Netflix has a new No. 1 movie, as action-comedy Lift took the most sensible spot on the list of most-watched streamers just days after its debut. This heist movie stars Kevin Hart, and while it draws a lot of attention, it’s critical. Reception so warm.
Lift landed on Netflix last Friday (Jan. 14), and already outranks the likes of The Equalizer 3, After Everything and Society of the Snow in the Netflix top 10 list. And it could be set for an extended stay at the top of the service’s most-watched charts as the list of new Netflix movies and shows to watch this week is looking a little thin.
In the film, Hart plays Cyrus, a master thief, recruited through his ex-girlfriend, an Interpol agent (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) to pull off a so-called “impossible” heist. The plan is to borrow $500 million worth of gold. of an airliner flying from London to Zurich.
But to complete the mid-air mission, Cyrus will first need to assemble a fearless crew to assist him in the act. And as you might expect, once onboard the airplane not everything goes according to plan, and the team needs to quickly pivot on the fly.
Alongside Hart and Mbatha-Raw, Lift also features Sam Worthington, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen and Kim Yoon-ji. Plus, the new Netflix original movie is directed by F. Gary Gray who is no stranger to high-stakes blockbusters having previously helmed The Fate of the Furious back in 2017.
The rise arguably lives up there in Netflix’s top 10, but the reaction from critics has been far from good.
Right now, the film has a poor 28% score on the Rotten Tomatoes review, and it doesn’t seem like the audience is very inspired by the heist comedy either. The Lift’s audience score lately stands at just 34% across more than 250 reviews.
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times argued that Lift “steals concepts from the most productive films” and called it “lacking originality” but praised the “talented” cast. Christy Lemire of RogerEbert. com also considered the film to be “star-studded” and “competently directed”, but ultimately concluded that it was an “empty” experiment.
Peter Travers is sharp in his review for ABC News, saying that Lift “gets off to a bad start in the new year with some other Kevin Hart flop that doesn’t even seem to be funny, preferring to pass it off as a run-of-the-mill time-stealing heist movie. I’ll never go back.
Similarly, IndieWire’s Samantha Bergeson joked that “they’re stealing our time here,” while The Daily Telegraph’s Ed Power called Lift “an Ocean’s Eleven knockoff” with “zero charm. “
Beth Webb of Empire magazine called it a “turbulent journey” but praised Mabatha-Raw’s performance and the film “should propel her towards bigger, bolder things. “
There are not many positive takes to be found online, but Adrian Horton of the Guardian did say “There’s plenty to keep many viewers watching for its 1 hour, 44-minute runtime” in a three-star review.
If you’re craving an easy-to-digest Netflix movie that combines a hit show with good-natured humor, then Lift might have some appeal. It’s also a great choice for the whole family with a PG-13 rating and an overall tone that never takes things too seriously.
However, if you’re looking for something to watch on Netflix that will stick with you, you’d better make a selection from our roundup of the best Netflix movies. Lift is a very forgettable action comedy, and it’s safe to say that it wouldn’t possibly make the list of the most productive of the year.
If you’re looking for alternatives, there are plenty of top-notch videos to watch this week. And if you also have a Max subscription, the streaming service just won a variety of videos with top scores for Rotten Tomatoes, adding true movie classics. .
Rory is a Deals Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on deals, gaming and streaming. When he’s not scouring retailers for PS5 restock or writing hot takes on the latest gaming hardware and streaming shows, he can be found attending music festivals and being thoroughly disappointed by his terrible football team.
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