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This heist thriller has all the well-worn tropes of the genre, but none of the urgency.
If you've ever wondered when a heist movie will combine traditional bank robbery scenes with the current obsession with cryptocurrencies, “Cash Out” answers that question. But there's little in this John Travolta vehicle that feels new or even timely, with the would-be thriller directed by Ives relying solely on the well-worn tropes now de rigueur for the genre. ing. As you might have guessed, this is the story of the main character's last job before he finally quits. This is also how I imagine the role itself was pitched to Travolta.
At the moment, actors like past prime sluggers who are trailing in career batting averages are bringing household names to “Cash Out,” but without the vibrancy we've seen in the past. He plays Mason Goddard, who is spotted arriving with femme fatale femme fatale Amelia Decker (Kristin Davis) on a private jet to a glitzy gathering as an excuse to steal a multimillion-dollar car. He clearly intends to convey a sense of luxury, but the low-rent production values make both the characters and the film feel dated from the get-go. That seems easy enough, especially with the support of Mason's experienced staff, but when Amelia pulls a gun on Mason and reveals that her true loyalty was with the FBI all along, Then everything will be pear-shaped. He never saw the double cross coming. Maybe it's because he's never seen the caper's opening sequence before.
He and his team evade capture with Plan B, which is simply to drive into the ocean in plain sight of their pursuers and hope that the police will immediately abandon the search, but for some reason they do. . A combination of heartbreak and failure leads to the world-weary crew leader retiring, but of course it doesn't last long. His younger brother Sean (Lukas Haas), who has a bit of a Fredo vibe, needs him. actual Last job. Just when I thought he was out…
Every line of dialogue that follows from this boring premise is like an echo from a better movie. Don't worry, when you hear one of Mason's men say, “We've got some friends” when the police show up, you might wonder why we never watch something like “Heat” again . Some familiarity might be forgivable, at least given the inventive set-pieces, but the actual bank robbery is as mundane as everything else in “Cash Out.”
While it's clear that this robbery attempt is extremely reckless, it's even clearer that Mason still carries the torch for his ex-lover despite her betrayal, and she is ultimately sent in as a negotiator. If that happens, it will be unavoidable. She quickly resolves the hostage situation peacefully. Our protagonist naturally takes this as an opportunity and asks her if she is in her cause, rather than demanding the nonviolent release of her captors. Sure, it's contrived, but it also leads to the one exchange that distinguishes this film from its myriad genre ancestors.
Mason brings an energy to the robbery that shouldn't exist here, treating the hostages like reluctant guests rather than threatening them with a pistol into submission. It's a refreshing change of pace from what we typically see in such scenes, even if it does highlight one of the film's key weaknesses: its lack of urgency. The film never seems to muster the energy of itself, as Mason struggles to use a job he doesn't want to do as a chance to win back his estranged lover rather than as a means to get rich. Let us care about much of this.
So the safe deposit box in question is not a jackpot, but a can of worms. Its exact contents, not to mention its owner, soon seem more problematic than it's worth. The same goes for the “cash-out” itself, but it doesn't justify the risk-reward ratio being pulled back.
