CARRY-ON Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Jaume Collet- Serra
Stars: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sophie Carson, Dean Norris, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green, Sinqua Walls, Curtiss Cook, Josh Brener, Benito Martinez, Tonatiuh, Gil Perez-Abraham, Edwin Kho.

Produced by streaming giant Netflix, Carry-On is another passable Die Hard clone. It is also something of a guilty pleasure. This suspenseful thriller that has become Netflix’s most watched film of 2024, racking up some 42 million views within the first couple of weeks of release.
Like Die Hard 2 most of the action takes place within Los Angeles International Airport on Christmas Eve, one of the busiest times of the year for travelers and airport staff.
Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton, who played Elton John in the biopic Rocketman, etc) is one of the TSA agents charged with monitoring the x-ray machines that check all the carry on luggage at the airport check-in counters. He is tricked into picking up an earpiece. A text on his phone orders him to put it in his ear. A disembodied voice, identifying himself as “the Traveler” (Jason Bateman) informs him that he has to follow instructions and do exactly as he is told or else his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sophie Carson, from tv series Austin & Ally, etc), an airline operations manager, will be killed. He is told that he has to let a certain bag carrying a deadly package throughout without any trouble.
At first Ethan tries to push back against the threats, but the traveler soon shows what he is capable of doing to force Ethan to do as he is told. The traveler maintains pressure on Ethan by questioning him about his life, his failures, and especially his relationship with Nora. He taunts Ethan with the jibe – the choice between some 500 passengers on a plane or over 60,000 passengers crowded into the airport. The traveler also has an assistant monitoring his every move as he has hacked into the airport’s security and surveillance systems.
Meanwhile LA detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler, from I Saw The TV Glow, etc) is investigating a double murder and a suspicious fire. She discovers that one of the victims is a notorious arms smuggler who has smuggled Novichok, a deadly nerve agent, into the country. There is no known antidote for this deadly chemical weapon. Cole’s investigation eventually leads her to the airport and Ethan.
Ethan is desperate to try and work his way through this situation knowing that he is unable to call for help as the traveler has an assistant (a menacing Theo Rossi) monitoring him through surveillance. The action takes us into the bowels of the airport’s baggage distribution area as Ethan tries to outwit the traveler.
Carry-On is the first feature film script written by T J Fixman, a former writer for Insomnia Games, best known for writing a series of video games featuring Ratchet & Clank. Director Jaume Collet-Serra is a genre specialist who put Liam Neeson through his paces in a couple of action thrillers including Non-Stop. He is a dab hand with high concept, fast paced thrillers, and here he effectively ramps up the suspense and tension throughout the cat and mouse game played out between Ethan and the traveler.
Bateman is cast against type here but he still brings a certain charm and an icy demeanour to his performance as the intelligent and articulate but menacing mastermind calling the shots. Egerton makes for a likeable protagonist, and he brings a certain air of desperation to his role as the harried Ethan who is eager to prove himself especially as he is hoping to gain a promotion. Dean Norris plays his officious boss who becomes a little concerned at Ethan’s erratic and secretive behaviour.
Most of the interior airport scenes for Carry-on were filmed at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which has been largely vacant since 2019, and this lends authenticity to the film. Cinematographer Lyle Vincent (A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, etc) does a good job with the visuals. And as the film moves away from the claustrophobic interiors it becomes a little sillier. However, some moments and coincidences do stretch credulity.
★★★