“Carry On” is a dramatic holiday film that leaves those traveling during the holidays suspicious of everyone around them. The two-hour movie entails a miserable TSA agent, Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton), who becomes entangled in a mysterious baggage delivery.
I know. The plot does not sound very riveting.
But trust me, this movie is not boring. Director Jaume Collet-Serra provides viewers with all the backstory needed – even if it feels irrelevant at first.
The plot starts in a warehouse where a seemingly dangerous Russian exchange is made shortly before the entire building explodes.
After that, you never see the warehouse again, but the information gathered in the first scene will be essential later on in the movie.
Collet-Serra takes us to the present day, where the storyline of Ethan Kopek and his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) begins on an early morning shift on Christmas Eve at the airport. Kopek failed out of the police academy and is clearly unimpressed with working at TSA, but with the news of him becoming a dad in the next few months, Kopek decides he must find a way to get a promotion.
Naturally, Kopek’s boss allows him to work at the baggage-scanning lane where Jason Bateman, your classic “bad guy,” seeks to take control.
Surrounded by a cast of somewhat new faces, Bateman was an incredible selection to fill the role of a subtle traveler with unpredictable motives. His dry character is haunting, leaving the audience hanging on the edge of their seats for what is to come next.
Bateman indirectly delivers Kopek an earbud that will change Kopek’s life. Bateman takes control of the plot, steering the film away from Kopek’s unenticing life and toward an erratic yet controlled crime.
For the most part, this Netflix Original feels like it could be realistic. It leads viewers to be suspicious of any luggage in the airport – especially black bags with red ribbon tags.
There are a few scenes included where CGI is too obvious, discrediting the film’s ability to seem real. This intense scene toward the end of the movie added an element of suspense and surprise, but truly, it is not needed. It plays into the subplot of LAPD detective Elena Cole and her ambitious attempts to protect the airport from potential danger, but the over-the-top CGI ruins the hard work that Collet-Serra put into making the film feel palpable.
“Carry On” is one of those movies that will leave people debating on whether it should be a Christmas movie or not. Like “Die Hard,” “Carry On” is set on Christmas Eve, but the holiday itself really has nothing to do with the plot of the film besides the emphasis on a heavy travel day.
Yes, it includes a soundtrack entirely of popular Christmas sing-a-longs, with Wham!’s “Last Christmas” playing during the most action-packed scene in the movie. But honestly, just a catchy soundtrack is not enough to deem this a holiday movie- it is a movie set during the holiday season but it is not a film I would watch annually to celebrate.
Although this film is not considered a Christmas movie, it should absolutely be considered a heroic action film. The movie is well-produced, with every scene impacting the next. The backstories of characters are continuously developed, making it hard to predict their next move.
Jason Bateman’s devious character, paired with Taron Egerton’s newbie-esque disposition, creates an environment for potential destruction or a budding hero.
This Netflix Original is an engaging nail-biter that is well worth watching. To some, airports may never be looked at the same, and others may have been wary all along.
