Doesn’t it bug you when your ex is the one who has to negotiate a hostage situation? That’s just one of the snags John Travolta’s career-criminal character hits in Cash Out, a new Saban Films B-movie out this week. Vincent Vega has been having a moment lately — what with his best film ever, Pulp Fiction, just celebrating its 30th anniversary — and it’s nice to see him back in action being bad again alongside fellow vets Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) and Lukas Haas (Babylon).
Bonus points if you’re already a fan of heist movies, maybe even with some knowledge of the ever-evolving crypto space. Cash Out benefits from fast pacing and features more than just its three stars we all know and love. If you don’t expect any Oscar-worthy content here, you might have some fun with this one.
As all good heist flicks do, Cash Out begins with a job gone wrong. It’s all pretty formulaic stuff, but seeing vets such as Travolta and Kristin Davis play something like a power couple (with a twist) makes it worth it. They’re snappily dressed crooks on the job for stealing a fancy car or two or five, but when Amelia (Davis) shows her true detective colors to Mason (Travolta), he panics and flees for an apparently quiet life on a remote lake in what seems like nowhere.
Cut to years later: Younger brother Shawn (Haas) tracks down Mason and — of course — has a job in mind that will get him back into the game. We may be done with the past, but the past ain’t through with us yet. You know where this is going, but there are some fun little twists along Mason’s road back into the suck — er … life of dangerous crime.
No spoilers here, but one thing leads to another and Mason is back in civilization. Specifically, a bank vault with his airhead brother Shawn, who swears he knows exactly where a ridiculously wealthy cryptocurrency wallet is being kept. They’ve taken bank teller Georgios (Swen Temmel) hostage, a seemingly harmless guy who’s really bad at keeping a straight face. You can’t help but laugh — on his side— at these two grown men arguing about how they’re in over their heads for a job whose prize money is nowhere to be found. “I swear it was supposed to be right here!” says Shawn again and again and again during the creepy second act.
For some light-hearted comic relief: Hip-hop fans will appreciate seeing Quavo on the big screen as Anton, a.k.a. Shawn’s big-mouthed colleague who’s there to keep the increasingly terrified hostages inside the bank entertained. Another familiar face here is longtime character actor Noel Gugliemi (Bruce Almighty) as fellow thief Hector, who’s also there to keep heavy artillery trained on innocent bank customers. The only reason this movie is rated R is because of these guys’ nonstop expletives.
The most exciting part is when Mason talks to his previous lover Amelia, who posed as his girlfriend for two years while working undercover with the FBI on a case against him. He sends her into a spin by flirting with her over the phone and suggesting they go away together after everything is done.
He just needs “50 feet” around the bank and pizzas for the hostages right now, while his idiot brother Shawn tries to find out where in the facility the money behind the targeted crypto wallet is. If you’re anything like me and don’t understand how any of this digital currency stuff works either, you’ll be laughing at these old thieves trying to figure it out in this new world.
Cash Out 2 has already been filmed, Haas told MovieWeb recently – not that we’re surprised. Yes, it’s basic and predictable and cookie-cutter, but there’s something about Travolta arguing with criminals and exes about “knocking the hustle” in today’s age that can be very funny. Davis was always our favorite on Sex and the City, so it’s great to see her back even if Amelia is less scandalous than Charlotte York ever was – well, slightly less. She still has some tricks up her sleeve here. Be warned!