Lifthas a lot drop dead for it . The new Kevin Hart - lead heist thriller has , for starters , an impressive , magical cast of capable performing artist , all of whom seem genuinely thrilled to be a part of it . The film also exists in a subgenre that , perhaps more than any other , is relate with easy , relaxed amusement , which helps cast it in an even more lovely brightness . But whether they ’re maneuver by Steven Soderbergh or , in the case ofLift , F. Gary Gray , the one thing that heist thrillers want to be is cinematic , and that ’s something that Netflix ’s latest feature production decidedly is n’t .
There ’s an unfinished caliber that flow over all ofLift . The moving picture feel as if it was cobbled together in a mad rush — its exterior view are all on the face of it lit the same fashion and its editing alternately seems purposefully convoluted and helter-skelter . The likability of its casting forbid it from ever becoming too dreary of an affair , but it never advance you over , either . The film seems directly specify , like so many otherNetflixoriginals , to become a forgotten title in all of its participant ’ respective filmographies .
Liftis at the same time an ensemble thriller and a new star vehicle for its hint , Kevin Hart . The popular comedian - turned - actor champion in the film as Cyrus Whitaker , a master art stealer who is constantly pursued by Abby Gladwell ( Gugu Mbatha - Raw ) , a set Interpol agent who shared a brief fling with him a year beforeLiftbegins . The film follows Cyrus as he ’s inquire by Abby to help Interpol take down Lars Jorgensen ( Jean Reno ) , a herculean investing banker who secretly fund terrorist attack that he then uses to manipulate the humankind ’s stock markets in his favor . In exchange , Cyrus and his team of fellow thieves will have full effectual immunity for all of their past crimes .
Taking down Jorgensen wo n’t be easy , though . Abby , Cyrus , and his crew will have to process together to not only steal $ 500 million Charles Frederick Worth of Au bars from the formidable , internationally have sex criminal , but they ’ll also have to do it without alerting him to the thieving until it ’s too late . To do so , they ’ll have to slip the gold bars while they are being send across Europe on a planewithoutlanding it . It ’s a fitly over - the - top armed robbery for a film as pulpy asLift , and it launch the doorway for plenitude of cinematic , eye - pop set pieces and stunts .
Unfortunately , Liftnever fulfills the hope of its potency . The film ’s stickup , which is set mostly in two planes and an air dealings control tugboat , is hamper by the insipidity of its sets and the inexplicable emptiness of its central passenger aircraft . The CGI used to bring its exterior aeriform shooter to lifespan is n’t as flagrant as modern viewers have dumbfound used to , but it also makes it that much more hard forLift ’s climax to sell its purportedly life - and - death stakes . The film is further hindered by the ham - fisted nature of Daniel Kunka ’s screenplay , which comes up with increasingly incredible way to keep its characters stuck on a path that they should be able to well deviate from .
Gray is no stranger to big - budget natural action films or heist thrillers . The theatre director ’s previous credits include everything fromFridayandSet it OfftoThe Italian JobandStraight Outta Compton , but the proficient workmanship of many of his retiring motion picture is absent fromLift . The movie face visually flat and accidentally overexposed , which wipes aside the designate sexiness of its crime plot and sanitizes an already underbaked romantic plot line between Hart ’s Cyrus and Mbatha - Raw ’s Abby . The latter feel unambiguously indebted to a like subplot between Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta - Jones in 2004’sOcean ’s Twelve , butLift ’s low - grade tv set aesthetic robs it of the cinematic sensuality that globe - clip quixotic offence caper like it want .
What makes that special fault all the more frustrative is the amount of money that was intelligibly , visibly spent onLift . The picture features a number of sensational actual - life locations , and its orbit feels appropriately massive . The fact that the film has the Wisdom of Solomon not to fake its European cities and villages , but lacks the technical preciseness necessary to make them glow is partly what makes it such a unusual movie . It has all the ingredients it needs to be a breezy , memorable heist comedy , but it does n’t bed how to bring them together . The film similarly does n’t know how to fully utilize its cast , which count scene - stealing actors likeEcho‘s Vincent D’Onofrio , Billy Magnussen , Úrsula Corberó , and Yun Jee Kim among its supporting performers .
D’Onofrio delightfully chews up the scene as Denton , a sea captain of disguise , and both Magnussen and Corberó also stand out as two other members of Cyrus ’ gang . Opposite them , however , Hart is n’t whole convincing as a flirtatious , Danny Ocean - esque leading man , and he seems to be always muting his own natural charisma in favour of cover a stiffer , less instinctive role . It ’s not hard to envision him successfully leading a film likeLiftagain in the future , but only if he does n’t examine to shy further away from the comedic energy that made him a maven in the first place . It ’s gentle to see what he ’s break down for here , but his performance just does n’t fall together enough to really work .
The same can be said forLiftitself , a film that has all it needs to succeed . For a thriller that spends the majority of its third act in the air , though , Liftstruggles to ever get off the ground .
Liftpremieres Friday , January 12 on Netflix .
