Prospects Unmet: The Unsuccessful Heist of “Lift”
Imagine a heist film that combines the thrill of meticulous planning, the charm of assembling a team of eclectic characters, and the heart-stopping rush of a clock ticking down on an impossible mission. Now, imagine that all of that fails to materialize into the fun and engaging escapade it promises. This is the unfortunate fate of “Lift,” a film that has all the trappings of a high-stakes adventure but lacks the spirit and execution to take off from the runway.
In a genre where streaming platforms have been flooded with tales of grand larcenies and criminal masterminds, “Lift” becomes yet another addition to the burgeoning sub-genre of heist movies. It treads the familiar path: crafting a clever plan, corralling a group of individuals with their unique quirks and motivations, the race against time, and of course, the grand escape alongside the relentless chase by determined law enforcers that leads to an inevitable unraveling.
A Premise Grounded in Clichés
With Kevin Hart leading as the cunning and Robin Hood-esque art thief Cyrus, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Interpol agent Abby, with a falcon’s vigilance, we are ushered into a world of intrigue from the opening act. Their playground is a swanky auction in the Venice canalscape where Cyrus and his band of thieves ply their trade. Meanwhile, Abby peels back the layers, watching intently for the slip that will incarcerate Cyrus.
The plot thickens as the narrative introduces the requisite villain in Jorgenson, played by Jean Reno. Jorgenson is a character ripped right from the villain’s playbook, an unhinged mastermind with a penchant for feeding his enemies to his dogs. However, “Lift” undercuts even this trope by showing us Jorgenson’s brutality with a man arriving in several pieces, hinting at his dogs’ apparent starvation. It’s grisly imagery intended to shock but ends up feeling contrived and derivative.
The Heist and Its Foibles
As our villain’s plan to hold the world hostage through cyberterrorism unfolds, Sam Worthington’s Huxley, Abby’s superior, coerces our protagonists into stealing a stash of gold bullion mid-air—a hoard valued at half a billion, no less, owned by Jorgenson who plans to pay off his network of hackers. What follows is a series of high jinks at 40,000 feet, involving a gauche tech mogul with his lavish jet, a disagreeable air traffic controller in Brussels, and intermittent flickers of romance between our leads, Cyrus and Abby. The theatrics are confined to first class, of course, as economy does not lend itself well to the clandestine snatching of a plane.
The team that Cyrus gathers—Camila (Úrsula Corberó) the getaway driver, Magnus (Billy Magnussen) the safe cracker, Mi-Sun (Kim Yoon-ji) the electronics genius, and Luke (Viveik Kalra) the engineer—are overshadowed by Vincent D’Onofrio, who relishes his role as the disguise expert Denton.
Aesthetics Over Substance
Despite these elements and a trim 104-minute runtime, “Lift” struggles with a dry sense of humor and an absence of the essential zing that makes heist movies so engaging. Even as the cast dons slick wardrobes, with makeup on point, and the backdrop of Venice delivering its customary beauty, all that glitters cannot salvage this movie from the depths of the doldrums it carves for itself.
Final Verdict
In the vault of heist films, “Lift” will not be remembered as a treasure. It fumbles with a promising cast and premise but ultimately fails to deliver the high-voltage thrill and comradery that defines the genre. It now finds its place among the titles streaming on Netflix, perhaps serving as a glistening reminder that not all that is planned goes accordingly. As for the audience, they may need to look elsewhere for their adrenaline fix, for “Lift” is a heist caper that never truly takes off.
