Kevin Hart has stayed busy in front of the camera, with 2023 providing fans of the comedian with the action-comedy Die Hart, more conversations with fellow celebs on his Peacock show Hart to Heart and the popular documentary Headliners Only with Chris Rock. Don’t think he’s slowing down in the new year, either, because his newest offering Lift is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. Critics had the chance to screen the movie ahead of its release, so let’s see if this is one you’ll want to fire up this weekend.
Teaming up with The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray, Kevin Hart stars in Lift as Cyrus, a criminal mastermind whose crew is trying to pull off a $500 million heist during an international flight. Let’s get to the reviews, with Molly Edwards of GamesRadar saying that Hart gives a surprisingly low-key performance in a funny but by-the-book action flick. Edwards rates the film 3 stars out of 5, writing:
At a tight 100 minutes, the film doesn't overstay its welcome, though it loses momentum around the midpoint before building to a nonsensical yet pleasingly dramatic climax. In all, Lift is a fairly by-the-numbers Netflix original, but there are worse ways to spend an evening in front of the TV.
Erick Massoto of Collider gives the movie a 2 out of 10, questioning the decision to make Kevin Hart’s character the only serious one. The supporting cast isn’t up to carrying the comedy, Massoto says, and while Hart is still entertaining to watch, the heist itself is “okay at best.” The critic continues:
At the end of the journey, Lift ends up as a double disappointment. It doesn’t work as a comedy, it doesn’t work as an action film, and its claim to the heist movie subgenre is tenuous at best. We're neither compelled nor entertained as we just watch the scenes play out knowing fully well that everything will turn out okay and there will be no major curveballs thrown along the way. If that works for you, then just fasten your seat belt and go.
Samantha Bergeson of IndieWire says it’s difficult to think of Lift as anything but a paycheck for Kevin Hart, as F. Gary Gray’s movie plays out like a color-by-numbers parody. The critic grades the movie a D+, writing:
While half-century old franchise Mission: Impossible is dealing with sentient A.I., Lift opts to return to the genre’s most basic level with the stakes just being good, ol’ fashioned gold. Is it refreshing, or is it another example of mind-numbing condescension that is so evident in these manufactured Netflix ‘content’ drops? The real crime of Lift, however, is not that its poised as an Ocean’s movie lacking all of the glamour. No, it’s that director F. Gary Gray has made some incredible films in the past and Lift simply isn’t one of them.
Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com rates Lift 2 stars out of 4, admitting that the movie’s premise is interesting enough, but the lack of any character development makes it difficult to care whether or not the heist is successful. Lemire says:
Lift is as generic and forgettable as its title, the kind of glossy, empty action picture that Netflix just keeps pumping out, whether we need it or not. It’s not as aggressively glib as Red Notice, for example, but rather is more in line with The Gray Man: Competently made and star-studded, with a couple of intriguing ideas, but hollow.
Kenneth Seward Jr. of IGN gives the film a “Mediocre” 5 out 10, also saying there’s nothing here to make home audiences remember the movie once they’ve returned to the Netflix home screen. Lower your expectations for this one, Seward says, because the potential of the talented cast and fun premise remains unfulfilled. The critic continues:
Lift isn’t a good action-comedy. Its talented cast isn’t properly utilized and the action scenes are barely passable. There wasn’t much effort put into landing jokes beyond a few spare lines and a random pratfall. It’s not a bad film, per se, but another vault-busting mediocrity doomed to be forgotten in an infinite queue of Netflix originals.
These critics all seem to agree that Lift doesn’t deliver as wholeheartedly as they would have liked. However, an under-two-hours streaming option starring Kevin Hart will still be worth checking out for many. If you would like to give it a go, Lift is available to stream now, and be sure to check out what else is new and coming soon to Netflix. You can also start planning your next trip to the theater by checking out our 2024 movie calendar.
