From Jeremy Kibler

Seconds into airport thriller Carry-On, Bruce Springsteen singing about Santa coming to town announces itself to be a Christmas movie. That’s apropos, because once the everyman-saves-the-day plot gets underway, it’s also pretty apparent that Carry-On is “Die Hard in an airport.” (Yes, the debate is over, that prototypical action movie with Bruce Willis is, indeed, a Christmas movie.)

An airport novel of a thriller actually set in an airport, Carry-On has the benefit of being directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The man has showed a flair for skillfully crafting a popcorn movie or seven (DC Comics dud Black Adam might be his sole major misfire). Even in what could have been a cheap, empty thrill machine, Collet-Serra knows how to keep things moving at a quick clip and the stress levels high. 

The cleverly plotted script by scribes T.J. Firman and Michael Green follows a basic template, making sure TSA agent Ethan (Taron Egerton) is as happy as can be with his girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), the director of operations at LAX. The couple just found out they’re pregnant on Christmas Eve, and they both have to work the busy holiday (and LAX is played by Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport). Worse than dealing with annoying travelers, Ethan ends up picking up an earpiece left inside a bin for the X-ray screening. On the other end is “Traveler” (Jason Bateman), who keeps a low profile in a baseball cap and tells Ethan about a suitcase containing a lethal Russian nerve toxin, and there is malintent. It’s Ethan’s job to let the case get on board a flight—and possibly allow 250 people to die—or else those closest to him are dead meat. What’s an Ethan to do?

There are quite a few moving parts to the construction of the plot that stopping to ponder every logistic may result in a shaky game of Jenga. LAPD Officer Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) gets involved; Traveler has a Watcher (Theo Rossi), keeping watch in a truck outside the airport with a kidnapped man in the back; a Homeland Security agent (Logan Marshall-Green) joins forces with LAPD; and of course, there’s the man, Mateo (Tonatiuh Elizarraraz), carrying on the dangerous case.

Taron Egerton is magnetic as ever, even in everyman-turned-patsy mode, and very sympathetic as a late-twentysomething who found the love of his life but isn’t satisfied in his career (Ethan got kicked out of the police academy). When asked to spring into action, he’s still convincing and gets to do as much open-handed running as Tom Cruise. Both Egerton and Sofia Carson (who’s thankfully not relegated to being a damsel in distress as Nora) give the viewer enough rooting interest that one hopes their child will grow up with both parents alive and well. 

One of these Die Hard clones can only be as good as its bad guy, and Carry-On does have its own Hans Gruber in Jason Bateman’s Traveler. “I’m not some cartoon villain. I’m just a regular guy like you, except with goals and a clear plan to achieve them,” Traveler says condescendingly to Ethan. Not the first time but certainly a rare opportunity, Bateman makes for a fierce and whip-smart baddie with that wry sense of humor we expect from the actor. Only credited as “Traveler,” he may be elusive and seemingly omniscient, but this guy doesn’t consider himself a “terrorist” — he’s just doing his job by any means necessary.

The supporting cast is a solid one (Dean Norris, Danielle Deadwyler, Curtiss Cook), some heavy-hitters only getting a throwaway part. Deadwyler is overqualified for how little she gets to play here as an LAPD officer, but she transcends her functional role with her no-nonsense presence and badass swagger.

Everything about Carry-On should feel routine, but the actors and director Collet-Serra’s slick, coherent guiding of the action give the material a big lift. A gun-pulling scuffle in a car going 70 mph on a highway, resulting in a pile-up and an inevitable rollover, is a thrillingly choreographed and fluidly executed armrest-clencher, and the song it’s cued to is a pretty inspired choice. A chase and eventual shoot-out in the baggage handling area is also excitingly staged, as is the finale set in the cargo of a plane. 

We know the John McClane stand-in will probably be okay just in time for his Christmas trip to Tahiti, but it’s still fast-paced and entertaining to watch him squirm. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Carry-On hits Netflix on December 13, 2024.

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