Kevin Hart Organizes A $500 Million Mid-Air Plane Heist In Netflix's Lift Trailer

Your mileage may vary on Kevin Hart as a movie star, and on Netflix's big-budget original movies. Both have a somewhat shaky track record, creatively speaking — Hart has had his fair share of misses ("The Man From Toronto," "Night School," etc.), and things like "The Gray Man," "Heart of Stone," and "Red Notice" haven't exactly inspired tons of confidence that Netflix's would-be blockbusters have much to offer. But Hart and the streamer are trying to change all of that by joining forces for "Lift," a new heist film which, to its credit, appears to be trying to elevate (ha!) its premise by centering on a band of thieves who attempt to steal $500 million in gold out of a passenger plane flying at 40,000 feet.

That's a fun if ridiculous idea, but hey, I'm a fan of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, so far be it from me to cast the first stone. (Not for nothing, the director of this film actually directed a "Fast and Furious" movie once. More on him in a minute.) This film has a supporting cast that includes familiar faces like Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, and Sam Worthington, to name a few, so there's a chance this could actually end up being an enjoyable turn-off-your-brain weekend watch (if it doesn't lean too heavily on overly cheesy humor, that is).

The film comes from writer Daniel Kunka ("12 Rounds") and director F. Gary Gray, who is no stranger to heist movies that take place at least partially in Venice — after all, he directed the 2003 remake of "The Italian Job," starring an ensemble that included Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, and Edward Norton. That's the type of film that was looked down on by some critics at the time, but would likely be seen as a breath of fresh air if it came out in our current landscape. 

I'm fascinated to see if Gray will be able to recapture that film's buoyant sense of playfulness here (at the very least, it looks like they actually filmed in Venice), or if "Lift" will end up feeling like just another mega-expensive Netflix original movie. Which is to say, will it feel like it's been algorithm'd so hard that any semblance of soul it may have once had has been stamped out of it, leaving behind nothing but a chalk outline of what a movie is supposed to be?

We'll find out when "Lift" flies onto Netflix on January 12, 2024.