Carry-On is like Die Hard, but set in an airport. Oh… wait a second, that’s just Die Hard 2. Okay, so Carry-On is like Die Hard 2 meets Phone Booth, and while not as good as either of those movies, it provides sufficient thrills with a touch of Christmas spirit.
Where this movie excels is in the simplicity of its premise. It’s essentially a hostage situation where the villain is using the protagonist as a puppet. Jason Bateman plays a terrorist trying to get a mysterious briefcase through an airport. Taron Egerton plays a TSA agent who’s forced to comply with Bateman’s demands, in order to keep his friends and loved ones alive. It maintains a solid level of suspense, and I found myself constantly wondering how Egerton’s character would adapt and react to the increasingly stressful and dangerous situations he was placed in.
Where this movie really falters, is in the execution of those tense situations, and just how completely implausibly they often play out. I’m fine with suspending disbelief for the sake of entertainment (and believe me, I was entertained), but there were times I had to completely check my disbelief at the gate, like an oversized piece of luggage. Supporting characters behave ridiculously in favour of the script, rather than how someone would actually act. This cheapened the tension, frequently taking the path of least resistance rather than something more thrilling or surprising. There’s also an entirely unnecessary subplot involving two law enforcement agents, that ends with a cartoonish sequence in living some of the worst looking CGI this year.
When comedic actors play against type, the results are often quite impressive. We’ve seen Jason Bateman in serious roles before, but having him as a villain here was a perfect choice. He’s menacing, but we also get enough of his signature humour poking through for a very entertaining performance - we even get a “buddy” thrown in for the Arrested Development fans out there. Taron Egerton makes for a fun protagonist, not embodying the typical, brave hero we might expect in a role like this. He’s naturally nervous, freezing up in moments any normal person would. The back and forth, cat and mouse like exchange between them makes for a playfully tense dynamic.
Carry-On is like a budget airline - it effectively gets you to the same destination as its bigger and better counterparts, but cuts some corners in the process. Taron Egerton and a very against-type Jason Bateman make for entertaining rivals, even when the movie around them encounters a bit of turbulence.
2.5/5