Cryptocurrency, I don’t know much about it and frankly I don’t want to know anything about it. What I do know is that it usually leaves a lot of people in debt. This is the simple premise behind Cold Wallet, divorced down on his luck dad Billy (played by Raul Castillo) is all in on the cryptocurrency racket. He’s brought his friends in and is looking at a supposed big score. That is until a massive crash happens and he loses everything. Without anywhere to turn to, he and his friend Dom (Tony Cavalero) team up with Eva (Melonie Diaz) to track down the supposedly dead CEO of the company which has lost so many people so much money.
Their plan is simple, find the dead man, make him give them all his money, and justice for all. Unfortunately, there are several key hurdles along the way, key amongst them being Billy’s own idiocy.
Cold Wallet, hard cash
Cold Wallet is a fascinating film, using real terminology the film hopes to teach everyone a lesson, don’t mess with cryptocurrency. It is figurative fool’s gold. Billy, Dom and Eva have all been caught up in this gold rush and now that their pockets are empty they are desperate to find a reset button. The reset button in Cold Wallet is Josh Brener’s character Charles Hegel. This man supposedly has everything they need, he is however locked away in a maze-like mansion in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, Eva has the lowdown on his location. However, when they arrive events quickly descend as Charles messes with his so-called captors.
The plot of Cold Wallet is an interesting one. Seeing a new kind of crime unravel people’s lives and how those people deal with it is thrilling. Also, watching the trio try and one-up Charles is brilliant. Throughout the course of the film, Charles breaks each member of the group down, attempting to pit them against each other. He preys on each of their weaknesses, showcasing his skills of manipulation and underhandedness. On top of that, the mansion itself is also against the trio. It feels like the large rooms, multiple corridors are crushing the mentality of the group.
Though the characters are interesting and the location impressive, the dialogue feels like it’s trying too hard at times. The film feels like it wants to be smarter than it actually is. If it were written better I think I would have enjoyed it more. There are several highlights in the film though, Dom is a notable one. He’s a man that is trying to get by and it just feels like he’s been pulled in by Billy’s idiocy. You root for his safety and hope the events of the film work out in the end for him.
Ultimately Cold Wallet is an interesting heist thriller with an engaging cast at its core.
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