Time: 119 Minutes
Cast:
Taron Egerton as Ethan Kopek
Jason Bateman as Traveler
Sofia Carson as Nora Parisi
Danielle Deadwyler as Elena Cole
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Carry-On had my curiosity, I knew that it was an upcoming Netflix action thriller set around Christmas starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman. However, I was mostly interested because it’s the newest movie by Jaume Collet-Serra, who had previously made action movies such as The Commuter, Run All Night and Unknown. I wouldn’t say that Carry-On is one of his best, but it was enjoyable enough for what it was.

Carry-On is a typical action thriller set at an airport, and there have been enough action movies with similar premises that at a point it felt a little derivative and it was fairly easy to pick up on the cliches. Still, it’s straightforward enough, has a functional script which sets up its plot and characters well, and creates some good tension. It’s at its most thrilling and compelling when it is contained at the airport and follows Egerton being terrorised and threatened. When it goes outside of this simple plot to focus on other aspects such as Danielle Deadwyler as a cop doing some investigating, it really breaks up the flow and tension. Also, despite the straightforward premise, some of the later plot developments just end up being a little convoluted.

Taron Egerton is great as the lead. He’s convincing with the drama and action, and effectively conveys his character’s desperateness and anxiousness. Jason Bateman plays the main villain and is quite good. He is threatening and menacing while largely remaining calm throughout, and shares a good dynamic and interplay with Egerton. Meanwhile, Danielle Deadwyler, Sofia Carson, Theo Rossi, Logan Marshall-Green and Dean Norris do well in supporting roles.

Jaume Collet-Serra’s direction is decent, he has a good sense for these kinds of movies by now. There are some effectively thrilling and tense set pieces and action, and is accompanied by a solid score from Lorne Balfe. There is a particular sequence in the second half which is worth mentioning however; it is incredibly out of place, and with the physics, camerawork, and the cgi quality, it’s like it briefly turned into Crank 2 with the level of absurdity. While it’s very easy to criticise, it is at least amusing and almost has to be seen to be believed.

Carry-On is a bit convoluted and silly, but is overall a tense and entertaining enough action thriller, benefitting from the solid direction and good cast.