The film industry has always had a positive relationship with the casino, often portraying it through a unique, sometimes exaggerated yet faithful-in-nature lens. Throughout the many decade-long history of cinema, we have seen countless great films often implementing casinos not only in specific scenes but also as backdrops to entire plots.
As such, the number of examples that one can choose from is truly large, when discussing the greatest portrayals, hence why we are focusing on a specific casino game, that being Blackjack. The game has always had a certain allure to it, based on the relative skill demand in comparison with some other games. This serves as one of its main selling points, attracting many gamers who do not want to rely entirely on luck.
Of course, the keyword here is, entirely, as Blackjack still demands good luck, but there is a lot more room for intrigue and drama, looking at it from a storytelling perspective. Below, we will be exploring some scenes that managed to capture this intrigue and drama in an effective manner, in mediums including, but not limited to films.
Blackjack Inclusions in James Bond Films
Let us start strong by looking at one of the most iconic action heroes in literature and film history, James Bond. Having a several decade-long history, and the honor of being portrayed by some of the greatest actors of all time, Bond films maintain relevance and popularity even in the modern age.
Throughout the said history, we have several examples of 007 delving into the world of casinos, actually having quite contrasting portrayals of the establishments in the original 1967 ‘Casino Royale’, and its complete remake in 2006. Of course, this is natural though, as the original film is listed as a spy parody, a part of a very niche sub-genre, and as such has a much lighter tone, often criticized by the fans of the series.
Said fans almost definitively consider the 2006 version to be a worthy adaptation of Ian Fleming’s original 1953 novel, as well as one of the best Bond films of all time. Without turning this into a film review, let us explore the casino scene, and talk about how it was handled in Daniel Craig’s Bond debut.
While not technically a Blackjack game, it is one of the most iconic showdowns at a Blackjack table in modern film history, perfectly capturing the intelligence and confidence of both James Bond, as well as his adversary, Le Chiffre, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat by something as simple as a card game.
While this certainly is the most popular casino scene from the series, there are more, ‘License to Kill’ being a perfect example for our case. The film was the fifth and last Bond project from the director John Glen, hitting the theaters in 1989. Actor Tim Dalton was portraying 007 at the time, giving the audience yet another casino, Blackjack scene.
Disguised as a businessman, in pursuit of yet another big-time criminal, James Bond sits at a Blackjack table under the surveillance of Franz Sanchez, the main antagonist of the film, hoping to get closer to him and unravel more information, all the while keeping up his disguise. Essentially, textbook spy operation from what seems to be one of the more serious and straightforward versions of James Bond.
Blackjack in Video Games
Of course, films are not the only medium that encompasses the digital entertainment market. As the popularity of video games keeps growing, we get more and more projects engulfing an incredible variety of different genres and styles. As such, there are plenty of games that have implemented some sort of casino mini-game systems, hoping to establish a connection between two different hobbies a gamer may have.
And while films have long portrayed blackjack in physical casinos, the rise of online gaming has introduced new ways to experience the game. Many video games have implemented casino mini-games, resembling the gameplay of blackjack online, allowing players to enjoy the thrill of the game from the comfort of their homes. These mini-games encapsulate the concept of blackjack while letting players escape the main storyline, often featuring realistic graphics and mechanics.
Rockstar games have done this multiple times through different games. One of, if not the most popular videogame series, Grand Theft Auto has featured Blackjack in different entries of the franchise. Notably, ‘San Andreas’ (2004), a game still considered by many to be the peak of the franchise, and GTA Online, a not-so-beloved, extremely polarizing game mode built on the mechanics of GTA V.
Other games include ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ (2018), ‘The Wither 3’ (2015), ‘Fallout’ (2010), and many more, all putting their unique spins on the game Blackjack while keeping the core of the game the same.
Conclusion
Overall, there are many unique and interesting portrayals of Blackjack in all kinds of different media. As both the casino and the digital entertainment market grow, who knows what future collaborations it may bring? After all, throughout all the decades, casinos have proven to have a certain appeal to audiences, hence their frequent incorporations into the mediums.
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This post was last modified on March 25, 2024 9:49 am