Carry-On: Movie Review

Cast: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman. Sofia Carson, Theo Rossi, Dean Norris
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

It's very easy to write off Carry-On as another Christmas-tinged movie and dismiss it as a Die Hard-light film of a would-be terrorist and his victim, but French director Jaume Collet-Serra's cat-and-mouse game set inside an airport on Christmas eve is quite the tense watch.

Egerton's charming as Ethan Kopek, an airport security worker who's forced into a wake-up call after discovering he's about to become a father. Accused of sleepwalking on his ambitions by his girlfriend, Kopek decides on Christmas Eve to ask his boss for a chance to prove himself - just moments after showing up late to his daily briefing.

Against the odds, TSA Agent Kopek finds himself on the scanning machines - just as Bateman's menacing antagonist shows up in his ear, demanding Kopek scan through a bag and not alert anyone - if he wants his loved ones to live.

Carry-On has strong moments of suspense, mixed with a few moments of general absurdity as the dilemmas play out. 

But largely eschewing the desire to go hyper-silly and keeping this grounded (ironically for a story in an airport) works best for this blockbuster thriller that's perfectly suited for Saturday night entertainment.

Bateman's sardonic quips and deadpan delivery move him more into the dramatic edges than most roles have previously suggested - and it works well because of it. There are elements of early seasons of 24 (and one dilemma involving a boss distinctly so) that solidify Collet-Serra's intention to make this as white knuckle a ride as he can manage.

Yet it's in the one-two dynamic between an understated Egerton and a laconic Bateman that Carry-On works so well - it's a film that knows exactly what it wants to do and largely achieves it thanks to a taut amount of action and likeable performances.