Movies about gambling are generally dramas because the underlying story is that the characters take major financial risks. It is far more fun to watch someone putting all of their money into one bet to win big, for more information check here, than it is to see a gambler play cautiously.
Gambling movies will either depict a heist of some kind or follow a character that has a problem with gambling. Many of the movies on this list are considered realistic in terms of everything that goes on in the gambling scene. From thriller, action, despair, and drama, these eight movies should be on your next list of gambling flicks to check out.
The Ocean’s Franchise
Set around a group of criminals that plan to rob many different gambling institutions, all three of the Ocean’s franchise were major box office hits. With a budget of only $35 million, the three movies grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
The movies included stellar cast members including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and many more well-known actors. Instead of focusing on the hunt for the criminals, the movies display the various heists as something of an art form to be desired. The way the story is portrayed, a person almost roots for the criminals because of their master plan that seems impossible.
21
Six students from MIT in the early 2000s are recruited by a maths professor to illegally count cards in the hopes of winning millions of dollars. Based on a true story, 21 depicts a group of intelligent maths students who learn how to trick the system by taking advantage of their counting skills. This movie has drama, thrills, and action as the audience follows the team as they try to outrun law enforcement.
There is a lot of adrenaline-rushing scenes with a few twists and turns in the story along the way. The Blackjack Team notoriously beat the house for almost 10 years before getting caught. The whole cast performs amazingly well to highlight the dangers of illegal gambling in a perspective that audiences engage with.
Molly’s Game
Centred around a woman who starts an underground high-stakes poker event, Molly’s Game has action, thrills, and suspense. The story follows Molly as she recounts how she started the illegal gambling ring that led to her arrest by the FBI. Aaron Sorkin’s story makes the audience feel for the protagonist because of Molly’s clever strategies that prove highly lucrative in the poker world of high-stakes rollers.
Based on a true story, this movie also alludes to the dangers of gambling and the difficulties that Molly Bloom had to go through. The legal regulations surrounding gambling are strict, and this movie shows you what not to do. Check out this review of the best sites for gambling to learn more about how to play safely and legally to avoid a similar situation. This website reviews all the available gambling sites in the UK so that every player can enjoy their favourite online games. Check out this UK review website to understand more about the gambling commission and how online betting is regulated.
Rounders
Starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, Rounders is about an avid past gambler who has to return to his high stakes addiction to help a close friend pay off his debt to loan sharks. Critics rated this movie as one of the best ones released in 2009 because of its depiction of the world of gambling.
Many fans reported that Rounders accurately showed the reality of the gambling world with gut-wrenching drama that kept audiences involved in the storyline. This poker drama story can even be seen as educational, as it illustrates the significances of uncontrollable gambling.
Revolver
Just released from prison after spending seven years behind bars, Jake Green takes it upon himself to amass as much money as he can from gambling. The aim is to take his revenge on the man that sent him to prison. Learning that he has a rare disease that will kill him in a few days, Jake Green decides he has nothing left to lose and embarks on his revenge scheme.
Jason Statham and Ray Liotta provide excellent performances, but a person may need to watch this movie a few times to get all the details. The cinematography is visually stunning, and the storyline is so complex that some plot twists will mess with a person’s head.
Hard Eight
This movie is 25 years old and still one of the best flicks about gambling out there. It portrays John, who is broke and alone when he meets Sydney. Sydney teaches John how to gamble and shows him all the tricks of the trade. Everything is going well until John falls for a waitress who also works as a prostitute.
Hard eight is both a crime flick and a drama that is considered unusual to many fans. Similar to Pulp Fiction, this movie focuses on how people enter another person’s life and changes their reality forever.
The Gambler
Following an English teacher, Mark Wahlberg plays Axel Freed with a serious gambling addiction. The character soon loses all of his money and is now on the run from dangerous criminals. For anyone who loves Blackjack, The Gambler is far from predictable.
Despite the dangers that Axel faces, he battles the most to control his gambling addiction. The movie boasts a great script to show the dangers of addiction, and how far someone will go to save their life.
Owning Mahowny
With access to a multimillion-dollar bank account, Owning Mahowny is about a bank manager who gets himself into a very messy situation. Dan Mahowny’s story is based on the real-life events of the largest single-handed bank fraud case in Canada.
Dan has a major gambling addiction that he just cannot stop but he manages to win an amazing $10 million in just over a year. It’s easy to see that he continues gambling because he is so good at it.
These eight movies about gambling will keep you entertained for days on end. Although the storylines are very similar in many of these instalments, they are all equally exciting to watch with fast-paced action and touching drama stories.
