A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.
Chuck says:
Though it shamelessly cribs from numerous other action films, Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Carry-On” manages to be a surprisingly smart, entertaining genre exercise. Inventive and fun, the script by T.J. Fixman and Michael Green contains one clever surprise after another, while not forgetting to inject some knowing humor throughout. To be sure, it trips up a bit at the end when a couple of lapses in logic occur yet so much goodwill is established by then, you’ll likely forgive it its narrative faults.
It’s Christmas time and Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) has just gotten a pleasant but sobering piece of news from his wife, Nora (Sofia Carson). Seems she’s pregnant and suddenly, the unassuming underachiever realizes he needs to step up and do a bit more with his life. His application to the Los Angeles Police Department having been rejected, he’s been coasting through his security job with the TSA at LAX. So, when he asks his boss (Dean Norris) for more responsibility and a raise, he’s met with derision. However, when his buddy Jason (Sinqua Walls) vouches for him, Kopek is assigned to the baggage scanner, on the busiest travel day of the year, Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, a nefarious plot is afoot. Our hero is contacted by an anonymous man (Jason Bateman), who tells him a traveler by the name of Mateo Flores (Tonatiuh) will soon be coming to his line and he needs to allow his bag pass through no matter what he sees. He says Nora, who also works at the airport, will be killed if he doesn’t, providing proof he’s capable of carrying out this threat.
The game of cat-and-mouse that ensues between Kopek and his unseen assailant is very clever. Every move Kopek makes to extricate himself from the situation or get word to someone who can help is thwarted logically. None of the plot’s twists and turns come out of left field, nor are any of the characters’ actions implausible. To be sure, a bit of narrative convenience and coincidence is used at times, but nothing so egregious that it causes the viewer to give up their suspension of disbelief.
The committed cast, all overqualified in the roles they’ve been given, elevate the material, keeping us engaged via the emotional heft they bring to their characters. Egerton is always impressive, one of the best young actors working today. While Kopek is not as complex as the roles he tackled in “Rocketman,” “Black Bird,” or “Tetris,” he still fully commits to it, bringing subtle touches and added depth to the part. Bateman doesn’t break a sweat but that’s fine. His persona of icy cynicism suffused with effortless condescension are perfect for his villainous turn. The antagonistic interplay the two principals engage in not only elevates the tension but provide some clever, wry moments as well.
Collet-Serra employs an interesting array of innovative visual effects. Images of the phone screens are effortlessly made a part of the mise en scene, so we are privy to what the characters are reading, while a high-speed car wreck, utilizing CGI and physical elements, is one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in a movie this year.
Granted, “Die Hard” and its first sequel, “Red Eye,” and “The Guilty” will all come to mind while watching “Carry-On.” However, instead of looking at it with derision as a knock-off of these previous films, add it to the group as another smart, taut thriller that is far more entertaining than it has a right to be. Let the debate over whether it’s a holiday movie or not begin.
3 1/2 Stars
