.
#2 – Casino (1995)
Martin Scorsese got together his A-team for his 1995 classic – and given that it’s about a Mob-owned casino, those who tried to outsmart the house in the film were met with a pretty gruesome response.
The film itself, though, is everything you’d expect from Scorsese: brutal, harsh, stylish, great music, a killer ensemble cast and cinematography that blows you away – almost literally – in the opening scene. While it might not have the acclaim or the esteem of some of his iconic films like Taxi Driver or Goodfellas, or his recent return to form with The Irishman, it’s a classic of the casino genre.
#3 – 21 (2008)
The obvious candidate for a casino film in which somebody managed to get one over on the house would have to be 21. Well, we say someone; it was actually a team of college-educated MIT graduates that operated from the late 1970s until the early 2000s.
They were so successful across a range of casinos via their intricate card counting and blackjack gaming methods that it resulted in a gigantic change in how land-based casinos set up their tables and their blackjack shoes, and how they identified card counters.
You could quickly count the number of movies or TV shows based on true stories about how casinos were slow on the uptake and lost their edge to savvy players who spotted a weakness. If you’re looking for a film where the house is fully outsmarted, we’d recommend checking out 21 and the best-selling book it is based on.
#4 – Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Despite the ensemble cast, the bucket-load of money Warner Bros threw at it and the number of spin-off movies it has created, Ocean’s Eleven didn’t quite capture the same feel of a casino as Scorsese did with Casino.
That said, the quality of the cast, the story and the soundtrack have made it a great sample of early 21st-century cinema, and highlights who the biggest names in Hollywood were at that time. Of course, it is based on the Rat Pack film of the same name, so it scores no points for originality. However, it is a solid, fresh, modern version that appeals directly to film buffs who are partial to casino movies.
The MIT team in 21 outsmarted the house, and Ocean’s Eleven also outsmarted it in a way, depending on how you look at it. In contrast, the MIT group used math and card counting to expose a weakness in the casinos that had been so successful for nearly 30 years, and Ocean’s Eleven is just as much a crime drama as a casino film, but they both have their high points.
#5 – Rounders (1998)
Fresh off the remarkable success of Good Will Hunting, a young Matt Damon continued to bolster his acting repertoire, starring in Rounders alongside Ed Norton. Although the film didn’t have anywhere near the same marketing budget as Ocean’s Eleven, or the might of a Scorsese-level director behind it, it developed a cult casino following a few years after its release.
While critics don’t always get it right, the film wasn’t critically successful, and it hasn’t faced revisions or reappraisals like some other classic films.
Although Matt Damon went on to become one of the most substantial success stories in 21st-century Hollywood, this is not a film that stands out in his incredible resume. The film follows the story of a precocious poker talent embroiled in underground gambling games, and all the trials and tribulations that come with such a lifestyle. If you’re a Matt Damon fan and partial to a game of poker, this will be right up your street.
Conclusion
As you can see, some of Hollywood’s biggest names have taken a stab at the casino genre over the years. While they all might have approached gambling and casino gaming from a slightly different angle, it shows that there’s a huge market if they can piece together an idea, story or cast that engages a broader audience.
Those films that outsmart the house – well, who doesn’t love a good underdog story? And Casino Royale? What better character to capture the intensity of a high-stakes game than 007 himself? While there are other examples, the five mentioned here are those we’d recommend as a great starting point.
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