Lift: A Comedy Without Wings

Lift Movie Review

Overview:

Lift is an intriguing and adventurous heist film that takes place on a 777-passenger plane, taking the heist genre to a higher altitude. The movie, directed by F. Gary Gray, follows Kevin Hart, a great thief, whose charisma becomes just as important as his deceit. 

The story follows this international team as they set out on an impossible quest motivated by love and law enforcement, combining heart, comedy, and high-stakes action. The engaging plot is enhanced by the chemistry between Hart and the ensemble cast, which also stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. 

The film is a unique and exciting cinematic experience because of its thrilling flight sequences. Lift presents a spectacular thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the wheels come off. It's a heist movie with wings.

Cast:

Kevin Hart: Cyrus    
Gugu Mbatha-Raw: Abby    
Sam Worthington: Huxley
Vincent D'Onofrio: Denton    
Úrsula Corberó: Camila    
Billy Magnussen: Magnus    
Yun Jee Kim: Mi-Sun 
Jean Reno: Jorgensen
Jacob Batalon: N8

Directed By: F. Gary Gray
Written By: Daniel Kunka

Review:

Netflix often releases gleaming, vapid action movies, and "Lift" is no exception. It is as simple as its title suggests. It resembles "The Gray Man" more than it does "Red Notice," for example, in that it is not as humorous: well-made and starring a stellar cast, with a few interesting concepts that lack depth.

Similar to other previous movies, "Lift" centers on a diverse group of con artists attempting to carry out an unfeasible theft. There's some satisfaction in that premise, particularly as the assignment gets harder. However, Daniel Kunka's screenplay has so little character development that it's hard to care if they get away with it. Additionally, the special effects have a surreal quality that frequently makes us feel like we're playing a video game. 

Cyrus shares a history with Abby Gladwell, the Interpol detective pursuing his group, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. There's not much chemistry between the two, just some awkward flirting. Reluctantly, Abby follows her boss's orders and enlists Cyrus and his group to steal the gold that Jean Reno is transferring to a terrorist organization to cause events that he can then profit from. All of them have distinct roles; for example, Camilla (Úrsula Corberó) is a pilot, Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim) is a hacker, and Denton (Vincent D'Onofrio) is a master of disguise. The supporting cast does not bring much to the movie other than sitting around and joking with each other. The lone exception is Billy Magnussen, who plays the safecracker Magnus. In this scene, he's acting in a deliciously absurd way that resembles that of Brad Pitt from "Burn After Reading." He appears to be in a separate film.

Also, a lot of "Lift's" exciting and thrilling moments are just hurried editing techniques like montages, zooms, and accelerated scenes. There comes a point at which we have seen enough fistfights on flights. Like the movie itself, they get monotonous and boring after a while. However, "Lift" might be most appreciated when you're actually in the air, needing something to kill time.