Cash Out Review: John Travolta Negotiates With His Ex-Lover In Funny Action Heist Caper Gone Wrong

As the story of a retired criminal drawn back into one last job, there’s nothing in Cash Out that we haven’t seen before, an action heist that, despite its clichéd concept, is still loads of fun. With John Travolta as the notorious international criminal Mason Goddard and Kristin Davis as his ex-lover and double-crossing FBI agent Amelia Decker, Cash Out is more about traversing an awkward break-up than it is a classic heist caper. With lots of tongue-in-cheek humor, first-time director Ives has delivered a movie that knows it’s a little bit ridiculous but just runs with it.

Cash Out starts with a standard set-up of two lovers posing as luxury car enthusiasts, only to be quickly revealed as experienced criminals in the midst of a job who were taking off with the vehicles. However, this meticulously planned heist was quickly turned on its head when Amelia flashed her badge and, after two years of conning him, revealed she was an FBI agent who had finally gathered enough evidence to take Mason in. Although Mason and his crew get away, Travolta’s character is left dumbfounded, heartbroken, and ready to call it quits on his life of crime.

John Travolta Must Negotiate With His Ex While Trying To Pull Off One Last Job

Mason and Amelia’s unresolved relationship is at the center of Cash Out

Amelia’s betrayal of Mason is the emotional core of Cash Out, and it’s compounded by her being the lead negotiator after he’s trapped inside a bank following Mason’s inept brother Shawn (Lukas Haas) forcing him to pull off one last heist. The funniest moments in Cash Out come from Mason and Amelia trying to negotiate with one another with all the polite mannerisms of an ex-couple meeting up for coffee to clear the air after their split. As the heist goes wrong due to Shawn’s poorly staged plan, Mason scrambles to clean up his brother’s increasingly worsening mess.

There are plenty of twists and turns, conspiracies, and high-stakes action throughout Cash Out, but it is also somewhat stilted and predictable, with the chemistry between Travolta and Davis, who viewers will know as Charlotte from Sex and the City, being slightly off. The hip-hop artist Quavo and The Fast and the Furious actor Noel Gugliemi provide support in their roles as Anton and Hector, two heist crew members playing good-cop-bad-cop with the bank hostages. Overall, the cast of Cash Out give acceptable performances, but there are no standout roles, and the characters suffer from being a little too one-dimensional.

Throughout Cash Out, there are many themes that come to the forefront involving Mason and Amelia’s relationship, the fraught but loving brother relationship between Mason and Shawn, and an ever-deepening conspiracy involving the true nature of the heist. While these themes and ideas give Cash Out plenty to work with, as a swift 90-minute movie, they also end up overwhelming the concept. With plenty of moving pieces, none of the recurring themes feel like they’re given enough attention, nor are they explored thoroughly enough to be truly effective.

Despite Flaws, Ives Delivers An Enjoyable Heist Movie

While Cash Out is a lot of fun, it doesn’t live up to Travolta’s best action movies

The heart of Cash Out is in the love story of Mason and Amelia, but, as the consequences of the heist take over the plot, I found myself wishing for more screen time between the pair. This lack of focus in the film’s main relationship becomes even more frustrating after the CIA goes over Amelia’s head and her role as negotiator is superseded by another agent. Hilarious interactions, like the hostage trade where Mason immediately gives into Amelia’s requests because they’re fair, should have been given more time to shine.

Overall, Cash Out is a fine action movie, and Travolta does well with the material, although it pales in comparison to the glory days of Face/Off. Reportedly, a sequel has been filmed by director Randall Emmett (via WLOX), known for producing movies like The Irishman, so this is not the last we’ll see of Mason Goddard and Amelia Decker, whose open-ended story could act as the beginning of a new action franchise for Travolta. While Cash Out doesn’t live up to the best heist capers, it’s a lot of fun and doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that.