Hard Cash (2002) User Reviews (54)

Okay flick

[jmarcel · 5/10 · 26 June 2002]

This movie received alot of negative reviews. The "special effects" were cheesy, especially the background car scenes. You could tell the actors were in a prop car in front of a blue screen. The editing was rough an alot of places.

I actually didn't hate it as much as I thought I would after reading all these "worst film ever" reviews. Maybe that is what it takes. Expect the worst and you'll think it is "okay".

Slater is good in this one. Kilmer is over the top but good as the quirky bad guy. I had fun with this movie. I thought it could have ended better, but overall, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen. It has the predictable "get me out of here before the bomb explodes" scene and the double crosses and such so don't expect anything new. If it comes on cable, you may want to check it out if nothing else is on. I wouldn't recommend going out of the way to rent/watch it though.

Run for the incinerator and burn it

[shoalin · 3/10 · 18 December 2002]

One of the most senseless, poorly executed and forgettable pieces of trash I have seen this century. Even though Val Kilmer and Christian Slater have done their fare share of clinkers, they've generally been in more good than bad films, so I have no idea how much money or other leverage was used to make them both sign on to this shoddy bit of an action-crime dramedy.

The camera work is not bad though, with very passable and sometimes quite colorful cinematography (you've never seen life as New Jersey trailer trash look so pretty). But the plot is completely unbelieveable and ridiculously executed with downright embarassing scripting, dialogue, editing and pacing.

As for character development, the only person I had any sympathy for was a cameo: Jose, the poor Mexican wetback who had a halfway funny scene selling oranges about mid-way through the film. I never felt sorry for Slater's character and his threatened daughter, the main protangonist and innocent of the film, because the plot was so completely wonky with unbelievable twists. I could of personally improved this picture 200% with about 10 pages of very doable suggestions, scene reorderings, dialogue changes and other cosmetics.

Do what the director and producers should of done with this thing before it was ever released or put to video, and run for the incinerator and burn it!

Val and Christian, shame on you for lending your names to this thing!!

Hard to Watch!

[gazineo-1 · 3/10 · 23 December 2002]

Innept and boring action flick in which an ex-con (Slater) with some strange partners (including Miss Hannah in a lame performance) pull out an audacious robbery but are mistreat by a corrupt FBI agent (Kilmer). Senseless and vulgar, this movie is a real example of the bad influences within the late productions of America cinema. Hard to watch in every way with a ridiculous ending that agravatted the final result. I give this a 03 (three).

You get what you pay for

[JesperT · 2/10 · 2 July 2004]

...and for "Run for the Money" the definitely did not spend a lot on the car scenes, the plot, the script, the actors, the special effects and the jokes.

Well-known (to call them great would be an overstatement) actors and actresses such as Christian Slater, Darryl Hannah and Val Kilmer simply put in rubbish performances.

I had a couple of laughs, but only because the whole thing is hilariously poor - and just gets worse and worse as you go along.

I can't believe anyone ever wanted to finance this. A more appropriate title would have been "Run from the Money".

I give it a 2 - simply because I did laugh twice, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Well this sucks...

[udeaasykle · 2/10 · 28 March 2004]

To pretty known actors, Val Kilmer and Christian Slater. I thought, well this can go both ways. Well it went south and pretty fast. This movie sucks bigtime. What are these people thinking about making a movie like this. Do they actually hug eachother in the end and say. Wow guys, we have made an excellent movie. ??? The low point of the movie is of course all the driving scenes. It looks more real in Austin Powers and there the backgound is in black and white. And the way they manage to escape in the end, i didn't know whether to laugh or stick my eyes out with a rusty object. Nothing more to say i guess. This movie sucks but it doesn't suck enough to get a 1 so i will give it a 2.

an overly twisted plot and mediocre characters make this a weak movie at best.

[one_madrak · 3/10 · 20 February 2005]

How could a movie with Val Kilmer AND Christian Slater go so wrong? It starts out strong with a clever theft plan, but then the plan AND the movie sort of fall apart (although the theft scenes are fun to watch). Both Val and Christian bring their usual acting skills to bear, but their characters are not well written, so we end up not really caring what happens to them. The dialog is weak for most of the movie, with no really memorable lines, and there are a number of poorly supported plot twists, such as the cuckolding and betrayal among a trio of secondary characters and the sudden death of another secondary character (the circumstances surrounding his death are somewhat ambiguous, which only further weakens the movie). Add to this a collection of clichés (such as Christian Slater's casting aside the stolen money because his daughter doesn't want him to be a thief anymore), and you have a movie which leaves the viewer feeling unimpressed and cheated out of the time it took to watch.

This movie sucked

[jeffweiss · 4 January 2003]

This is one of the worst films that I have ever watched. I rented it because I had faith in Slater and Kilmer - I was disappointed. The plot started out ok but quickly went sour. Same with the acting. The funniest part was the boating sequence. Ever watch a movie where people are in a car and the make-believe background is whipping around behind them in the rear window while they make stupid movements behind the wheel ? Picture it in a boat. Save your money, save your time. Ignore this movie.

Only the third "1"

[HulkVader · 1/10 · 18 August 2002]

I grant you, I've only been reviewing movies on IMDb for three years now. And, in that time, I've only doled out two 1's for movies that were utterly abominable in every way, absolutely without redemption. Well, make it three. Hard Cash, aka Run for the Money, is simply one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Everything in this film - from the dialogue to the acting to the action to the plot to the direction - on their own are embarrassingly horrid, but combine to make a complete flop, bomb, and any other derogatory adjective I could possibly conjure. What amazes even further is that the cast contains some actors of repute: Kilmer (who, admittedly, has been in decline since refusing the fourth Batman film, a disgrace of a movie in it's own right), Woodbine, Hannah, etc. I truly hope those three actors (all of whom turned in horrific performances) fired their respective agents after this career-killer. As for Slater, well, I'm sure he was happy just to be working. In conclusion, do not, under any circumstances, subject yourself to this mockery of film-making. It's 90 minutes of your life you will never, ever get back.

Awful Awful Awful

[limbic69 · 2/10 · 20 October 2002]

I wrote my first review a week ago about the movie called 'Overboard'. I gave it a rather terrible review and I didn't think I would have to rescue other poor viewers from watching a similar movie so soon. I saw this movie and said great Slater and Kilmer together this could be a real good action movie. O how wrong I was!!! What a waste of my time, money and patience. I would have had more fun had I pulled each of my toenails out. I can't say this any simpler, THIS MOVIE IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!!. Do not torture yourself by watching this movie. The car scenes looked like something out of the 1940's, ooo so many questions why why why??? Why would Slater and Kilmer appear in a movie like this? Why would any of the named actors appear in this movie?? Are they part of Scientology who made them appear similar to John Travolters appearance in Battle Ship Earth? Why would they pay actors I imagine 6 figure salaries and then spend $2 on the special effects? Why did Slater embarrass himself? I have lost considerably respect toward him, and in fact all those who bothered to put the pay check ahead of any even the slightest ounce of quality. I seriously was looking to see if the director would put his name to this piece of crap!!! Shame on you all!!

Action packed , fast pace and suspense in a well constructed thriller

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 18 May 2007]

The film concerns an ex-con named Taylor (Christian Slater) , after being released from jail but again he's going on bad deals . He has a daughter , a beautiful little girl , and a gorgeous girlfriend (Sara Downing). He hooks up with a group of delinquents (Daryl Hanna , Balthazar Getty , Booken Woodbine , Verne Troyer , among others) who swindle a mobster (William Forsythe) and scheming a spectacular as brilliant robbing but then become embroiled into unfortunate events . As they discover the cash is fake and it is marked. Later on , Taylor becomes involved a corrupt FBI agent (Val Kilmer) who kidnaps his daughter . After happening a series of plot twists until an explosive final .

This thrilling movie is a tough , terrific adventure in grand larceny , containing run-of-the mill action , violence , car pursuits and numerous killings . This routine story about a drifter again enticed into crime is skillfully constructed , economically produced and competently acted , but displays some ridiculous and embarrassing moments here and there with ups and downs scenes . It's combined of matchless suspense , minimum characterization and thrill-load movie . Christian Slater is good , Val Kilmer as ambitious agent is cool although appears top-billing , he has limited screen time . Special mention to Verne Troyer in a sympathetic role . It's realized in low-budget , thus the car scenes are made in transparency and being produced by Millennium Films (Avi and Danny Lerner , Trevor Short , Boaz Davison) usual of short budget movies . The motion picture was professionally directed by Servian director Peter Antonijevic who previously made the more thoughtful and brooding ¨Savior¨ . Rating : Average but passable .

Good Cast, Bad Movie!

[piray · 5/10 · 28 March 2002]

With a cast including Christian Slater and Val Kilmer, you might expect this to be a humdinger of a caper, but unfortunately, that isn't the case. The script was poorly written and the director seemed unable to decide how serious to take it all...the actors mostly floundered about without a clue. As a fan of both actors, I was most disappointed with this effort.

What the hell is wrong with you people?

[sarastro7 · 8/10 · 18 May 2006]

The majority of user comments on this movie, Hard Cash, claim that this is the Worst Movie Ever, and loads of people have rated it a "1". I swear I have no idea what the hell everybody seems to have against this perfectly good movie. They must have expected something completely different, which I frankly don't see how is possible. The DVD sleeve is pretty up front about everything.

This is not some big-budget Hollywood action movie, and, for cripes sake, it isn't meant to be! It's a low-key drama with interesting characters, situations and humor. And good actors. And yeah, it's straight to video, or reminiscent of a TV movie. So what? It's possible to do good stories in that format (and on that budget), too.

From the moment I started watching Hard Cash, I had fun. Not for a single moment anywhere in the movie did I stop being absolutely engaged in the story. I liked the characters and the dialog and the action. I had nothing against the car and boat chases; for a small budget I thought it all looked pretty damn good. The characters were well fleshed out, the story flowed smoothly, with every detail being important. Lots of fun.

This is a movie I'd normally rate a 7 or a 7.5 out of 10, but just because everybody hates it I'll raise that to an 8.

God, it burns my ass when people just crap all over a totally decent, entertaining, well-written movie with good characters and performances all-round. Why, I oughtta...!!!

So bad it's actually quite good fun!

[julescrom · 6/10 · 11 June 2013]

So bad it's actually quite good fun says it all really. Some of the scenes could actually be from a spoof movie. If you accept it's not going to be a great (or even good) film, it is OK - good for late on the weekend after a few beers.

You do have to wonder how Kilmer and Slater, though admittedly hardly at the peak of their careers, got involved in this. Either the script never got read, or both actors have no scruples when it comes to making a fast buck - it certainly won't have done anybodys career prospects any good. I hope they were well paid because I can't believe this film made any money.

Crack another beer, relax, and laugh, (or cry). Don't say I didn't warn you...

Worst Ever! I am now dumber for having seen this movie.

[spitor_swallow · 1/10 · 25 June 2002]

In essence, this movie constitutes 98 minutes of my life I can never have back. The script for this film appears to be accidentally written by a feline walking on a writer's keyboard. This reminds me of a movie I once saw where the cameras followed hollywood stars around without their permission to claim big names in the cast only, the makers of Run for the Money had permission. On a more serious note though, I think that Kilmer and Slater were kidnapped and forced to act. At one point I think I actually saw a garrot wire around Val Kilmer's neck. It wouldn't be a big surprise if all movie funding came from the Russian mafia. Some of the "catch phrases" in the movie sounded like they were intended for a russian audience like "time to make the donuts" instead of "time to go to work." The best (worst) part of the movie has to be the car chase, bar none. I have seen better background work on SNL in the 80's. Out.

the worst movie i've rented in 5 years

[mgresk · 2 December 2002]

this movie is terrible. i rented it because it had three "name" stars (slater, kilmer & hannah) what a waste of casting, time, money, dialogue, crumby special effects, stupid & inane plot twists--- those are the highlights of this miserable excuse for a "heist, caper flick". as the viewer , you dont care about any of this cast of goofs. the 10 year old kid is a inane angle. the plot twists are not logical, they are stupid (but i already said that) these people owe the viewing public an apology.

surreal

[erica-14 · 4/10 · 15 May 2006]

The film wasn't much good but what got me really distracted was Sofia (Bulgaria) trying to look like New York. Another sign that there was not much money to back this project (otherwise they would have at least tried Toronto). Of course it doesn't look as NY at all, for the whole movie I was trying to guess where in the world it was filmed (I guessed rightly that it was in Europe). Slater and Hannah definitely deserve something better than this cliché' full of scenes already seen in other not so great films. Certainly they aren't the best actors around but their and others' performances are what keeps together this lame attempt of a film.

This movie sucked!

[slick8086 · 1/10 · 16 March 2005]

I can't believe how bad this movie is!! The characters and the story are so shallow, if they were a pool a mouse couldn't drown in it. I don't know who to blame, maybe the director and editors, because this movie never got you to care about any of the characters. blah. The plot was too dumb. Maybe it was that midgets fault. I can't see how though. Daryl Hanna has always been an actor of questionable talent in my book, but Sarah Downing's performance made me want to throw rotten vegetables at her. Another reviewer thought that this movie had an element of comedy in it and I couldn't figure out why, but then I remembered the character Jose. This character had nothing to do with anything. He wasn't funny. I'm not even really sure if he was supposed to be funny. His only scenes could have been funny if they weren't so contrived. Once again, I can't believe how bad this movie is. Watch it if you want to punish yourself.

don't waste your time instead opt a nap

[premkiran · 1/10 · 5 June 2003]

of course this is the most horrible movie ever seen in my life. watching it was so painful........... so don't watch it even if you get it for free.

Don't waste your money, Trust Me.

[The_Real_Review · 1/10 · 28 August 2002]

I made the mistake of paying a late fee on this! Shoot me now. The special effects are so bad I can't even remember the good parts. Wait there wasn't any! Take this from somebody who likes action movies even bad ones. This one is bad, bad, bad. The only reason I even rented it was because it had two decent actors (Slater and Kilmer). Mindless movies should be at very the least visually exciting (Jackie Chan ect..) This is both mindless and boring. Not only could I not get into it I felt ripped off. Last time I felt that way was when I rented Leaving Las Vegas. TV shows are better then this, movies like the Score were phenomenal compared to this. I could make a better movie with my PXL2000. If by some horrible chance this comes on TV skip the movie and watch the commercials they at least have some production value.

This is like "The Room" of heist movies.

[bpwss-17992 · 2/10 · 5 April 2020]

I have no idea why this is so bad, it's got plenty of actors who are normally great. The plot sounds fine on paper - it should be a pretty standard crime drama.

But, it's laughably poor in execution. Stuff happens that makes absolutely no sense. Characters make strange decisions and the dialogue is frequently bizarre. Weird camera angles and scenes that cut between each other that make no sense.

I'm still trying to figure out what was going on with Jose. I constantly had no idea what was supposed to be happening from one scene to the next. No performances saved this one either, the actors were either sleepwalking through it or equally perplexed.

My biggest regret is that I watched this sober and alone. This could be a good movie to laugh at with friends in the right frame of mind.

Not as bad as everyone says...

[goopi83 · 6/10 · 19 October 2007]

I went into this movie not expecting it to be great. Actually, I was expecting it be horrible, based on the all the reviews I had read. But I actually had a lot of fun with this. I will say that apart from the price of having Slater and Kilmer in your movie, this movie probably didn't cost that much to make. The story focuses on Slater, who has just gotten out of prison and is coming home to see his girlfriend and daughter. He gets involved in a heist, but it goes bad when an FBI agent (Kilmer) holds his daughter for ransom if he doesn't do what he wants. Apart from that, the people he pulled the heist with want their money too. There's also a Russian mobster, who is absolutely hilarious. The movie keeps you in suspense, with good action scenes and mediocre car chases. There are a few plots in the movie, which is why it gets a 6 instead of a 7.

Bang Bang You're Dead...

[rps-2 · 2/10 · 29 September 2005]

The United States is concerned with its rampant crime yet never connects it to the glut of trashy movies like this in which guns are as common as ballpoints and which you shoot anybody whose shirt you don't like. Another worrisome trend, evident here as in many films, is the lack of trust between characters. Everybody's out to cheat, con and deceive everybody else. Sadly, that too often is the "modus operandi" of many Americans. Do the movies reflect the society or do they contribute to its failings by offering up tawdry entertainment such as this. The performances are mediocre, the story line often tortuously confusing and the dodgem car special effects crude and superfluous. Daryl Hannah, who has graduated from B to C pictures, has not learned anything about acting during her increasingly lengthy hiatus from fame. Nor have her scrawny legs got any better. In short, another evening wasted watching the decline of American "culture"

Not bad at all

[stefan899 · 9/10 · 10 October 2002]

I dont know why so many people have written negative reviews of this movie. I found it really exciting with all the twists and the original heists. I hear people complaining about the fake background during the car chase scenes, so what, so did Pulp Fiction but I didnt hear anyone complain about that! The pace of the movie never lets up, and it has some really funny scenes, especially with the little dwarf and the Russian mafia. The last scene was a classic! The acting was not that bad, it didnt defer from the movie. Daryl Hannah looked hot for her age, and Christian Slater is still as cool as ever. I really enjoyed the heist scenes, especially the first one with the ambulance. That was really original and exciting. I cant understand how people can hate this movie and yet find something like One False Move so good, which I found to be long, boring and slow. 9/10 from me.

" I am your friend. . . . . In that case, I'll kill you for nothing ! "

[thinker1691 · 7/10 · 5 May 2010]

Val Kilmer has chalked up an impressive resume. Some of his films have garnered many top awards and impressive accolades. Select a series of action or dramatic films and you'll find his name listed therein. Alright, he's appeared in a few schmaltzy movies too, but there are others which more than make up for them. Here is one case in Point. The film is called "Run for the Money" also known as " Hard Cash. " The lively story is of a recently paroled thief named Taylor (Christian Slater) who has promised his little girl he will not steal any more, but soon after is ensnared by a corrupt F.B.I. agent (Val Kilmer) who extorts Taylor to rob a Casino's earnings of $6 Million in return for his daughter's life. Having little choice, Taylor assembles a motley crew and sets out to rescue his daughter with the help of his combative and argumentative gang. A fine cast which includes Balthazar Getty, Daryl Hannah, Michael Rosas and Verne Troyer as Attila prove their worth in creating a surprising and exciting drama. The intricacy of the movie is the crossing and double crossing of plans which moves this film rapidly along. Kilmer is very interesting as the heavy, a role he so often avoids. Nevertheless, and despite the occasional cheesy segments, this could very well become a sleeping Classic for Kilmer and Slater. ****

Someone Call Guinness

[rabdazmind · 1/10 · 5 March 2002]

As I watched the preview of this movie, I thought to myself, it seems that the USA Network is attempting to change their image. Wanting to air good programming instead of the drivel it usually slings to the viewers, trying to compete with the big 3 and HBO, TNT, and even ESPN now. They picked up Val Kilmer, Christian Slater and Daryl Hannah to do a made for TV show.on USA Network! The trailer was good - looked like it was made for TV, but it seemed to have a decent story. Seemed is the key word here. I later found out through research on this PHENOMENAL website that this movie was made in 2001 under the name 'Hard Cash' and the name changed to its current. Everything about this movie was horrible. Val, Christian and Daryl must have lost some kind of a bet to appear in this movie. The directing was bad, the editing was bad, the acting was bad. It was so bad, it missed the theaters and missed video too. It is one thing to get shoved into the category of 'Straight to Video', but do you know how bad a movie has to be to fall into the 'No Theater and No Video' category? I laughed one time though. This is very difficult to get me to do. I give the credit to the big car chase scene. The horribly projected backgrounds didn't even match what the driver was doing. It looked like the scene in Airplane! when Robert Stack and the young guy were driving to the airport. The only difference is that 'Airplane!' was supposed to be like that.funny. 'Run for the Money' was anything but funny. I can sit through any movie, regardless of how bad it is or how boring it is. It took everything I had not to change the channel. This movie has moved into my top worst movies of all time, sharing the list with 'Yor, the Hunter from the Future', 'Food of the Gods', 'Night of the Lepus' and various episodes of 'T.J. Hooker'. Someone call Guinness, USA Network just set the world record for giant leaps backward.