Lift ending explained

❘ Published: 2024-01-12T08:30:00

Netflix

Lift, the new heist movie starring Kevin Hart and directed by F. Gary Gray, has finally landed on Netflix – below, we’ve broken down everything that happens in the ending of the film.

F. Gary Gray is a diverse filmmaker, with his oeuvre ranging from the 1995 comedy classic Friday to the NWA biographical drama Straight Outta Compton and 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. As for Kevin Hart, the famed comedian brings his unique sense of humor to his roles, even in more serious titles such as Fatherhood and True Story.

The pair have teamed up for new heist movie Lift, which sees Hart leading a packed cast, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Sam Worthington, and Jacob Batalon. As per the synopsis: “An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker (Hart), race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane at 40,000 feet.”

With Lift available for streaming on Netflix now, here’s everything you need to know about the ending. Warning: Major spoilers ahead!

Lift ending explained

The ending of Lift sees all of the loose ends tied up: villain Lars Jorgensen (Jean Reno) has been arrested; Abby (Mbatha-Raw) is with Cyrus and his heist crew, having resigned as an Interpol agent after her boss Huxley (Worthington) double crossed her; and the team reunite to reveal to Abby that they are in possession of the $500 million gold.

And yes, Cyrus and Abby end up sharing a kiss (which is inevitable, given their romantic history and the sexual tension palpable throughout). For one more positive spin, Cyrus reveals to Abby that he found out who stole the painting at the school her mom worked at, knowing it’s why she went into the crime-fighting world to begin with.

Early on in Lift, we learn that Cyrus and his crew of geniuses are akin to the Robin Hoods of the art world, essentially stealing art and cash from billionaires who “don’t deserve it.” Technically, what they’re doing is against the law, which is why Interpol agent Abby is trying to hunt them down.

Abby and Cyrus must work together

However, the narrative changes when Abby’s boss Huxley orders her to use Cyrus and Co to help them intercept a far more dangerous and sinister crime in the pipeline, led by Jorgensen. Huxley explains that Jorgensen is in cahoots with the hacker group Leviathan to attack water sources across the globe, having shorted stocks and utilities.

In short, Leviathan could create floods or dry up an entire country, killing millions in the process – and it would all lead to huge profits for Jorgensen. Since it’s such a nefarious plot, Leviathan wants their payment in gold to avoid it being traced by authorities. It’s Abby’s job to get Cyrus and his crew to stop the gold from reaching its intended destination. In return, their criminal records will be wiped clean.

Although the mission runs smoothly to begin with, eventually Jorgensen’s henchmen get in the way. It’s not looking good for the crew, especially when they accidentally crash their (borrowed) private jet right onto Jorgensen’s property, with the gold bars landing on his doorstep.

Jorgensen’s evil plans are thwarted

Jorgensen holds all of them up at gunpoint. Realizing he’s running out of time, he orders the Leviathan boss to get to work. When she refuses, he shoots her dead. Before he’s able to kill Cyrus or Abby, the local police turn up – but they’re unsure about who’s the real criminal.

Thankfully, Cyrus’ behind-the-scenes comrades Denton (Vincent D’Onofrio), Luke (Viveik Kalra), and Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim) have filmed the whole thing, and are able to play the footage across the fuselage of the jet. The police point their guns towards Jorgensen before taking him away, with Cyrus taunting, “Enjoy prison.”

As the team heads off, Abby finds out that Huxley wasn’t the one to stop the NATO jets from neatly blowing them up mid-heist, leading to her resigning from her role at Interpol on the spot and joining Cyrus and Co.

In the final scene, Cyrus and Abby drive to an unknown location as he explains what really went down. As well as finding out who stole the painting from her mom’s school and expressing his feelings for her, he reveals, “We stole the gold,” much to her surprise.

Huxley is left with nothing

Turns out, while much of the plan was laid out, there was one part she didn’t know about: while she and Cyrus were dealing with Jorgensen’s henchmen up in the air, their pal Magnus (Billy Magnussen) pulled a switcheroo, swapping the $500 million loot with gold-painted iron bars.

Here’s another twist: although it seemed like Luke (Viveik Kalra) had dipped out of the mission as he thought it was too risky, in reality he was tasked with steering the gold into a secret location via parachute. As Cyrus tells Abby all of this, the scene cuts to Huxley realizing he’s been left with a buttload of cheap iron – and he’s not best pleased.

The very final scene sees the whole team reunite as they retrieve the gold bars from a lake. Abby and Cyrus share a kiss before the group celebrate their epic win. The ending is smart, in that it wraps the storyline in a bow while also leaving room for a new adventure if Gray and Netflix decide to go ahead with a Lift sequel.

Lift is available to stream on Netflix now. You can read about the cast and characters here and check out more of our Netflix coverage below: