“Carry-On” (2024) is in the same vein as John McTiernan’s “Die Hard” (1988) or Ted Kotcheff’s “First Blood” (1982). It’s a film that takes place close to or on Christmas but isn’t a conventional Christmas film.
Instead, “Carry-On” is an exciting thriller with top A-list stars in Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman.
Egerton plays Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent for the Los Angeles International Airport who is blackmailed by a group of people into allowing a chemical weapon onto a flight on Christmas Eve. Bateman plays an unnamed character only known as “The Traveler,” who is hired by others to do the jobs that nobody else will do and gets paid a hefty amount of money.
Ethan does everything he can to prevent the package from going on the plane and the death of his pregnant girlfriend, Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson), by those who are blackmailing him. As the film comes to its climax, the question becomes whether Ethan will ultimately save the passengers or the love of his life.
Like the films that came before it, “Carry-On” does a great job establishing this ultimatum for the film’s hero. In either outcome, Ethan has to deal with the heavy burden of grief and guilt on his conscience.
Additionally, the film’s main antagonist, The Traveler, likes to keep a low profile but isn’t scared to emotionally torment Ethan or others. Even though The Traveler is just trying to get a piece of luggage on a plane, it is terrifying to know his motive and the lack of concern for people’s lives being at stake.
Bateman hasn’t had many chances to play a character like The Traveler in his career, but he does a stellar job bringing the character to life. A good portion of Bateman’s screen time in the film is him talking to Ethan via an earpiece. His presence is still intimidating, and he’s a man of his word when he threatens to harm those Ethan loves.
Every good villain comes with an equally good hero, and Ethan fits that perfectly. Ethan is just a normal person, and his dream job is to become a police officer. However, his application to the police academy failed several times.
He doesn’t take his job as a TSA agent seriously and is even scolded for it by his superior, Phil Sarkowski (Dean Norris). He only became a TSA agent because he wanted to stay with Nora, who pointed out to him that he should still pursue becoming a cop.
Egerton may not have the looks or physique of an average American man, but he does play Ethan well enough to make him a believable random person who gets caught up in the events of the film.
“Carry-On” does an excellent job with the ticking clock and suspense elements. There are many scenes in the film where the audience knows something bad will happen to one of the characters and their fate is inevitable.
There are also moments where Egerton is doing his best Tom Cruise impression and has to get from one place to another by running before people are harmed by The Traveler and his crew. There are even some times when Ethan is too late.
The incorporation of the Christmas holiday is also worthy of note. “Carry-On” could have easily been set during any other time of the year, but Christmas can often be an occasion when many people feel like they aren’t doing enough to please others or even themselves.
That feeling is true for Ethan and his feelings toward his job and family. The season of Christmas is less of a gimmick and more of a clever way to show how Ethan isn't the happiest during what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year.
“Carry-On” is a good thriller that also works as a Christmas film. It is available to stream on Netflix.
