Kevin Hart and Úrsula Corberó are just two of the stars who joined forces to bring to life Netflix‘s new action-comedy thriller: Lift. The film has not only become a trend within hours of its release but is also one of the most interesting titles on the platform to watch right now.
The Money Heist actress has returned to her cinematic roots, once again taking on the role of a heist, but this time at an altitude of 12 thousand meters. The narrative is one of the many bets by the streaming service to refresh the heist subgenre, and everything indicates that it will attract a good number of viewers, especially due to its stellar cast.
Directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Daniel Kunka, the story follows a master thief and her ex-boyfriend who join forces to steal 500 million dollars in gold bars being transported on a passenger A380 airplane. Drama, suspense, and even mystery are some of the factors that unfold in the plot.
Lift, Netflix’s new sensation
Lift is Kevin Hart‘s new film that has users obsessed. Within just a few hours of its release, the thriller has become one of the most popular in the catalog, and according to Flix Patrol, the metrics-specialized site, it might even become one of the most-watched in record time.
Like any good heist story, the cast is crucial, and this time, the talent is abundant. The Jumanji actor is accompanied by Úrsula Corberó, who used to portray Tokyo in the iconic Money Heist series, which was also a Netflix original production. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Billy Magnussen, Viveik Kalra, Kim Yun Jee and Sam Worthington are just a few of the stars shining alongside them.
The plot revolves around an international band of top-level thieves belonging to the elite, recruited to prevent a terrorist attack scheduled to take place on a 777 plane flying from London to Zurich. The group is led by Cyrus Whitaker, who receives orders from his ex-girlfriend and the FBI.
On a race against time, each of them must contribute their expertise to ensure the success of the mission and attempt to steal 500 million dollars in gold bars, all while being at an altitude of 12 thousand meters. Things can go well or terribly wrong, especially when their lives are at stake.
What did the critics say about Lift?
Despite many Netflix users giving Lift a chance and enjoying it, some critics were not very satisfied with the plot development and its ending. Robert Daniels from The New York Times was one of the first to write about the premiere and has labeled the action film as “a poorly written action vehicle that pits Kevin Hart as the hero against an eco-terrorist villain”.
Another critic who didn’t hold back in expressing his opinion was Kenneth Seward Jr. from IGN, who wrote on the official website, “The problem is that Lift doesn’t use any of its available assets in a way that benefits the film. Most of the cast, for example, fails to establish any sense of character. They are not necessarily bad in their roles. They simply do not portray fully realized people effectively, and it’s hard to tell if the actors are hindered by mediocre material or if they are acting poorly”.
However, not all reviews were negative. Adrian Horton gave the film three stars and developed his opinion on The Guardian’s official site. On the other hand, Christy Lemire, who writes for RobertEbert.com, gave it only two stars and said, “After a while, we can only watch a limited number of fistfights on planes. They become repetitive and boring, much like the film as a whole”.