Lift 2023

The film features appearances by Victor Abreu(/actor/victor-abreu), Sharia Blockwood(/actor/sharia-blockwood), Diana Byer(/actor/diana-byer), Yolanssie Cardona(/actor/yolanssie-cardona), and Steven Melendez(/actor/steven-melendez) in supporting roles as themselves, setting the stage for a high-stakes, globe-spanning caper.

Cyrus Whitaker, a renowned international thief, commands a carefully chosen crew—Denton, pilot Camila, hacker Mi-Sun, safecracker Magnus, and engineer Luke—on a pair of simultaneous robberies that kick the story into motion. In London, they lift a Van Gogh, while in Venice they stage the pretend kidnapping of the celebrated NFT artist N8. Cyrus explains the lure: stolen paintings tend to surge in value after the heist, so the crew sells the Van Gogh on the black market for $20 million to seed a plan around N8’s NFT. The ruse pays off when N8’s NFT spikes to a staggering $89 million after the “kidnapping,” and the artist’s captors are poised to collect a generous share of the profits.

Interpol agent Abby Gladwell—a former lover of Cyrus—discovers evidence linking Denton to the London theft and has him arrested. Rather than pressing charges, Abby’s superior, Commander Huxley, leverages this development to force Cyrus and his team into assisting the capture of billionaire Lars Jorgensen. Jorgensen aims to profit by collaborating with the cyber-hacking group Leviathan to trigger a massive flood in Europe, enabling him to manipulate markets for billions. Leviathan demands payment in untraceable gold bullion, and Jorgensen has scheduled a shipment of gold from London to Leviathan’s bank in Zürich via a commercial airliner.

To secure clean records, Abby joins the crew to provide cover for Interpol. The plan is audacious: steal the gold while the plane is mid-air. They obtain a private jet from wealthy art collector Molsen, with Camila flying a daring maneuver that takes the jet beneath the airliner so Mi-Sun can spoof radar readings and keep the plane on course while the team diverts it to a private airfield. In exchange for the jet, Cyrus promises Molsen that he can persuade N8 to craft a special NFT for him. Magnus then cracks the safe, and after neutralizing Jorgensen’s guards, the crew aims to transfer the gold via the diverted jet.

Timing grows tighter when Jorgensen plants a mole in his own organization and accelerates the delivery date. Nevertheless, the crew executes the plan on schedule. A tense sequence unfolds as they fend off an attempted hijack by Jorgensen’s henchmen, culminating in a fierce battle aboard the jet. Magnus, Abby, Cyrus, and Camila are captured, while Magnus escapes on the ground and Abby and the others are forced to continue toward Jorgensen’s Tuscan estate with the gold.

Desperation peaks when Huxley orders NATO to shoot down the aircraft to prevent the gold from reaching its destination. Harry, the crew’s air-traffic contact, collaborates with Camila to alert the pilots that hostages are aboard, forcing a stand-down. A renewed clash with Jorgensen’s men ends with the jet crash-landing at the villa grounds. Abby, Cyrus, and Camila are captured at gunpoint, and Jorgensen executes Leviathan’s representative after they decide to scrap the deal. The Carabinieri arrive alongside Huxley, and Cyrus uses mounted cameras on the jet to reveal Jorgensen’s murder of the representative. Jorgensen is arrested, while Abby punches Huxley in a long-awaited confrontation and resigns from Interpol, choosing to ally with Cyrus.

Weeks later, a twist emerges: Cyrus reveals that the crew actually stole the gold shipment aboard the airliner and swapped it with iron bars painted to look like gold. With the real treasure recovered in their own way, the crew celebrates their success as Cyrus and Abby’s relationship is rekindled, underscoring a partnership built on shared risk, mutual trust, and a careful balance of loyalty and deception.