The Stream: Jason Bateman is the same in everything whether a good guy or a bad guy.

The Big Screen: Exciting and extremely tense.

The Final Bill: A simple action thriller that is actually very suspenseful.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writers: T.J. Fixman
Stars: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rating: PG-13 for strong violence, bloody images, some language and suggestive references.
Runtime:
Production Companies: Amblin Partners, Cobalt Blue 1802, Dylan Clark Productions
Platform: On Netflix December 13, 2024
Notable Trailers: Six Triple Eight, Maria, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Hey, Streamers! The great Christmas movie debate continues. First, it was Die Hard. Now, it’s Netflix’s newest release that takes place at Christmas, Carry-On. In this action thriller, Taron Egerton plays, Ethan, an aspiring police officer and an uninspired TSA agent at LAX, who has a pregnant girlfriend, Nora, (Sofia Carson) but no sense of ambition. When Ethan takes the initiative on Christmas Eve to ask for a promotion, he gets placed in the path of a mysterious stranger who threatens Nora’s life unless Ethan allows a dangerous package through security without flagging it. Pat downs, scans and checked-bag hijinks ensue.

Carry-On is an action thriller that is not trying to reinvent the wheel, which happens to be its greatest asset. This movie is telling a good, suspenseful story set in a busy airport on Christmas Eve. The tension is so high naturally that it’s really hard to mess up. Fortunately, this movie doesn’t mess it up. It sets up a sympathetic character, raises the stakes, and moves from heightened situation to heightened situation – each more suspenseful than the next. Of course, we’ve seen this movie before and the story mercifully doesn’t get bogged down in conspiracy theories and the motivations of the villain, but the pacing is so good that it just draws you in and holds you until the very end.

Quick shout out to Taron Egerton who proves he can run just like Tom Cruise. Egerton shows that he has the action hero goods. Also, Danielle Deadwyler brings her A-game in an underwritten and thankless role. She projects strength in whatever she does. However, the one drawback is the super-lowkey way Jason Bateman plays the villain. It’s annoying that he seems to do the same thing all the time. Now, it is threatening and works for the character, but I feel like Bateman could do this performance in his sleep.

Ultimately, Carry-On delivers the suspense you’d expect from an action thriller. Taron Egerton does a great job running around as an “everyman” action hero. Jason Bateman does his typical thing, but it’s sufficiently threatening. The movie is successful in getting your stomach tied in knots. Enjoy a big box of popcorn with this new Christmas-themed action thriller.