If Cash Out was released back in the hey-day of video stores, it would have been a permanent shelf-fixture that would notoriously never rent yet be ubiquitous with its constant presence. Alas, such notoriety will never happen through the streaming channels. Not that Cash Out should have any aspirations of achieving cult status, regardless that John Travolta is the headliner. This generic crime drama might have some fun character moments but the monotony of it all is as forgettable as its title.

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The usually-smooth Travolta sleep-waltzes through this turkey proving that “Cash Out” is not just a title but a stage in a career.

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He plays an all-around thief with the all-around name of Mason Goddard. After nearly getting busted for boosting a Bugatti by the lovely FBI agent Amelia Decker (Kristen Davis) – in a minutes-long scene that accounts for most of the action presented in the trailer – Mason retires. That is, hold your breath as you never saw this coming, until his brother Shawn (Lukas Haas) brings him back for – you guessed it! – one more job.

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That job is billed as a quick in-and-out bank heist. Of course, one that is quickly botched and suddenly becomes a hostage situation. Travolta smiles through it all as personified grace under pressure. One almost expects him to ask, “ain’t it cool?”

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One almost wishes that this was.

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The remainder of the story is a paint-by-numbers routine of bad movie cliches. The commanders of Seattle PD, the FBI, and military ops are each outstandingly incompetent while Travolta’s IT expert (Natali Yura) can seemingly hack into anything, except for an elevator’s controls. Yet, through it all, both Travolta and Davis capture a surprising amount of charm. Yes, he’s the bad boy and she’s a rising star agent but their je ne sais quoi is très appealing and saves what little can be said of the production.

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Written by crime genre screenwriter Doug Richardson and newcomer Dipo Oseni, both who should know enough to try and write up something remotely original, Cash Out is directed by the mononym-ed “Ives” - which is perhaps a better pseudonym than Alan Smithee. Ives works with what he’s got. And what he’s got are a fleet of camera drones from Best Buy. He uses these to dive bomb the first responders, amplify the speed of a race through cubicles, and flow through traffic barricades. Interestingly, Ives fails to use these tools of his during the, albeit brief, opening theft of the Bugatti, which was filmed in a static wide-shot. Not enough in the budget for insurance?

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Mason and Shawn unconvincingly rough up the mulleted bank manager, win over the hearts – or at least stomachs – of their captives with Hawaiian style pizza, and make twelfth hour deals with mob in a half-hearted attempt to spin up some Ocean’s 11 style. Do they escape? Are they caught? Do you really care?

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Other than the theft of a cool 90 minutes of time, Travolta must have stolen enough bank to come back for an already in-production sequel. Obviously, there is still more to cash out.