Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker, race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.
Lift is a glossy but formulaic Netflix heist-comedy that struggles to distinguish itself. The plot recycles well-worn caper tropes — charming thief reluctantly pulled back in, elaborate mid-air scheme, double-crosses — without meaningful depth or tension. The ensemble cast (Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D'Onofrio) is likable and delivers serviceable performances, elevating otherwise thin material. Cinematography is competent and slick, as expected from a big-budget production, but rarely inventive. The mid-air gold heist setting had novelty potential but the execution leans into generic action-comedy beats rather than exploiting its unique premise. The ending wraps up predictably and without much earned emotional payoff, typical of disposable streaming fare.