Jay Rohr
High Rollers is betting on a lot. It gambles on the premise that star power such as John Travolta and Gina Gershon will lure audiences. It goes all in on the idea that its previous picture deserved a sequel. The filmmakers have definitely doubled down on a patchwork premise comprised of other better movies. Yet, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee snake eyes. The payout just may not be what High Rollers is hoping for.
The film follows events from Cash Out (2024). John Travolta (Battlefield Earth) returns as expert thief Mason Goddard, along with his nefarious crew. Things quickly go sidewise when the love of his life, Amelia Decker (Gina Gershon), is kidnapped by a ruthless underworld adversary from the first film. He uses her to force Mason and company to do a casino heist. Twist and turns abound as the job becomes increasingly complicated. The thieves soon find themselves in over their heads, and only by betting everything is there any chance of coming out on top.
The narrative is a hodgepodge of notions seen in a lot of heist flicks. High Rollers plays as if someone put the Fast and Furious franchise in a blender with the Oceans movies but obliterated instead of mixed the best parts of those features. Some clever dialogue might have gotten around such a shortcoming, but High Rollers is composed of predictable clichés amidst a mess of exposition dumps. For instance, instead of reacting to red herrings, the thieves will discuss them, elaborating on what they mean for the plot, then outright state where the film is headed next.
Now, a quality cast can overcome such imperfections. To its credit, High Rollers is composed of performers with lengthy resumes. Even if audiences haven’t seen all their titles, High Rollers is far from an amateur show. This works to its advantage since veteran performers like Gershon (Killer Joe), Travolta, and Lukas Haas (The Revenant) have a way of making tiresome dialogue pop. The downside, though, is that those same performers, Travolta in particular, can seem to be acting on sleepy autopilot, reciting lines smoothly without enthusiasm.
As for the few fresh faces, they don’t really bring anything exciting to the picture. Quavo (The Waterboyz) joins the long list of rappers who made the mistake of thinking a film career was the right move. Meanwhile, Natali Yura (The Princess Switch) is okay, but hot girl hacker is getting to be a tiresome trope.
Director Ives (a.k.a. Randall Emmett) brings out the whole bag of action movie cinematic clichés. There’s comforting familiarity to some, though they do risk dullness. The big problem is that he spends the whole bank at the start of High Rollers. It hits peak action during the opening fifteen minutes then quietly plods along without any explosiveness until the very close. And the drones which record one final act shootout inspire the question if that kind of camera work belongs in any kind of cinema.
This could be due to the fact the film wants to be a tense flick focusing on the heist at the heart of the movie. Unfortunately, many of the complications which arise are dreadfully contrived or fail to have any real setup. These might have been interesting obstacles for the main characters to overcome. The problem is that, rather than adding tension, they thud dully, plopped into the story unceremoniously. Consequently, High Rollers lacks the sharp twists and unexpected complications which propel better heist flicks.
Narratively, the shocking shifts are anything but. To be generous, that’s mostly because they rely on audiences being familiar with the first flick. Fortunately, High Rollers is happy to do exposition dumps informing the unfamiliar or those who, for whatever reason, forgot everything that happened in Cash Out. As such, it is possible to jump into this sequel.
Now, here’s the thing, High Rollers isn’t the stylish, stunningly clever thrill ride it wants to be. This feels like the vanity project of a producer who decided it was time for them to play director. Consequently, the best way to watch this movie is without taking it in any way seriously.
The premise is basically a retired thief and his buddies are bullied into a casino heist, robbing a ruthless shrimp boat baron. If you can’t see the potential for comedy in that concept, you’ve just discovered why people don’t invite you to parties. Don’t feel too bad, though, because screenwriter Chris Sivertson didn’t get it either. And since he didn’t go that route, the laughs have to come from elsewhere.
It’s possible to play a drinking game where folks drink every time someone puts a finger to their ear as if using an earpiece that they clearly don’t have to use to communicate. Have a shot every time John Travolta seems to be wondering why he’s in this movie. High Rollers is, without intending to be, a decent action flick for a beer and a pizza night where the movie doesn’t need to be good.
That said, it’s obvious that wasn’t the filmmakers’ goal. High Rollers is a great example of the idea that one or two golden cogs can’t make an exquisite clock. Upgrading to Gina Gershon from Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) was a smart move. However, she’s given so little to do, it’s a clear waste of talent on hand. Such obvious missteps are why the film never rises above action schlock.
There are certainly worse movies. Few of those have the star power necessary to draw an audience. While it isn’t necessarily a comical trainwreck, High Rollers is best enjoyed with cocktails and good company ready to watch it sarcastically. Otherwise, there’s little reason to bet on this straight to oblivion action flick.
