Christmas Eve. A packed airport. One TSA officer who just became the most dangerous man in the building.
Carry-On is a 2024 Netflix thriller where a junior TSA officer gets blackmailed into waving a lethal package through security while a shadowy operator holds his girlfriend hostage on the other end of a phone line. The setup should deliver wall-to-wall tension. The problem is the film keeps tripping over itself to get there.
The Experience
The Highlights:
- Jason Bateman is the film's best asset. He brings a coiled, controlled menace to a role that could have easily been one-dimensional. Every scene he's in has an edge to it.
- The premise is gripping on paper. An airport on Christmas Eve, a hidden threat, and a man trapped between two impossible choices. The first act sets it up well enough to keep you leaning in.
- It moves fast. The pacing is relentless and the film never lingers long enough for you to get bored. If you want something loud to fill an evening, it does that job.
Fair Warning:
- The script leans too hard on convenience. Too many moments only work because the plot needs them to. Characters make choices no real person would make, and after the third or fourth time, it starts to corrode the tension the film is working so hard to build.
- Taron Egerton felt miscast. This isn't about his ability as an actor, it's about fit. The character needed someone who reads as more grounded and weathered. He never quite convinced me he belonged in that uniform.
- The stakes never fully land. For a movie this loud and fast, it's surprising how low the emotional weight feels. You're watching things happen rather than feeling them.
Final Verdict
This movie is the definition of a perfectly average thriller. The ingredients are all there but the execution fumbles enough that it never builds into anything memorable. Watch it if you need background noise with some adrenaline in it. Otherwise just rewatch Die Hard instead.
Am I being too harsh?
If you've already seen Carry-On, I want to hear your take. Drop a comment below, especially if you think Taron Egerton was actually the right call.
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