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James Marsh

1/5 stars
Looking to start 2024 with a bang, Netflix recruits superstar funnyman Kevin Hart to play a notorious art thief in the action-packed heist comedy Lift.
Under the direction of F. Gary Gray (The Fate of the Furious), and boasting an ensemble cast that includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jean Reno, and Vincent D’Onofrio, this globe-trotting thriller about a daring mid-air gold heist should have been a slam dunk.
And yet, following disappointments such as Red Notice and Heart of Stone, the streaming giant delivers yet another flaccid, underwhelming action dud, overly reliant on familiar faces and recognisable locales to hold our attention, instead of genuine laughs and thrills.


The action opens in Venice, where the Robin Hood-esque Cyrus Whitaker (Hart) and his team snatch a multimillion-dollar NFT – an objet d’art as ephemeral and passé as the film itself – while simultaneously lifting a priceless Van Gogh from a gallery in London, all under the noses of Interpol.
Instead of arresting the gang, agent Abby Gladwell (Mbatha-Raw) is instructed by her boss (a ragged Sam Worthington) to recruit them.

In return for immunity and freedom, they must steal US$500 million worth of gold bullion belonging to master criminal Lars Jorgensen (an equally tired-looking Reno) as it is being flown across Europe to fund a terrorist operation.
Lift has a promising enough premise, one which should deliver exhilarating action beats and plentiful banter between Cyrus, his crew of mischievous oddballs, and Abby, with whom he shares a romantic past.
Regrettably, the problems start from the top – Hart is horribly miscast as Cyrus, a cool-headed master operator.

The motor-mouthed comedian excels at playing neurotic, inexperienced fish out of water. Throw that character into a high-stakes adventure, while partnered with an adversarial accomplice, and Hart would be a riot. As a clear-headed leader, however, he appears woefully out of his depth.
Daniel Kunka’s script is utterly devoid of wisecracks, not least between the members of Cyrus’ crew. Lift has the same the failing as Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, Netflix’s most recent tent-pole film: characters are defined solely by their gender, ethnicity, and job description.
Rather than nurture a playful rapport, they stand around in idle silence as the plot is sluggishly shunted forward by Cyrus and Abby’s lifeless interplay.

The action, which unfolds primarily within the confines of a luxurious airliner, is similarly slapdash and uninspired. When things do move outdoors, the stunts are slathered in sloppy CGI’ little effort is made to engage with the gorgeous European locations.
By turns wasteful and weightless, Lift can barely find its way to the departure gate, let alone buckle up and take flight.
Lift is streaming on Netflix.
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Netflix movie review: Lift – Kevin Hart plays an art thief in heist comedy that squanders its promising cast with a lifeless story

(From left) Russ Bain as Vaxby, Kevin Hart as Cyrus, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Abby and Billy Magnussen as Magnus in a still from “Lift”. Photo: Netflix

Kevin Hart as Cyrus in a still from “Lift”, a heist comedy on Netflix in which he is woefully miscast and some of his co-stars just going through the motions. They are not helped by a lifeless script, and what action there is is slapdash and over-reliant on CGI. Photo: Christopher Barr/Netflix

Sam Worthington as Huxley in a still from “Lift”. Photo: Netflix

Jean Reno as Jorgensen and Martina Avogadri as Leviathan Leader in a still from “Lift”. Photo: Matt Towers/Netflix

Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Abby and Kevin Hart as Cyrus in a still from “Lift”. Photo: Netflix

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Netflix delivers another underwhelming action movie that’s short on thrills and laughs. Kevin Hart is woefully miscast and his co-stars go through the motions
A globe-trotting thriller centred on a daring mid-air gold heist, Lift barely takes off; the script is dull, the action slapdash, the 5-star locations wasted


What was Netflix thinking? Kevin Hart is horribly miscast, Jean Reno and Sam Worthington are going through the motions, nothing is made of the gorgeous European locations and the script is sluggish.


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