My quick rating – 3.7/10. Money Plane is the kind of movie where you know exactly what you’re getting within the first five minutes: a low-budget, logic-light action flick anchored by a wildly implausible premise and some surprisingly familiar faces. The concept is absurd enough to spark curiosity—a futuristic airborne casino for the world’s most dangerous criminals, which is then targeted by a desperate thief trying to protect his family. Unfortunately, Money Plane never really takes off.
Adam Copeland, better known to WWE fans as Edge, leads the charge as the reluctant thief Jack, and while he gives the role his all, there’s only so much he can do with the material. His performance is earnest, and along with his pint-sized, scene-stealing partner Isabella (Katrina Norman), they bring a bit of charm to an otherwise forgettable affair. Without them, there’d be very little to latch onto.
Kelsey Grammer shows up as the villain, but his presence feels oddly out of place. His character, Darius Grouch III, yes, The Rumble, is intended to be menacing and over-the-top, but instead comes across more like Frasier Crane trying to play a Bond villain. It just doesn’t land.
The majority of the action takes place inside the titular “money plane,” which seems to defy spatial limitations. Despite being a standard jetliner, characters move freely through oddly spacious hallways and compartments, often disappearing and reappearing at will, like they’re in a first-person shooter with noclip enabled. The idea that anyone could successfully pull off a covert heist in such a tight, surveillance-heavy environment is laughable, and the film never even tries to make it believable.
There are a few attempts at levity, notably with Trey (Patrick Lamont Jr.) repeatedly winning increasingly deranged bets, which start out amusing but quickly become a one-note gag dragged on for too long. Much like the film itself, the joke doesn’t know when to quit.
The climax is uninspired and entirely predictable, wrapping up with a limp sense of finality that never delivers the stakes it promises. For a movie that’s about high-risk gambling, betrayal, and death at 30,000 feet, it somehow manages to feel surprisingly low-energy.
At just 82 minutes, Money Plane is at least mercifully short. It’s not the worst way to waste an hour and change if you’re in the mood for brainless action and B-movie antics, but don’t expect much in the way of thrills, logic, or memorable storytelling. It’s a missed opportunity for Copeland, and likely a film I’ll remember only as a curiosity in the ever-growing catalog of absurd action premises.
Good news for those interested is that there are plenty of freebies along with Amazon Prime to choose from.