Netflix bet big on Kevin Hart by signing the actor and comedian to a massive development deal that would see him produce and star in a string of exclusive projects that could only be found on the streaming service, but it would be fair to say the company has yet to see a tangible return on its investment.
Odd couple buddy caper The Man from Toronto partnered him up with Woody Harrelson and delivered about the blandest version of its premise you could possibly imagine, with the end result being a dismal 23 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. However, it looked like The Godfather compared to Me Time, which netted a six percent approval rating on the aggregation site and a well-earned reputation as one of the streaming service’s worst-ever in-house features.
Then there’s semi-biographical crime thriller True Story, which saw Hart and Wesley Snipes embark on a misadventure that barely even made a splash in terms of viewership numbers, which has naturally led to much suspicion after it was revealed his next offering Lift had been delayed from August 25 of this year to January 12, 2024.
Directed by The Fate of the Furious and Straight Outta Compton‘s F. Gary Gray, it’s basically a heist flick set in midair, it’ll no doubt feature Hart doing his usual shtick except this time at a high altitude, which isn’t exactly exciting.
While there are plenty of reasons why Netflix made the call to push Lift by almost half a year, Hart’s track record means it’s going to be viewed with skepticism regardless.
