To British people of a certain age, if you say Carry On, you think of silly comedies with Sid James, Kenneth Williams, and nearly seeing Bab Windsor’s baps fall out at a camping site (I make no apology for using the same jokes as the trailer article). In this new Carry-On movie, the title refers to something someone would ‘carry on’ to a plane. Clever.
For me, Carry-On came out of nowhere and suddenly landed on Netflix. It stars Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Tonatiuh, Logan Marshall-Green and Dean Norris. Jaume Collet-Serra directs with T. J. Fixman and Michael Green writing.
The Story
I had heard it was like Die Hard. It was not like Die Hard, well, it’s about the wrong man, in the in wrong place, but that’s about it. I like Egerton, but he’s not Willis! The story is:
A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.
The movie starts with a dark character buying Novichok, the deadly nerve agent. The plan is to get it on a plane with an explosive. The problem is airport security.
We meet Ethan (Egerton), a TSA agent just happy to be at work. His girlfriend, Nora (Carson) is pushing him to reach out and get a promotion, which he does. Today, he’s put on the front line and at the baggage x-ray machine.
Someone on the line says they found an earbud. Ethan picks it up and then gets a text telling him to put it in his ear. We then meet a voice who tells Ethan he has to let a bag on the plane. If he doesn’t, Nora and his family, are going to be killed.
The rest of the movie is a cat-and-mouse game with Ethan trying to figure out who’s talking to him, while not getting killed. The story for Carry-On is nothing amazing, but I did like it.
The Cast
I have a soft spot for Egerton. He seems like a nice guy and he’s had some good roles like Kingsman, Rocket Man, and Eddie the Eagle. I said that he’s not Bruce Willis, but that’s unfair. What I mean is, that Ethan isn’t John McClane. McClane was a tough New York cop who almost takes on Hans and the gang in his stride.
Ethan is not so tough. In fact, at the outset, he’s a bit of a pussy. It’s Nora that pushes him toward promotion, he needs the push. He’s a nice guy, not a tough guy like McClane.
Egerton plays Ethan really well. He’s just a normal guy doing his best at work, only to be faced with a situation that could get him, and Nora, killed. All the way through you are wondering “What the hell would I do?” and it works well.
The bad guy is Bateman, which is odd. On the earpiece, I swore the voice was Stanley Tucci, but no it’s Bateman. I like him and think he’s a very underrated actor. As the bad guy in Carry-On, he’s having loads of fun.
The rest of the cast is good, Nora, played by Carson is OK. I know it sounds mean, but she looks like Megan Fox if you ordered from Temu.
The Action
The first act is mostly Ethan talking to Bateman, which is all done in close up. You feel the pressure and claustrophobia of Ethan’s predicament. As the action opens up, in the second and third acts, the whole movie opens up with it.
It’s not Die Hard, but it’s a well-paced movie with a satisfying ending. Not hugely dramatic, but satisfying. The director is known for the recent spate of Liam Neeson action flicks – The Commuter, Non-Stop, Run All Night and so on. Personally, I don’t remember much of them. They are “paint by the numbers” action movies. I think Carry-On is above these.
Overall
Carry-On is a decent action movie. I didn’t pick up my phone and start browsing. The cast is good, the action is good, the story is good, it’s all good. I’ll take good over the rest of the pig swill that Hollywood produces these days.
If you have time to kill and want to enjoy a few beers with a movie that isn’t a sequel, prequel or reimagining, then you can’t go wrong with Carry-On. Don’t expect too much, but you can have fun with it.
Carry-On is now streaming on Netflix.
