What is the Best Blackjack Movie?

Casino movies are entertaining because the audience is immersed in an exciting world where the characters can win or lose at the turn of a card. The game’s cultural significance makes any blackjack movie, in particular, enjoyable because so many people understand how to play it.

Here, Betsquare looks at the best blackjack movie ever made. We’re adept at finding the best online casinos in Australia for players to visit, so we have the expertise to comment on which films should be regarded as the greatest in blackjack.

Our team has watched countless blackjack movies, so read on to discover those that have made the cut.

The Appeal of Blackjack in Movies

What makes movies about blackjack such an entertaining proposition for movie fans? For starters, these films tend to involve bets and circumstances with so much at stake, with people risking it all for a huge win. While we don’t condone the gambling patterns of many characters portrayed in a movie scene, it is engaging cinema nonetheless.

Card counting may be frowned upon by casinos, but whatever the blackjack rules stipulate, people have tried to beat the system with a cunning plan that gives them an advantage. Some of the movies we mention depict this perfectly.

Overall, people want to see an underdog story of rags to riches when somebody whose luck has been down for a long time finally starts to change. The best films do a fine job of warming the audience to the protagonists, and having a character to root for means viewers are far more engrossed by what’s happening, precisely what the best directors and actors achieve when they get their roles right.

Now, we can dive into our list containing the best blackjack movie contenders to highlight what makes the blackjack card game such an entertaining prospect.

Every blackjack movie needs twists to entertain the audience, with stories taking turns you wouldn’t expect. Making a blackjack movie isn’t easy because any seasoned gambler will know the casino experience, so even the finer details must be very accurate. Here is our list containing the ten frontrunners to stake a claim to be the best blackjack film of all time.

21 (2008)

As Jim Sturgess’s character, Ben Campbell stuns his mathematics professor at MIT by solving a complicated equation, he is invited to join the university’s blackjack society and learn how to count cards. Ben becomes successful at this and begins to amass vast sums of money, but his love for the game starts to negatively impact his studies, and his life begins to spiral out of control because of it.

The 21 blackjack movie encapsulates how a genius can gain an advantage through card counting, but it also illustrates the perils of addiction.

Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Spacey, and Kate Bosworth also star in this blackjack movie based on a true story that did very well at the box office as Ben Campbell finds out, once he is denied graduation, a casino employee attempts to keep winnings himself after they are confiscated.

Rain Man (1988)

Dustin Hoffman stars in possibly one of the most famous blackjack movies ever, alongside Tom Cruise, to win big from a card-counting ploy at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Hoffman’s portrayal of Raymond, an autistic man with incredible mathematics skills, won him an Oscar for Best Actor and the Rain Man movie is credited with raising awareness for neurodiversity.

However, Cruise’s character in Rain Man, Charlie, Raymond’s estranged brother, is exploitative towards his sibling and uses Raymond’s abilities for his greed. But at least he becomes a better person along the way.

Since its first release in 1988, Rain Man has been referenced in movies and television shows for decades. It has introduced more people to card counting and shown that it’s not nearly as simple as some believe it to be. It’s a heartwarming film that shows that character development is essential and helps people understand others better.

The Gambler (2014)

Dostoevsky’s classic novel, which is the same name, was brought to life on the big screen in 2014, starring big Hollywood names like Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, and John Goodman. Jim Bennett, Wahlberg’s character who is a literature professor with a crippling gambling addiction, gets himself into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt through one blackjack game after another, resulting in considerable losses, and it seems to keep piling up; the people he owes are not people you’d want to mess with, either.

His only way out of trouble is to rig a basketball game for the sake of a bet and then one roulette game, which could determine his and his family’s fate. The ending is intense and full of high-stakes drama, coming down to one spin of the wheel. It’s not entirely a blackjack movie, but that’s how it all begins for Bennett, and The Gambler movie is certainly worth watching.

Casino (1995)

A film with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone on the screen and Martin Scorsese as the director was never bound to disappoint. Its box office income almost tripled its budget and is viewed by many as an intense depiction of mafia involvement in Las Vegas while delving deeper into the characters’ inner psyche.

Among the best blackjack movies ever, the Casino movie plot is an extensive look through the lens of corrupt casino owners and what life looks like in the daily operations of a large-scale land casino.  

One scene, when Pesci’s character, Nicky Santoro, loses his head at the blackjack table and gets abusive with the dealers, stands out for many above the rest. His violent behaviour aside, it is unquestionably an entertaining scene that reminds us of the importance of keeping your emotions in check at the casino table, whether your luck is in or not. The Casino 1995 production will forever be viewed as a must-see gambling movie.

The Last Casino (2004)

The Last Casino, also known as La Mise Finale because it’s a Canadian film with some French influence, is another casino movie that revolves around the MIT blackjack team, much like 21. Charles Martin Smith plays Doug Barnes, a mathematics professor who is banned from casinos without getting any winnings for card counting but wants a group of talented students to win his money back and take a share of the winnings for themselves.

The team is at risk of local casino owners discovering their plan, so they must bounce from one region to another, hoping they won’t be recognised. Like other movies about blackjack featuring players who’ve devised a ploy to trick a casino out of money, double-crossing has become a theme; nobody can trust each other too much in this whirlwind film, which was received very well by critics.

Croupier (1998)

Croupier is the movie that many credit with catapulting Clive Owen’s Hollywood career as he plays the lead role in the Croupier movie. Rarely do we hear about the lives of a croupier, but this movie shows us that everybody at the table, not just the players, has drama and problems in their lives. This film also explains the role and complexity of a croupier’s job in good detail.

Jack Manfred gets this job as a struggling writer, but it is much more than he bargained for. His actions threaten his relationship and career, and he gets caught up in a heist plan. Although it was a relatively low-budget film, this blackjack movie performed very well in North America. It depicts the struggles of a working person very well and accurately represents what life in a casino is like. 

The Cooler (2003)

The term ‘cooler’ might not be one that many are familiar with if they don’t spend a lot of time in casinos, but Bernie Lootz became a casino employee because his luck was so bad. Essentially, he was brought in to stop others from winning as part of repaying his gambling debt. William Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, and Alec Baldwin are all featured in The Cooler.

The Cooler movie is an interesting spin on what we expect from blackjack movies, but it is entertaining at the same time. A love affair helps improve his luck in life and at the tables, which is ironically bad for his job. His partner is told to leave town, as she is viewed as the reason for his upturn in fortune, so Lootz has a choice – does he stay or risk it all for love?

Licence to Kill (1989)

James Bond’s Licence to Kill simply had to be on this list of blackjack films. 007 embarked on yet another mission for MI6 to serve his country, as Timothy Dalton is the lead actor in this edition of the classic franchise. This film undoubtedly glamorises high-rollers in the luxurious casino setting, and Licence to Kill is known across the planet thanks to the fanfare that comes with any James Bond film.

In what was many people’s favourite scene in Licence to Kill, Bond wagers $250,000 across several blackjack hands at a casino, requesting a no-limits game from the dealer. When he doubles his money quickly, the casino is on high alert that they may be about to lose significantly to the British secret agent. A beautiful new dealer, perhaps distracting Bond, changes his luck. Among James Bond productions, this ranks highly.

Swingers (1996)

The Swingers movie starts with a heartbroken man who needs a friend to pick him up, and his idea of doing so is a guys’ trip to Las Vegas. A lot goes wrong for the pair when they’re attempting to enjoy the high life in Las Vegas, including the blackjack game scene where Trent (Vince Vaughn) coerces Nikki (Jon Favreau) into doubling down when he hits 11 on his hand yet finishes up with 18 compared to the dealer’s 21.

It sets the tone for a complex set of circumstances for the protagonists, who are short of cash in this brilliant comedy, which was one of the best movies about blackjack in the 1990s. Vince Vaughn might always be thankful for his role in this film as it paved the way for him to become a more mainstream actor and a household name in the industry. 

The Hangover (2009)

Although The Hangover is less about blackjack and more about the after-effects of a big night out in Las Vegas, it’s become a modern-day comedy classic. Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms star as Phil, Alan, and Stu, the groomsmen for Doug, who has no idea what his friends are getting him into. The movie was so commercially successful that two more films followed it up to form a trilogy.

The Hangover movie hilariously leaves the audience as much in the dark about the events from the night before as the lead characters, who try to piece together exactly what happened, and the only clues they have are Mike Tyson, a baby, a tiger, and the seedy Vegas underworld. The pressure is on the eccentric Alan to win big on the casino tables in this blackjack movie to save his friend and the wedding.

Conclusion

As you can see, there have been many enjoyable movies about blackjack spanning decades. Determining the best blackjack movie from those we’ve listed is difficult and often depends on what you’re looking for from a film.

Rain Man was an Oscar-winning production, Casino’s Sharon Stone was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, and Licence to Kill is known worldwide as part of the 007 franchise. Then again, The Hangover is often considered one of the best comedies ever.

Whether the main character wants to play blackjack to win big, is plotting a scheme to put the odds in their favour, or feels that the only way to repay their debts is to play blackjack, there’s so much entertainment on offer with any of these options. It’s not only land casinos that provide gambling entertainment, as online casinos offer players an avenue to chance their luck at making money.

Based on what you’ve read above, you should read through our suggestions for safe online casinos to ensure the site you’re playing on is trusted and you are given a fair chance of winning.