Carry-On Movie Review

Carry-On (2024)

Watch Carry-On on Netflix
Written by: T.J. Fixman
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, Dean Norris, Benito Martinez
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Eve flight.

Verdict
It's a generic action movie that spends a lot of time treading water. It takes the concept of annoying airport lines and spins it into a movie. With all of the contrivances and tropes while also setting it at Christmas, this seem like Netflix is just checking off the boxes. It's a great setup, but this is painfully predictable and it needs to be thirty minutes shorter. The last third is energetic and it needs to get there quicker. When this slows down, it gives me too much time to think about the convenient plot points. It's not bad, but it could have been better and it feels like an idea that's been honed to reach the broadest possible audience.
It depends.

Review
Director Collet-Serra's recent films include middling actions movies like The Commuter, Jungle Cruise, and Black Adam.

The first scene is very pointed. It's a late night greenhouse meeting with a shadowy figure we can't see. If we didn't suspect this guy was a criminal, the fact he never leaves the shadows is a big clue. This is after a cheery Christmas music introduction. Then we cut to a young TSA agent Ethan (Taron Egerton) and his pregnant wife. He didn't get into the police academy and it's easy to see where this is going.

Ethan's been coasting on the job, but on this day he solicits his boss to give him a shot and put him on the scanning machine. Who can't see what's going to happen? This secretive group planned to blackmail the guy scheduled on the machine, but now Ethan's there. Instead the shadowy group will blackmail Ethan.

Taron Egerton plays Ethan Kopek

Ethan has to play a dangerous game where he's on the razor's edge. He wants to find his blackmailer, but he can't be too conspicuous because his blackmailer can see everything. It's a great setup with the blackmailer (Jason Bateman) in his ear holds all the cards. Any attempt Ethan makes to alert the anyone is shut down immediately. How can Ethan extract himself from this impossible situation? It's definitely intense.

This concept suffers from contrivance. When Ethan refuses to keep helping, they put a sniper on his girlfriend. Somehow where the sniper parks a van outside lines up perfectly with where Ethan and his girlfriend stop walking as he's trying to get her to safety. Despite all of his attempts to thwart the operation, he encounters the man with the case and it was easy to see where that would go. No action movie at the airport is complete without a bomb countdown and Ethan manages to stop it with two seconds to go. It's just a bit much. There's also detective Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) who is the only person that thinks something fishy is going on. When she suspects the guy driving her car may be an imposter, she pulls a gun. Other than to start an action scene, why would you pull a gun on someone driving a car? It makes more sense to keep your cover and wait until you stop since the driver is unaware. While logical, it prevents a fight in a moving car. While this fight is over the top, it's the most notable sequence in the movie.

Jason Bateman plays the blackmailer

I began to wonder what Ethan would do if he survives. He burns way too many bridges while trying to appease his blackmailer, alienating everyone. This whole plan is one heck of a play. The blackmailer is hoping he can convince someone to help you and that just leaves a ton of variables that would never play in reality. It makes for high intensity even if it is unlikely. Speaking of improbable, how are people able to outrun a car on foot?

At two hours long, this is thirty minutes too long. This should shorten the first two thirds. Once we get to the action and Ethan leaves the scanning line, this movie gets the push it needs. We get a nice showdown at the end, though I doubt a cop would trust Ethan to bring this home with everything that's transpired. The conclusion wraps up rather neatly, sidestepping all the chaos and havoc that to which Ethan had a huge part in contributing.