Netflix's Lift||2024

Netflix brings us Lift, a heist action
comedy with Kevin Hart and Gugu Mbatha-raw, plus a large ensemble cast.
An international heist crew races to Lift 500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet. So in addition to the two leads I mentioned, this also stars Ursula Cabero, Vincent Denofrio, Billy Magnuson, Sam Worthington, Yunji Kim, Jika Battleon, Bern Gorman, and Jean Reno.

The story follows a team of art thieves who become tasked with stealing half a billion in gold from some bad guys who are intent on getting a device that can wreak havoc on the world. Right from the start, you're going to know exactly what type of film this is because the dialogue is quick and simple, sprinkled with sarcastic humor and then obvious schemes.

This is a lot like a fast and the furious movie, but set within the art world. We're introduced to a bunch of misfits who have good chemistry with each other, and they
can deliver some action along with their comedy. This is a casual and harmless heist movie that features very few stakes and simple role storytelling. And there's nothing new here, but the cast they're enjoyable and they don't take themselves
too seriously. They understand the assignment and they deliver the right amount of seriousness and cheese every step of the way, though, the story is not only telegraphed on what it's about to happen, but there's no chance for surprises or any sort of mysterious intrigue. I don't really say that as a negative, especially because it's just so low stress and simplistic.

There are a ton of story conveniences and plot protections to keep the movie progressing forward efficiently. Like this had been a high-stake story, I'd be way more concerned and even bothered.
But because this is solely a casual watch, there weren't any issues with implausibilities or even believability.

Because there are so many players within the cast, most of everybody's screen time is condensed and limited. Most of the cast, I think are just wasted because many of the scenes try to pack in too much interaction or information within an already crowded sequence. And in these instances, no one has the opportunity to stand out or shine. Everybody just kind of blends together and becomes wallpaper.

There's also very little character development or background that we're given. But you know what, that's completely in line with the whole presentation. Everything is surface level and never unexpected or clever. I was hoping for a bit more ingenuity when it came to the main heist, maybe taking
clues from an oceans movie or some other well-crafted heist film.

But though, we're only supplied with conventional plotlines that greatly reduce creativity. And this is actually a bit surprising since the movie's directed by F. Gary Gray. He's already executed some ensemble heist type stories with the Italian job and the fate of the furious.

I'll be honest though, I sort of was hoping for more from Kevin Hart. Mickey gave us with his dramatically dark turn and true story. This one though, it was just one more entry in the whole hum category for him, mimicking many of his uninspired roles in recent outings.

Now, for the action, I enjoyed it. There's some fun and exciting fights to take place in cramped quarters, and because of
how the environment is constantly shifting, it makes for more obstacles and complications during battle. There are quick cuts, but still a high level of energy when small maylays break out. This is mainly revolves around a heist with planes.

There are many sequences that do require special effects. Some of the green screen sequences are less convincing, but they're not overly prevalent or extensively used, so they don't become too much of an issue, other than maybe making your eye twitch for just a second. And surprisingly, a lot of the footage that takes place in the air, it isn't horrendous or terrible.

It's a glowing recommendation. Well, this is an hour and 44 minutes, and I didn't notice the time, and I think that's
because we're just thrown from sequence to sequence without character development or any large-scale drama.
We're told through simple dialogue what the next steps are, and then the story fulfills it, and then it repeats this until we reach the credits.

The acting is sufficient for the story that's presented, and there's some enjoyable action, and then the dialogue, it isn't nearly as terrible as it could be, given the simplicity of the entire narrative. Now these features don't necessarily make it a good movie, but they do contribute to
it being casually enjoyable. I think the movie is okay for a 2 out of 5 stars.

So if you're looking for something filled with intrigue, excitement, or clever tactics, don't give this one a go, because it will only serve as a frustrating reminder of everything that it's not. But if you need a mindless time-waster that you can watch while doom scrolling or maybe
doing something else, then you put it on and enjoy it for what it is.

Sources of IMDB