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The well-known formula used by Netflix involves taking popular movie genres like action, spy thrillers, and car chases and repackaging them for laptop screens with flashy, disposable packaging. They then attach a well-known actor with a large salary, release the film, and move on to the next project. These results, seen in movies like Sweet Girl, The Adam Project, and The Gray Man, are often watched by many but not discussed in depth. They are typically generic blockbuster films with little lasting impact or unique style, featuring bright lighting and fast-paced scenes. This trend is not exclusive to Netflix, as other streaming services, such as Apple’s Ghosted, also fall victim to this formula.
The new film Lift, a joint effort between Netflix and comedian Kevin Hart, follows a familiar storyline of clever thieves and dangerous villains. Despite this, it fails to surprise or impress. From the very start, as Hart’s character Cyrus Whitaker enters a fancy art auction in Venice, it’s clear that this is a typical action movie meant for streaming. With its stereotypical characters, flashy music video style, and emphasis on wealth, it tries to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Daniel Kunka’s Lift utilizes the expertise of director F Gary Gray, known for his work on films like The Italian Job, Straight Outta Compton, and Fast & Furious 8, as well as music videos for Ice Cube and TLC. The plot of Lift may seem silly to some viewers, but others may find it entertaining or annoying, depending on their personal preferences and cognitive abilities. It features a heist involving an NFT in Venice, followed by jokes about NFTs being dismissed as a trend. However, Gray’s skill in directing action scenes shines through in the intense cat-and-mouse chase between Cyrus and Interpol officer Abby Gladwell in the canals of Venice. This sequence is both impressive and stress-inducing, with the added concern of the city’s potential flooding from the boat wakes.
Hart, typically known for his eccentric and unlucky roles as the hero trying his best or the ordinary sidekick (as seen in The Man from Toronto, a Netflix movie I evaluated but had to search for as it did not make an impression), breaks away from his usual typecasting as a highly skilled leader of a group of thieves who only target deserving individuals. This does not quite align with his physical and boisterous style of humor, which occasionally shows through as he attempts to portray a smooth and charming character. Hart delivers lines like “the rules were already broken for someone like me” with a hint of awkwardness, almost as if he is waiting for a comedic punchline.
This sentence is used to unsuccessfully charm Abby, who had a brief romantic encounter with Cyrus during a five-day undercover mission, which ultimately led to mistrust. For unclear reasons that are not necessary to explain, Abby’s boss Huxley (played convincingly by Sam Worthington) instructs her to reconcile with her nemesis, an art thief, in the interest of global peace. If Cyrus and his team fail to steal $50 million worth of gold bars during their trip from London to Zurich, they will face retaliation from the wealthy and villainous Lars Jorgenson (played by Jean Reno), who has hired hackers to cause chaos for his own financial gain (apparently involving some stock market manipulation and involvement of Northern Irish henchmen).
If you think this is a modified version of Ocean’s 11 with a hint of Fast and Furious, you are correct. However, Hart may not be a convincing leader of the group, but Gray knows how to direct an action scene. It is enjoyable to watch the team pull off the seemingly impossible task of stealing both the gold and the commercial jet transporting it – the daring pilot Camilla (Úrsula Corberó), the hyperactive safecracker Magnus (the delightful Billy Magnussen), the hacker Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim), the engineer Luc (Viveik Kalra) and the disguise expert Denton (Vincent D’Onofrio). Perhaps I am influenced by the recent incident of a door falling off a Boeing 737 mid-flight, but the in-flight scenes once the plan is set in motion – time-sensitive coordination, hand-to-hand combat during turbulence, and even a few barrel rolls – got my adrenaline pumping.
Put simply, there is enough content to keep multiple viewers engaged for the entire 1 hour and 44 minute duration. However, due to the underdeveloped characters and lack of chemistry between Hart and Mbatha-Raw, despite her strong performance, the film does not stand out among its similar counterparts.
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The show “Lift” will be available on Netflix starting January 12th.
Source: theguardian.com
