‘Carry-On’ Review – Netflix’s Surprisingly Superb New Thriller

Every few months, Netflix seems to deliver a surprising film that takes the film world by storm. Earlier this year we saw It’s What’s Inside and Rebel Ridge come out of nowhere to steal the spotlight from theatrical releases, with the latter showing some longevity in the minds of movie fans. Perhaps the biggest hit in this space was the Glen Powell vehicle, Hit Man, although there was some anticipation here after it garnered a ton of buzz out of the 2023 fall festival season. These films help combat the negative reputation that films released on Netflix are broadly not very good, and are a good reminder that there will always be diamonds in the rough in the world of streaming.

This holiday season, Saint Nick himself has delivered an early gift to movie lovers in the form of Jaume Collet-Serra’s Carry-On, a literal airport thriller set against the Christmas season backdrop. The film pits Taron Egerton’s TSA agent Ethan against Jason Bateman’s unnamed criminal as they jockey for control in a high-pressure baggage situation. The task for Ethan seems simple: Allow one bag to slip through the security checkpoint without issue and nobody gets hurt. Communicating primarily through an earpiece that gets passed to Ethan early on in his first shift behind the x-ray machine, the two are constantly playing off each other even if they aren’t near one another.

Jaume Collet-Serra is no stranger to the thriller, spending much of the 2010s directing some of the more acclaimed Liam Neeson outings like Non-Stop, Run All Night, and The Commuter, as well as recently directing Jungle Cruise and Black Adam. Carry-On is a much-needed return to form after the critical and commercial failures of the latter two films. His vision of the pacing, combined with Lorne Balfe’s intense score and the editing team’s masterful work, is an incredibly thrilling experience, even when viewed at home. Collet-Serra’s seasoned eye makes this film stand above your average thriller.

Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman are absolutely at the top of their game here. Egerton effectively channels the checked-out guy in a dead-end job just trying to exist, and Bateman takes the dark persona he found in Ozark and turns it up a few levels. Bateman’s traveler garners no empathy here and plays his one-note villain about as perfectly as you can. He doesn’t need to be as nuanced here as every other character is. He is the antagonist to basically every single person involved in this scheme and his character works as the face of evil, just there to get the job done by any means necessary.

It’s important to note some of the supporting cast, particularly Dean Norris as the head of the LAX TSA staff, Theo Rossi as Bateman’s partner eyes and ears in the surveillance van, and Sofia Carson as Ethan’s long-term partner Nora. Each character adds depth to the story with their relationship to Ethan and Bateman’s Traveler.  Ethan is trying to impress Nora and Norris’s Agent Sarkowski to get his life back in order. For so long life has been happening to him instead of him happening to his life, and this day is when he finally wants more than how he’s been living. His relationship with Nora especially helps ground the character and Carson’s performance is more than the supportive partner that just exists in his life with little impact to the story.

Carry-On proves itself to be more than a mid-level thriller with exceptional performances from its two leads and consistent work from Jaume Collet-Serra and his team of talented craftspeople. It’s honestly disappointing that this went straight to streaming, but it’s encouraging to find this quality of a release on Netflix. The film offers enough thrills to be engaging and the Christmas Eve setting makes it the perfect off-the-beaten-path watch for any family gathering in the coming weeks.

Carry-On is currently available to stream on Netflix.