Carry-On is a story of matching wits in a deadly situation. Christmas Eve at Los Angeles International Airport is a busy time. TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) is particularly grumpy that he has to spend it working. He’d much rather be at home with his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) who happens to work at LAX with him. Ethan is working the baggage-scanner when he receives a mysterious earpiece. A voice on the other end (Jason Bateman, credited as “the Traveler”) informs Ethan that he must follow his commands. If Ethan does not comply, the Traveler will execute Nora and possibly others. From there, Ethan enters a game of cat and mouse as he attempts to thwart the Traveler’s plans and keep Nora safe.
What works in Carry-On is the tension and sense of realism. Egerton versus Bateman is a very entertaining chess game to watch. T.J. Fixman has written all of his characters as highly intelligent and logical. A common failing of this genre is when the featured players don’t take the natural or expected courses of action. With Carry-On, these possibilities are continually considered and addressed in a very satisfying way. Everything Ethan and the Traveler do to outsmart each other, or wrestle for control of the situation, is clever. This results in a very taut and engrossing thriller all the way through the ending.
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Audiences who don’t enjoy psychological square-offs with violent outcomes may not enjoy Carry-On as much as others. Despite a rather outlandish scheme and narrative developments that feel a little too convenient at times, Carry-On could still feel “too real.” As such, some of the situations might come off as disturbing. Furthermore, some may find Carry-On a bit derivative. Many other films have tried this “public hostage” scenario (with varying degrees of success) so it’s hard not to draw comparisons. From that perspective, it would be fair to say that Carry-On is entertaining but doesn’t do much to reinvent the genre. Finally, those with a fear of flying may want to avoid this one.
Carry-On is a very serviceable film that delivers on what it’s selling. This is the kind of film that scratches a very specific itch and does it well. While it may not go down in history as an iconic classic, Carry-On is fun enough to warrant a look. Recommended.
Recommended if you enjoyed: Die Hard 2, Phone Booth, Non-Stop
Carry-On is now available to stream on Netflix.
