David A.R. White
Jack 'Cash' Conry
Overview
After working as a secret agent in the FBI for ten years, Jack 'Cash' Conry left it all behind after his wife passed in order to dedicate himself to his two daughters. Despite a fulfilling life at home, Cash misses the chance to make an impact and has been considering a return to the force. The decision is made for him when his old partner’s niece Jamie calls him for help, launching Cash right back into a world of danger, corruption and intrigue.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
3 min read AI-generated editorial review
The Gospel of CGI Muzzle Flashes
A certain kind of late-career pivot that fascinates me. We’ve seen comedians try to become serious dramatists, and prestige actors stoop to collect Marvel paychecks. But David A.R. White’s transition from the reigning king of evangelical cinema (the God’s Not Dead cinematic universe) into a grizzled, gun-toting action hero is a genuinely baffling cultural artifact. I’m still thinking about the sheer audacity of A Line of Fire, a 2025 VOD thriller that recently climbed the Netflix charts despite looking, as one Rotten Tomatoes user aptly noted, like it was "filmed on an iPhone". White plays Jack "Cash" Conry, a retired FBI super-agent who left the bureau to bake muffins and raise his daughters. Naturally, he’s pulled back into the fray to rescue his old partner's niece (Katrina Bowden). I've seen this trick before. We all have. The John Wick clone is a tired subgenre, but White brings a weird, sanitized earnestness to the bloodletting that makes the whole enterprise feel like a youth group lock-in gone terribly wrong.
Director Matt Shapira doesn't so much direct the action as he loosely organizes it around the schedules of a bewilderingly random cast of 90s and 2000s survivors. Jason Patric and Cuba Gooding Jr. are technically the villains here, though they rarely seem to inhabit the same physical space as our hero. Patric plays Josef, a cartel boss who seemingly runs his entire empire by moving chess pieces around a board while yelling at people on FaceTime. It’s the kind of performance that suggests an actor who refused to leave his Airbnb during the shoot. Whether that’s a flaw or a feature depends on your patience for remote-work villainy. Gooding Jr. doesn't fare much better as Javier, sleepwalking through his scenes with a tight, uncomfortable smile. Watching these once-formidable Academy Award-caliber actors phone it in via actual screens gives the film a strangely isolated, pandemic-era energy.
A certain kind of late-career pivot that fascinates me. We’ve seen comedians try to become serious dramatists, and prestige actors stoop to collect Marvel paychecks. But David A.R. White’s transition from the reigning king of evangelical cinema (the God’s Not Dead cinematic universe) into a grizzled, gun-toting action hero is a genuinely baffling cultural artifact. I’m still thinking about the sheer audacity of A Line of Fire, a 2025 VOD thriller that recently climbed the Netflix charts despite looking, as one Rotten Tomatoes user aptly noted, like it was "filmed on an iPhone". White plays Jack "Cash" Conry, a retired FBI super-agent who left the bureau to bake muffins and raise his daughters. Naturally, he’s pulled back into the fray to rescue his old partner's niece (Katrina Bowden). I've seen this trick before. We all have. The John Wick clone is a tired subgenre, but White brings a weird, sanitized earnestness to the bloodletting that makes the whole enterprise feel like a youth group lock-in gone terribly wrong.
Director Matt Shapira doesn't so much direct the action as he loosely organizes it around the schedules of a bewilderingly random cast of 90s and 2000s survivors. Jason Patric and Cuba Gooding Jr. are technically the villains here, though they rarely seem to inhabit the same physical space as our hero. Patric plays Josef, a cartel boss who seemingly runs his entire empire by moving chess pieces around a board while yelling at people on FaceTime. It’s the kind of performance that suggests an actor who refused to leave his Airbnb during the shoot. Whether that’s a flaw or a feature depends on your patience for remote-work villainy. Gooding Jr. doesn't fare much better as Javier, sleepwalking through his scenes with a tight, uncomfortable smile. Watching these once-formidable Academy Award-caliber actors phone it in via actual screens gives the film a strangely isolated, pandemic-era energy.
Audience Opinions
AI summary of viewer review patterns
Audience 3.6/10 AI
"A clumsy, low-budget action thriller dragged down by weak acting, sloppy craft, and a recycled story."
Visuals, sound, and editing come across as extremely cheap, with weightless action, awkward staging, and an overall made-for-cable look that undermines any tension. Performances, especially from the lead, are widely panned as stiff or embarrassing, and the script leans hard on familiar tropes without compelling characters or stakes, though a few viewers concede that some fights and bloody payback have a certain rough, VOD-style appeal.
What viewers praise
- Occasional rough-edged action A small number of viewers see flashes of decent or surprisingly committed fight choreography and brawls amid the chaos.
- Unintentional camp value For bad-movie aficionados, the awkward dialogue, tonal confusion, and overreaching lead turn can play as so-bad-it’s-funny entertainment.
Common complaints
- Very cheap production Lighting, camera work, sets, and overall polish are described as no-budget, giving the film a bargain-bin VOD feel.
- Weak lead performance The central action-hero portrayal is often called impossible to take seriously, with strained attempts to appear tough or cool.
- Clunky script and dialogue Writing is derided as cliché-heavy, with simplistic plotting, awkward speeches, and no memorable lines or character depth.
- Bland, forgettable story The ex-FBI-agent-back-in-action premise is viewed as a collection of overused beats that leaves almost no lasting impression.
- Pacing and editing issues Choppy structure, scenes that overstay their welcome, and an overall thrown-together feel make the 90 minutes feel much longer.
Recommended for
Bad action movie collectors So-bad-it’s-good night picks David A.R. White completists Low-budget VOD action browsers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
AI-generated full plot summary Loading…
Buzz & Rumors
Public reports AI-researched entertainment notes
Flops, Fire & Fallout: The Surprisingly Messy Story Behind A Line of Fire (2025)
When you pressed play on A Line of Fire expecting a disposable dad-thriller, you probably didn’t realize you were stepping into a mini Hollywood scandal. Between controversial casting, so-bad-it’s-good infamy, and a dash of Diddy-adjacent drama, this little Netflix actioner has built itself a reputation hotter than any explosion on screen.
On-Set Drama & Behind-the-Scenes Secrets
- Family business, literally: Star/producer David A.R. White didn’t just play super-dad Cash—he actually cast his real-life daughters as his character’s daughters, turning the shoot into a full-blown family affair
. Suddenly those “protect my girls at all costs” vibes feel very method.
- “We do our own stunts”… mostly: White bragged that he did almost all his own fight choreography and physical work, only tapping stunt doubles for genuinely dangerous stuff like getting hit by a car [1]. So every slightly awkward punch you saw? That’s authentically him.
- Bad Boys-level stunt muscle: The movie’s action was designed by Miami stunt veterans G‑Rod (stunt coordinator) and Juan Bofill (second unit/action director), a team known for their work on the Bad Boys films [1]. High-caliber talent for a movie whose gunfights sometimes look like a church skit with squibs.
- The airplane graveyard obsession: That Boneyard airplane graveyard sequence wasn’t random—White is an airplane nerd and lobbied to shoot there because he “loves airplanes” and thought the visuals would be iconic [1]. Fans might argue the planes are doing some of the best acting in the movie.
Cast Feuds & Questionable Casting
- Cuba Gooding Jr. and the Diddy connection: While A Line of Fire was gearing up, Cuba Gooding Jr. was facing fresh scrutiny. In 2024 he was added as a co‑defendant to a sexual assault and harassment lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs, with producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. accusing him of misconduct at Diddy’s parties . The lawsuit and surrounding coverage reignited talk of Gooding’s previous assault cases and “fall from grace” , making his casting in a shiny new action movie… let’s say “bold.”
- “I don’t judge anybody”: Asked about Diddy’s federal case, Gooding publicly said he was praying for Diddy and that he doesn’t judge anyone . Fans online weren’t quite as forgiving—some questioned why studios were still handing him roles while legal smoke swirled around him.
- Scott Baio’s baggage: Casting ’80s sitcom alum Scott Baio as villain Bron added more side‑eye. Baio has long denied multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by former co-stars, but the accusations have followed him for years . While there’s no public report of on‑set issues for A Line of Fire, social media chatter absolutely clocked the fact that this low-budget action flick had two heavily controversial men in the cast.
Scandals & Controversies: The So-Bad-It’s-Good Firestorm
- Critics: “Terrible is an understatement.” UK outlet Express reported that A Line of Fire was “almost universally condemned,” pointing to a ~3.7/10 IMDb score and an audience rating hovering around 50% on Rotten Tomatoes . Viewer reactions quoted in the piece are savage:
- “Easily the worst film I have ever watched.”
- “One death scene was so bad I had to get someone to come and laugh at it with me.”
- “Everything sounds AI generated” [5].
- And yet… it blew up on Netflix: In the UK, the movie rocketed to #3 on Netflix just hours after release, with similar Top 10 success in the US [5]. The same article frames it as perfect for fans of “gloriously, unintentionally funny bad” movies [5]. Translation: this became a meme watch more than a must-watch.
- The star leans into the chaos: As the internet roasted the film, David A.R. White took to Facebook with a very “I can take it” energy: “I promise not to be mad. Tell me what you really thought about ‘A Line of Fire’!”
. Given some of those reviews, that’s either bravery or martyrdom.
Leaks, Endings & Mr. X Obsessions
IGInstagram·So grateful to be part of the cast of A Line of … https://www.instagram.com/p/DSbpZ2IEaRi/Loading Instagram post…
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSbpZ2IEaRi/- The Mr. X twist: Producer/actress Eve Richards revealed on Instagram that she plays Joan Rycker, aka the mysterious “Mr. X” mastermind, describing the character as a “calculating narcissist” driven by entitlement and control [7]. Fans who stuck around for the reveal were divided—some loved that the big bad was a woman, others felt the twist came out of nowhere.
- Rumors of a longer, messier cut: After an “Ending Explained/Who is Mr. X?” article dropped and Reddit lit up, viewers started speculating that there were deleted scenes explaining Mr. X and Cash’s backstory that got chopped for runtime [7]. This remains pure fan speculation—no extended cut or deleted-scene reel has surfaced—but the plot holes are real enough that the theory refuses to die.
Wild Trivia & Future Firestorms
- From God’s Not Dead to guns and dead guys: Film blogs and Reddit forums framed A Line of Fire as David A.R. White’s attempt to step away from his God’s Not Dead faith-franchise image and pivot into mainstream action [7]. Some Christian fans even criticized him on Facebook for making a violent R‑rated thriller while still being the face of that series .
- Villain and producer, all in one: Eve Richards wasn’t just playing Mr. X—she proudly announced herself as a co‑executive producer on what she called the “number four movie in the nation on Netflix” when it hit the Top 10 [6]. Manifesting world domination and monologuing in a villain suit? Respect.
- Sequel bait: In his action-press interviews, White openly mused that he’d like to bring Cash back for more movies if audiences want it [1]. Given that A Line of Fire has slid neatly into the “so bad you need to show your friends” category, don’t be shocked if hate-watching ends up funding A Line of Fire 2: Still Burning.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
Movies
Similar Movies
Related titles ranked by rating and popularity.
No similar movies found
Check back later for new content