Cash Out

John Travolta joined his former Face/Off star Nicolas Cage in going to VOD movies several years ago.

Travolta cannot even get a cameo in mainstream movies anymore.

That does not stop him from delivering an engaging performance. A reason why he has lasted for 50 years in this business.

The producers of Cash Out were so convinced that it will find an audience. A sequel has already been made.

There is a touch of Out of Sight about this movie. Mason Goddard (Travolta) leads a team that includes his inept brother Shawn (Lukas Haas) to pull off various heists.

A sports car heist goes wrong when his long time squad member Amelia (Kristin Davis) turns out to be an undercover agent.

They manage to escape and Mason is on an enforced retirement.

That is until a few months later, Shawn has got involved in a plan to rob a valuable crypto-wallet from a safety deposit box in a bank. Mason tags along knowing his brother will screw up.

The robbery doesn't go as intended. They now have hostages. Amelia shows up as a hostage negotiator. The box does not contain a crypto-wallet.

It is a dirt box owned by a shady billionaire crook. If the contents are spilled, everyone could end up dead.

On the basis of a low budget VOD movie, this is enjoyable enough. As long as you keep expectations low.

Some of the story does not make much sense. The cast give it their all though but there is a lack of chemistry between Travolta and Davis.

Yep - John Travolta has now sadly joined the likes of Cage, Willis, Gibson and Russell Crowe in making god-awful movies for an easy paycheck and frankly it's sad to see. I mean from Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Swordfish and Pulp Fiction to THIS absolute garbage! Why?

This terrible 'straight to streaming' trash lacks any sembelence of credibility, excitement or originality from the start and while Travolta still has the charisma to mail in a decent enough performance the rest of the cast (including a washed up Kristin Davis and usually decent Lukas Haas) are as throwaway in their parts as the lacklustre script is.

I actually gave up and switched off less than half way through this botched bank heist debacle it was that bad - there really is nothing to keep you interested or engaged here folks.

Amazingly, there seems to be a sequel already in the works!!... which is about as enticing as a fistful of crypto = sad times as Hollywood continues to churn out mundane rubbish and once respected actors become a parody of themselves. What actually happened to GREAT MOVIES starring great actors?!

Cash Out tries to charm its way through the well-worn heist film genre, but stumbles on uneven execution. John Travolta delivers a charismatic performance as Mason, a seasoned thief attempting a complex score. The heist itself is decently staged, but the plot relies on a predictable twist and underdeveloped characters.

While there are some fun moments, particularly the banter between Travolta and his team, the shaky camerawork and forgettable action sequences hold the film back. The biggest missed opportunity lies in the supporting cast. Actors like Kristin Davis and Lukas Haas are wasted in roles that lack depth.

Cash Out isn't a complete wash. Travolta's performance is engaging, and there's enough action to keep things mildly thrilling. But for a truly satisfying heist experience, you're better off looking elsewhere.

A team of criminals led by Mason (John Travolta) attempts their biggest heist.

Cash Out relies heavily on genre tropes to deliver a story devoid of surprises as well as good writing. The action is forgettable. There's a lack of character development. John Travolta's charismatic and laid-back attitude, while entertaining, doesn't come across as a realistic depiction of a professional robber. There were times when the movie scored high on unintentional comedy.

Behind those continuous hyperactive shots that look like the work of a kid who got a drone for Christmas, unnecessarily shaky POV takes, cheap VFX, cheesy dialogue, and Travolta's spectre of expressions being narrower than these criminals' knowledge of how to rob a bank, there might be something positive. For instance.

Although technically speaking, this movie is objectively not well-produced, the featherweight stakes keep it from sinking under the gravity of any sort of pretention. A movie like this can't jump the shark because it never builds itself up enough to let the viewer down. It's floating above the proverbial lake from first moment of the first scene. It is clear that the care and craftsmanship of a masterpiece has not been afforded this job. Although the movie has the production values of an 80s TV action pilot, Travolta was surprisingly compelling, relatively speaking. His natural charisma just brings a minimal level of cresibility, and ge is able to almost single-handedly hold the viewer's interest. It was not surprising to read in the Trivia section that the director abandoned the project before the end of principle filming. Yet, it was easy to watch, the way sit-coms are easy to watch after dinner while your meal digests, and you really don't need anything other than an uncomplicated diversion.