“Carry-On” is a decent little thriller that delivers enough action and suspense to keep folks engaged for two hours.
The plot, which is reminiscent of films like “Phone Booth” and “Red Eye,” is simple. Traveler (Jason Bateman) wants a carry-on bag containing something deadly to get aboard a plane flying out of LAX on Christmas Eve. He enlists the help of an unwitting TSA agent, Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton), via earpiece. If Ethan does what he is told — “All you have to do is nothing,” Traveler instructs — Ethan’s pregnant wife, Nora (Sofia Carson) gets to live.
But Ethan, who is angling for a promotion at work, is uncomfortable helping a terrorist. Ethan, who has been rejected from the police academy — which is why he works as a TSA agent — has a strong moral compass; he is not the unambitious worker Traveler assumes him to be. But given that Traveler wants Ethan to let Mateo (Tonatiuh) get the dangerous bag through security without incident, he will morally compromise Ethan’s ethics throughout the day to achieve his goal.
This cat-and-mouse relationship generates tension in episodes where Ethan is forced to make split-second decisions — as when Traveler orders Ethan to shoot his boss (Dean Norris) who is attempting to search Mateo’s carry-on. However, sometimes the action strains credulity as when Ethan manipulates things so he can take over his friend Jason’s (Sinqua Wells) position on a security detail as Traveler demands.
Ethan must hide his intentions so as to not arouse suspicion, but his behavior is highly irregular, and folks who know him notice. The film even tries to play this for comedy as when Ethan meets Nora for lunch while Traveler talks to him in his earpiece, influencing and critiquing Ethan’s responses to his wife, which create awkwardness between the couple.
“Carry-On” does not focus much on why Traveler is endangering lives. Once the nefarious plan is revealed, it is both unsurprising and unexciting; the idea that lives are at stake is greater than whose lives are at stake. The film is more about Ethan working to reduce the threat and deaths. Various supporting characters are killed or injured along the way — illustrating that Traveler means business — but even as the film briefly pauses to acknowledge these loses, they feel like collateral damage. The story quickly moves on to the next big problem or action set piece. Director Jaume Collet-Serra has made a mindless action flick that just wants to box its characters, good and bad, into tight corners and delight as they work their way out of trouble.
The film is best during its action sequences. A knock-down, drag-out fight that Ethan has with Mateo on the baggage belts is rousing and not just because the characters are both pawns in someone else’s dangerous game. Likewise, there is an extremely intense sequence involving two characters physically fighting in a car — while one of them is driving. These set pieces are highlights, in part because they feature double crosses, and inject the film with some energy.
Most of the drama involves Ethan and Traveler going back and forth about who has the upper hand. The thrills in “Carry-On” are modest, and Taron Egerton delivers a mostly interior performance as he reacts to Traveler’s commands or makes a fateful decision. The physical stuff mostly involves Ethan running and running through the airport like O.J. Simpson in those classic Hertz commercials (Ethan was a high school track star). He engages in fisticuffs when the situation requires it. Viewers may laugh at the ease in which Ethan can race around the terminal or wonder why sections of LAX during one of the busiest days of year are devoid of workers.
There are several scenes in “Carry-On” that raise questions. How can Ethan have a running commentary with Traveler without attracting attention from bosses, coworkers and others? What happened to the dead body in a closed room? And exactly how does Ethan speed across the tarmac and get into the baggage compartment of a moving plane without anyone noticing? The makers of “Carry-On” seem to want viewers to just go along with the ride, and for those who put their minds in neutral, the film is satisfying.
“Carry-On” is also keen to pay tribute to TSA employees, and the indignities and harassment these workers experience as they try to keep things “moving and safe” for passengers. There is an amusing gag that has the TSA agents playing Contraband Bingo, where the employee score points for every weapon or dildo they recover from carry-on bags, and a cute montage has several passengers getting upset at being stopped.
There are also episodes when the TSA has to shut down the security line, and these should feel like a “Stop the Presses!” moment in a newspaper film, but they don’t, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Another drawback is Bateman’s unconvincing efforts to make his villainous character coolly sinister. Traveler may just be a middleman trying to accomplish a task for money, but Bateman never comes across as especially threatening. The tête-à-têtes between Ethan and Traveler should crackle, but they feel flat. At least there is a droll exchange when Ethan scolds his nemesis for trying to teach him the meaning of Christmas.
In contrast, Traveler’s colleague, Watcher (Theo Rossi), who has a man bound and gagged in his van – is far more menacing as he repeatedly tries to dispatch Nora.
In support, Deadwyler is enjoyable to watch as Elena, and she holds her own trading barbs with colleagues or in her action scenes. However, Carson as Nora, is given little to do, and barely succeeds. Her dialogue feels as stilted as her delivery.
“Carry-On” may not be a Christmas movie classic, like “Die Hard,” but it is undemanding entertainment.
“Carry-On” is available on Netflix Dec.13.
