Movie of the Week
Lift off with Kevin Hart
Today Netflix airs Lift, in which a band of criminals attempt a plane heist at 40,000 feet, to avoid jail time, writes JASON BANNIER.
In Lift, professional thief Cyrus Whitaker and his criminal friends are presented with an opportunity to evade imprisonment: steal $500-million worth of gold. Whitaker, played by Kevin Hart, and his expert crew would typically view this as a straightforward task, but a spanner is thrown into the works when it transpires that the gold is located 40,000 feet in the air, and on the move, being transported in a plane.
The action-comedy movie streams on Netflix from today (12 January 2024).
Hart is a renowned American comedian and actor, featuring in movies like Ride Along, About Last Night, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Think Like A Man, and Central Intelligence.
The movie opens with Agent Gladwell, portrayed by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, confronting Whitaker about his crimes and his friends’ crimes, including identity theft, money laundering, and the transportation of stolen property.
“I need you to steal something,” says Gladwell, explaining how the gold needs to disappear before it is used to fund a terrorist group if it reaches its destination. In the crew’s biggest score yet, they must fulfil Gladwell’s request, or face jail time.
The movie is directed by F. Gary Gray known for his works on Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job, The Fate of the Furious, and Straight Outta Compton.
Other main cast members include:
- Jacob Batalon as N8 (Reginald the Vampire, Every Day, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Far From Home).
- Vincent D’Onofrio as Denton (Jurassic World, Daredevil, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Men in Black, Full Metal Jacket).
- Billy Magnussen as Magnus (Bridge of Spies, Game Night, No Time to Die, The Many Saints of Newark, Into the Woods, Get Shorty, The Big Short, Made for Love).
- Úrsula Corberó as Camila (Snake Eyes, Física o Química, Snatch, Gran Reserva, Girl’s Night Out).
- Jean Reno as Lars Jorgenson (The Pink Panther, La Femme Nikita, Ronin, The Da Vinci Code, Hotel Rwanda, Les Visiteurs, The Big Blue, Margaret, Godzilla).
- Sam Worthington as Dennis Huxley (Everest, The Shack, Clash of the Titans, Sabotage, Under the Banner of Heaven, Terminator: Salvation, Cake, Wrath of the Titans).
Lift also features Viveik Kalra, Yun Jee Kim, Burn Gorman, Paul Anderson.
* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @jas2bann.
