Kevin Hart’s new heist comedy Lift finds success on Netflix despite unfavorable reviews. Directed by F. Gary Gray, the movie follows Cyrus (Hart), a master thief, who, alongside his skilled international crew, is recruited by the FBI to stop a terrorist attack from happening. Hart, who also serves as a producer, is joined by other talented names like Úrsula Corberó, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jacob Batalon, Vincent D’Onofrio, Sam Worthington, Jean Reno, and Billy Magnussen.
Now, according to Netflix, Hart’s latest movie sits as this week’s No. 1 global movie on the streamer, despite the generally negative reviews Lift received following its release on January 12. For the week of January 8-14, the movie has logged 32.8 million views, which amounts to 58.5 million hours viewed.
Lift Ending Explained: What Happens During Cyrus’ Gold Heist
Starring Kevin Hart, Netflix’s Lift walks through a meticulous gold heist that presents many gripping twists and turns before it reaches its ending.
Why Did Lift Receive Negative Reviews?
In recent times, Hart’s movies have not had the most favorable critical reception. Some of his more recent titles, such as Netflix’s Me Time and The Man From Toronto, have received dismal ratings from critics, and his latest offering isn’t any different. According to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Lift currently has a low approval rating of 31%, with many critics expressing their dissatisfaction at this heist comedy flick.
One of the major criticisms of Lift is its severe lack of originality and invention. The movie plays into all the common heist movie clichés and tropes, and there’s nothing particularly novel or exciting that Gray brings to the genre. Another major criticism that has been leveled against Lift is that, sometimes, it is needlessly convoluted, and that makes it even harder to follow at various intervals.
While Lift received a lot of negative reviews, perhaps the movie’s major redeeming quality is its talented ensemble cast who mostly delivered good individual performances. The Lift cast does well to keep the movie fairly enjoyable for its entire runtime, despite its several other shortcomings. This is evident in its healthy streaming numbers, which have helped place it at the top of Netflix’s global streaming chart.
Lift
From F. Gary Gray, the director of Friday and The Italian Job comes Lift – an action-heist movie starring Kevin Hart and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. In the film, an international crew with several heists under their belts is recruited to stop a terrorist attack from happening. To do that, the team will have to conduct a high-stakes heist on a plane mid-flight.
- Release Date
- January 12, 2024
- Director
- F. Gary Gray
- Cast
- Kevin Hart , Gugu Mbatha-Raw , Sam Worthington , Vincent D’Onofrio , Úrsula Corberó , Billy Magnussen , Jacob Batalon , Jean Reno
- Main Genre
- Action
- Writers
- Daniel Kunka , Emerald Fennell , Simon Kinberg
- Cinematographer
- Bernhard Jasper
- Producer
- Audrey Chon, Kevin Hart, Adam Kassan, Simon Kinberg, Matt Reeves, Bryan Smiley
- Production Company
- 6th & Idaho Productions, Genre Pictures, Hartbeat Productions
- Sfx Supervisor
- Tez Palmer
