Carry-On – Review | Netflix (3/5)

CARRY-ON on Netflix is a new psychological thriller that takes place on Christmas Eve in LAX and features a great cast featuring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman. Also, quite some intense action scenes as everyone’s life is on the line. Read our full Carry-On movie review here!

CARRY-ON is a new Netflix thriller set during Christmas at an airport. The two lead roles are portrayed by Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman who can each carry a movie, so the combination works remarkably well. As does the rest of the cast, I should add.

Surprisingly, to myself anyway, I never looked at the watch to see how much of the movie was left, so it was never too slow or boring. Still, it could have been a little shorter as a runtime of almost two hours is a little on the long side.

Continue reading our Carry-On movie review below. Find it on Netflix from Friday the 13th of December, 2024.

This is why I never travel on Christmas Eve

In Carry-On, we meet TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Edgerton) as he goes to work on Christmas Eve and is blackmailed in the most brutal way. While working security, he is asked (or blackmailed, as it were) into letting a carry-on suitcase slip through and onto a plane.

At first, he has no idea what’s in the suitcase, but once he sees the imagery on the scan, he knows we’re not talking about smuggling some kind of illegal product. Instead, it’s a weapon, so now everyone in the airport (and soon on a specific flight) will be in extreme danger.

Now, why would a TSA agent (or anyone, for that matter) allow this, you may wonder. Well, the person demanding this of him is threatening to kill his girlfriend. His pregnant girlfriend, who also works at the airport.

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Also, before too long, Ethan Kopek will know that the man asking isn’t bluffing. The blackmailer is known simply as “Traveller” (Jason Bateman), but we all know he isn’t working alone.

Of course, Ethan’s sense of justice can’t stand for this demand, but he needs to be smart. And when his blackmailer seems to have ears and eyes everywhere, how can he outmaneuver him?!

You’ll have to watch Carry-On on Netflix to find out. And, trust me, you will be well-entertained from start to finish, so you’ll want to watch it.

Taron Egerton as the hero… I can buy that!

I love Taron Egerton in everything he does, and he has portrayed some extremely diverse characters. From the spy-in-training in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) to a man with an Olympic dream in Eddie the Eagle (2015), and even as Elton John in Rocketman (2019).

Most recently, he’s continued to portray real-life people in the Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird and the movie Tetris (2023). The fact that he is such a chameleon makes him perfect for these productions, but I do enjoy seeing him portray original characters as well.

Also, working across from Jason Bateman (Ozark, The Outsider) is brilliant. As much as I can buy Taron Egerton playing the hero, I can completely accept Jason Bateman as the villain.

I think Jason Bateman is an amazing actor and as a voice actor alone (which is what he does for a good part of Carry-On), he can be the hero, the villain, and everything in between. In this new Netflix Christmas thriller, however, he is definitely the villain.

Well, in the same sense that Mrs. Reed is in Black Doves anyway. He does the bidding of whoever pays the most. Simple as that.

A new alternative Christmas movie classic?

The simple fact that the 2024 Netflix movie Carry-On takes place in an airport on Christmas Eve reminded me of Die Hard 2 and how it has become an alternative Christmas movie for many.

I mean, sure, Die Hard 2 takes place in Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. while Carry-On is in Los Angeles International Airport (aka LAX).

Also, this time the dangerous element is in the actual airport while the issue in the Die Hard sequel is that planes can’t land. Yes, I’m oversimplifying but you get the gist.

Finally, in both stories, one man (first Bruce Willis, now Taron Egerton) needs to step up and save everyone else. Again, this is a gross oversimplification of their respective storylines, but I’m trying to point out what makes the two similar, not different.

The overall stories are nothing alike, but I do feel this 2024 movie could be an alternative Christmas movie for the younger generations.

In my mind, Carry-On is a perfect companion movie to Die Hard 2 (which in itself is a perfect companion to the first Die Hard), so obviously, I’m recommending a Christmas movie marathon. Well, one that consists of these alternative Christmas movies, of course.

Watch Carry-On on Netflix

The director of Carry-On is Jaume Collet-Serra and he knows how to build suspense and keep you hooked. He previously directed the shark horror thriller The Shallows (2009) and the creepy horror movie Orphan (2009).

His very first feature film was the 2005 horror movie House of Wax. Also, he directed several Liam Neeson thrillers like Unknown (2011), Non-Stop (2014), Run All Night (2015), and The Commuter (2016). Basically, Jaume Collet-Serra knows how to make these stories work.

The screenplay comes from writer T.J. Fixman who previously has worked mostly on video games (as Todd Fixman). He has a few more productions in the works; A Knight Rider movie in development and Past Midnight in production. After Carry-On, I’m intrigued.

Even though I don’t mind saying this could be a new classic Christmas movie for younger generations, I don’t know that I’ll watch it again. Or rather, I think I will, but not until in a few years. Then I might want to revisit it and just enjoy the suspense again.

Carry-On premieres on Netflix on December 13, 2024. 

Details

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: T.J. Fixman
Cast: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Sinqua Walls, Logan Marshall-Green, Theo Rossi, Josh Brener, Dean Norris, Tonatiuh, Curtiss Cook, Joe Williamson, Gil Perez-Abraham