Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

merklekranz What a respected actor like Charles Martin Smith is doing in this Canadian clunker, is a true mystery? Adding his name to the DVD case can get your attention, but unfortunately, the story itself is so badly written, Charles Martin Smith surely must have regretted his involvement. A lot about "The Last Casino" is annoying, including the totally unrealistic premise, casino security, motivation, and rapid camera movements. No one will be pleased here, not the gamblers, because it is so trivial, and certainly not the Charles Martin Smith fans, because his talents are totally wasted. You have been warned. - MERK

jonathanruano Before "21" came along, there was Pierre Gill's "The Last Casino," which is about Professor Barnes (played very well by Charles Martin Smith) creating his own card counting team to win a huge fortune in Canada's major casinos -- and, oh yes, Barnes also needs the money to pay off his booky Mr. Orr who has his own peculiar way of ensuring the prompt repayment of outstanding debts. "The Last Casino" has half the glitz and thrills of "21"; it even had to do without Kevin Spacey, Lawrence Fishburne and Rihanna's single "Shut up and drive." Yet, it was so much better and far more original than "21" ever was. Many factors contribute to making this under-appreciated film a jewel. To begin with, you can tell the writer Steven Westren put a lot of thought into his screenplay. He created original characters, including the ones that only had small parts. He put the protagonists -- essentially the team of card counters, Elyse (Katherine Isabelle), Scott (Kris Lemche) and George (Albert Chung) -- in the kinds of situations you (or I) would never expect in a film like this. But most importantly, Pierre Gill and Steven Westren succeeded in filling the scenes at the gambling table with tension and thereby conjured up the feelings and impulses of the people who were prepared to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table on a single bet. I also appreciated the surprise at the end of the film, which is so cleverly done that it may leave many of the viewers scratching their heads.The other factor that makes this film great are the performances. Charles Martin Smith does a great job as the professor whose deep in debt, because his gambling via card counting finally got the best of him. Katherine Isabelle puts in a good performance as Elyse, as does Kris Lemche and Albert Chung as her companions so that, by the end, we (as an audience) are able to sympathize with all of them. But the one person who almost steals the show in this movie is Julian Richings whose performance as Mr. Orr must go down in the history books as one of the best (if not the best) villain roles in recent times.

mechdiff After reading all the great reviews on this film I decided to rent it. Not only is it about gambling, one of my favourite movie subjects but it is a Canadian film. I have watched a few Canadian films in the past and haven't been too impressed with the stories. This is not true with The Last Casino. I would recommend this to anyone who likes gambling themes in movies. This film definitely had a good story and good character development. Cinematography is great with different shades and hues depending on the locations.The actors are not very well known which adds to this films allure. I feel that you really get into the characters if you don't have any sort of pre conceived ideas of what they are all about, or if they haven't been type casted. Well worth the rental and I would even suggest a purchase of this DVD for your home collection. It does however lack extra features, meaning there are none whatsoever.To summarize the story...The movie centres around a math professor with a gambling problem, he is bankrolled by a mafioso type character that looks like he has a heroin problem. Things start to go bad when the professor gets banned from the casinos and his disguises are not fooling the eye in the sky. This is when he recruits 3 students to become part of his gambling ring to count cards and bet big to pay back his gambling debts. Various twists and turns in the movie makes this an interesting viewing.

leper03 I second the comment that this movie is one of the best of 2004. I'll actually go as far as to say this is THE best movie of 2004! The brilliant writing, convincing acting, skilled directing, and all other aspects of this film come together wonderfully to create a masterpiece. The plot is fresh and fairly unconventional, releasing its pathway from the overused movie plot clone formulae of Hollywood (ugh). The characters are all very lifelike and are performed masterfully by the actors! The music is also well done. I never felt myself distracted by flamboyant themes, but instead was drawn in by the music which worked perfectly to enhance the action on screen. I can't wait to see future movies by this relatively new director, skilled writer, and these great new actors.I recommend this movie whole-heartedly! Bravo Canada!