Lift Ending Explained: The Outcome of Cyrus High-Stakes Gold Heist

Cyrus manages to execute a flawless gold heist while staying ahead of Interpol’s attempts to stop him in the closing twist of Lift. Directed by F. Gary Gray, known for The Fate of the Furious, the Netflix film kicks off with Cyrus and his team abducting N8, an artist who has created a one-of-a-kind NFT.

Though Abby, an Interpol agent, makes an effort to intercept them, Cyrus remains a step ahead, slipping away at the last moment. Once they take N8 to their yacht, Cyrus explains that kidnapping the artist adds intrigue to his work, increasing its value and, by extension, boosting profits for his team.

While their primary focus is art theft—ensuring that artists receive proper recognition for their work—Interpol presents them with an entirely different challenge: stealing gold from billionaire Lars. Initially hesitant, Cyrus eventually agrees and crafts a detailed plan to pull off the operation.

Though complications arise, he finds a way to turn unexpected obstacles into an advantage. Netflix now has Lift available for streaming, raising the question—does Kevin Hart’s team of criminals make it out alive?

An Elite Crew Faces Their Most Daring Heist

With Loki star Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Money Heist actress Úrsula Corberó among the cast, this action-comedy follows a team of master thieves recruited by Interpol to stop a large-scale terrorist threat.

Their mission requires them to steal an enormous stash of gold from a plane flying across Europe—an undertaking that is not only high-risk but also one of the most complex heists they have ever attempted. Pulling it off will require precision, skill, and a bit of luck.

Leading the operation is Cyrus (Kevin Hart), backed by a highly specialized team: pilot Camila (Corberó), hacker Mi-Sun (Yun Jee Kim), safecracker Magnus (Billy Magnussen), engineer Luke (Viveik Kalra), and disguise expert Denton (Vincent D’Onofrio).

Together, they have already managed to pull off a major art heist, stealing an original Van Gogh painting from London.

The Tension Between Cyrus and Abby

Interpol agent Abby (Mbatha-Raw) is reluctant to accept the mission, mainly because her superior, Huxley (Sam Worthington), insists that she enlist Cyrus and his crew.

This is not a decision she welcomes, given their history—during an undercover operation in Paris a year earlier, she and Cyrus shared an intense week before discovering each other’s true identities.

Now, Abby can barely tolerate being in the same room as Cyrus. However, she has little choice but to collaborate with him to prevent mob boss Jorgensen (Jean Reno) from delivering half a billion dollars in gold to a terrorist group called Leviathan.

Their deal is simple: if they succeed in intercepting the gold before it reaches the wrong hands, their criminal records will be erased. The bigger question, however, is whether they will survive long enough to enjoy that freedom.

Breaking Down the Ending of Lift

After weeks of planning, the team is forced to carry out the heist earlier than expected. Using a private jet piloted by Camila, they manipulated the radar signature of the target aircraft, diverting it to Cortina Airport instead of Zurich.

Assisting them from Brussels air control is the irritable but reliable Harry (David Proud), who ensures that authorities do not detect the switch. However, Jorgensen’s men quickly realize something is wrong.

A violent confrontation erupts as Magnus struggles to access the gold, which is securely locked inside a high-tech vault in the plane’s cargo hold. As the situation spirals out of control, Abby and Cyrus find themselves outnumbered, and Magnus is unable to extract the gold in time.

With most civilians left behind in Cortina, Abby, Cyrus, and Camila are forced back onto the jet along with the gold, now headed straight for Jorgensen’s mansion in Tuscany.

A Battle in the Sky and a Final Confrontation

While en route, Camila’s expert piloting allows them to take control of the jet, ejecting Jorgensen’s henchmen from the aircraft. However, they barely escape being shot down by NATO’s First Response Force.

Following an emergency landing in Italy, their troubles continue as Jorgensen awaits them on the ground, accompanied by Leviathan’s leader (Martina Avogadri). Suspecting an Interpol informant among them, she prepares to leave—but Jorgensen executes her before she can act.

In a bid to protect Abby, Cyrus steps forward and claims to be the Interpol agent. Just as he is about to be killed, the Italian Carabinieri arrive. Thanks to the high-tech LED screens on the private jet, authorities have recorded proof that Jorgensen was not acting in self-defense but executing people in cold blood.

He is taken into custody as Huxley and other Interpol agents arrive to secure the gold. Upon discovering that Huxley had ordered NATO to shoot down the jet despite knowing civilians were onboard, Abby retaliates—punching him before resigning from her job.

A Stunning Double Twist

Weeks later, Cyrus and Abby are seen driving through a picturesque mountainous region in an undisclosed European location. Then, Cyrus delivers two major surprises. First, he reveals that he has tracked down the thief who stole her mother’s Hockney print.

During an earlier conversation, Abby mentioned that her interest in art theft investigations stemmed from her childhood when a valuable print was stolen from her school. Not only does Cyrus give her the name of the person responsible, but he also informs her that he bought the print back and returned it to her old school.

As Abby processes this revelation, Cyrus hits her with another bombshell—the gold that Interpol seized was fake.

Unbeknownst to Abby, the team had devised an alternate plan: while airborne, they discreetly dropped the real gold from the plane using parachutes, swapping it with counterfeit bars they had smuggled aboard earlier. Exactly how Magnus pulled off the switch remains a mystery.

Luke, contrary to what was believed, never abandoned the mission; instead, he stayed behind to oversee the real gold’s safe retrieval. As they reach a secluded lake, the entire team reunites, knowing that at the bottom of those waters lies the wealth that will fund their fresh start.

Whether that fresh start means staying away from crime or diving right back in remains uncertain.