Netflix’s original movies huff and puff, varying in degrees of quality.
Jaume Collet-Serra’s Carry-On won’t be gobbling up the trophies during the 2025 awards season, but the filmmaker rolled back the years to tap into the same single-setting action thriller mindset as John McTiernan’s Die Hard. A smidgen under two hours, Carry-On pulsates for every second its own screen, producing more than a reasonable share of thrills for the audience to savor.
Taron Egerton stars as Ethan Kopek, a crestfallen TSA officer at LAX who wanted to be a policeman but was rejected by the academy. The story kicks off on Christmas Eve as Ethan discovers his girlfriend, Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson) – who also works at the same airport as him – is pregnant. Determined to do right by her, he decides to knuckle down at the job he hates to support their new family. He convinces his supervisor, Phil Sarkowski (Dean Norris), to give him more responsibility and to handle the baggage-scanning lane. His day takes a turn for the worse, though, after he receives an earbud and an unnamed traveler (Jason Bateman) attempts to blackmail Ethan into allowing a dangerous nerve agent on board a flight or else he’ll kill Nora.
The mark of a true action hero isn’t in how much butt they kick on screen, but how they take the audience on the gripping journey with them. As Ethan, Taron Egerton receives limited opportunity to showcase his fighting prowess, rather his performance relies on his character’s ability to react in the face of danger. Throughout Carry-On, the Traveler tells Ethan all that he has to do to survive the day is “nothing”; however, that doesn’t sit right with him who has done that for too long in his life. Ethan sees the young children and families boarding the flight and realizes he cannot sit back and allow mindless death and destruction to happen.
Under Jaume Collet-Serra’s deft direction, Egerton plays Ethan as a conflicted man who runs the gamut of emotions – ranging from fear to desperation. He demonstrates good natural instincts, but he suffers as the Traveler’s eyes and ears on the airport floor inform him of Ethan’s plans. It’s torturous to watch as Ethan believes he’s found a way to stop the Traveler but is halted in a heartbeat. Throw in the fact that Ethan’s co-workers start to get suspicious of him and he continuously finds himself fighting the ever-growing odds. Surprisingly, Egerton’s Ethan isn’t a cliched ’80s-inspired tough guy à la John McClane; instead, the actor brings a grounded realism to the character. He’s scared, afraid, and out of his depth, but he refuses to give up.
Taron Egerton’s Ethan shines because the antagonist is so good in Carry-On. Anyone who has followed Jason Bateman’s career knows he’s more than a comedy actor. His nice guy demeanor can be weaponized and turned into the greatest asset for an unassuming bad guy. In Carry-On, this is exactly what happens as Bateman’s Traveler flies under the radar because no one suspects him of dastardly deeds. He disappears into the background as an ordinary fiftysomething man in a black cap and black clothing who is free to plot and ploy without notice. He’s a puppet master and controls many marionettes.
While timid in appearance, Bateman channels a sinister quality into every other aspect of his performance. At first, he speaks to Ethan calmly and simply, reassuring him that if he follows instructions, nothing bad will happen to him or Nora. When Ethan gets out of line, though, he reveals his true face. He steps up the menacing threats – either through his own brand of physicality or using his hired goons.
Without Bateman’s delivery, this dangerous cat-and-mouse game between the Traveler and Ethan wouldn’t work either. The most powerful weapon in his arsenal is information and he torments Ethan through his knowledge and meticulousness. In a way, he’s reminiscent of Kiefer Sutherland’s Caller from Phone Booth, where his words hold more malevolence than anything he does.
T.J. Fixman’s script values pure heart-in-throat blockbuster entertainment over rich thematic meaning. Carry-On isn’t trying to change the world or address social plights; it’s all about the setup and nail-biting action scenes. In short it’s big, dumb fun that’s easy to digest, no matter the time of day or occasion. Also, it helps that Jaume Collet-Serra carved out a niche for himself in this genre, bringing all he learned from directing films such as Non-Stop and The Commuter and channeling it into an easy to watch popcorn flick.
That said, Ethan possesses an enthralling magnetism as a protagonist. The audience wants to spend more time with him and see where his character arc takes him. They want to find out how he, Nora, and the baby are doing, or if there will be any backlash after the events of this movie. Resultantly, it isn’t too hard to imagine Carry-On turning into a franchise starter for Netflix. As Die Hard proved, there’s a lot of mileage in these types of films, so don’t be surprised if Carry-On 2: Carry-On Harder arrives in the next year or two.
