Lift isn’t your standard heist movie. The trademarks of the genre – a slick ensemble (here led by Kevin Hart), impossible odds, and a deliciously evil target (ruthless banker Jorgensen, played by Jean Reno) – are all present but, as Hart tells 12DOVE, there are a few more wildcards to help set it apart from its sticky-fingered peers.
"Of course, the play on the NFT," Hart explains on how Lift immediately separates itself from an ever-popular heist genre inside the first 10 minutes with an ultra-contemporary target. "Also, the idea of the heist taking place in the air was a really creative concept, right? We’re no stranger to heist movies at this point, we’ve seen a lot of them in our time, so when you can find something to hold on to that adds the context of ‘new’, I think that’s good."
Hart continues, "Our writers and creators who were all part of this process did a good job of giving us something different to hold on to and base the movie around. The gold being on the plane in the sky and having to take the plane and have the crazy plan attached to it? I think it all was great."
Yes, that’s right: Hart’s smooth-talking Cyrus assembles a crack team to steal gold from a plane while the plane is still in the air.
Joining him on the mile-high heist is Loki’s Gugu-Mbatha Raw, who plays Interpol agent, Abby, master of disguise Denton (Vincent D’Onofrio), wheelwoman Camila (Ursula Corbero), tech expert Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim), and the safecracking – and wisecracking – Magnus, played by Billy Magnussen.
Plane talking
Lift, inevitably, makes the most of its scenes at 30,000 feet – including purpose-built practical sets to allow the actors to really make the most of its premise. It’s all bolstered by director F. Gary Gray, who has heist movie experience helming 2003’s The Italian Job, as well as The Fate of the Furious.
"Our director F. Gary Gray really excels at action," Mbatha-Raw says. "They expanded, even from the script, the fight scenes. They were really, really epic. From the original plane to the stealth jet plane, we really had a lot of different things to do there. I mean – not to spoil the stuff – we all had wire work, the plane actually moved, so it was a real challenge. It was really cool."
Outside of the unique setup, much of Lift’s magic lies in seeing its cast – from many different backgrounds and nationalities – collide.
It’s an ensemble that includes South Korean singer Yun Jee Kim’s Hollywood debut ("Vincent told me: 'Yun Jee, you deserve to be where you are, you’re amazing. Just do your thing'," Kim recalls) and Spanish actor Ursula Corbero, herself no stranger to vaults and lock combinations as Tokyo in Netflix sensation Money Heist.
"As people are arriving, we’re looking at each other like, 'Oh my god, who’s that?' This is going to be so fun. I never saw Ursula in anything, I never saw [Yun Jee] in anything. Billy and I looked at each other like, ‘This is really quite original. This is going to be good.'" D’Onofrio remembers.
That unique combination of actors, in turn, led to a loose, unbridled sense of creativity during filming.
"It’s one of the things that the director originally, when we first all got there, he did want us to bring whatever we could. So we felt the allowance to do that. Sometimes he was a little nervous at how far we went," D’Onofrio says, adding, "We’re all experienced in film. If it doesn’t work, it won’t be in the movie."
"I tried so hard to make Magnus a redneck. I was trying really hard and [the director] wouldn’t let me do it," Magnussen laughs.
Despite his hillbilly antics not making the final cut, Magnussen felt emboldened to bring more than what was in the script to the role as the segway-riding, bubblegum-blowing, sex toy-juggling Magnus.
"Originally on the page there wasn’t much there," Magnussen explains. "But I was like, 'What are the two farthest extremes of the character?' He’s a genius and he’s messing around with stuff. Then I put in an eccentric personality. I just wanted to see those two worlds collide. I just like playing with things that are so far apart from each other."
But the last word – and last laugh – inevitably comes from Kevin Hart, who clearly harbors ambitions to be Hollywood’s next big action hero.
"I just wanna say, for the record, I wanted to do all the stunts really in the sky because of my stunt background, which I’m sure you’re aware of," Hart jokes.
"I didn’t want to use wires. Because of [the other actors] and their needs I said OK and I’ll get on the wire. If it had been just me, I would’ve done it in the same manner as Tom Cruise approached his work."
Lift is streaming on Netflix from January 12. For more, check out the best Netflix movies and best Netflix shows.
