When thinking of Christmas movies, we tend to think of Santa, reindeer and/or cheesy but lovable rom-coms — not two hours of stress, blackmail and suspense in an airport. Netflix’s Carry-On tells the story of TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) as an unnamed traveler (Jason Bateman) blackmails him into allowing a dangerous suitcase through security and onto a plane on Christmas Eve.
Does that make Carry-On a Christmas movie? We could argue either way. But we will say that the holiday action thriller delivers an intriguing story that speaks to the everyday hero in us all.
Taron Egerton’s Exemplary Emotional Performance Takes Flight
The highlight of Carry-On is undoubtedly Taron Egerton’s performance. Egerton has done quite a bit of action with Kingsman and the 2018 Robin Hood and has portrayed several real-life people onscreen in Rocketman, Eddie the Eagle, Tetris and Apple TV’s Black Bird. But Carry-On’s Ethan Kopek truly is just an ordinary person. He doesn’t have special skills or training nor does he have extraordinary talents. Simply put, Kopek is just a guy who feels stuck in life but has immense love and care. Thanks to Egerton’s acting, we not only see that but feel it, too.
Throughout the film, Ethan is in a constant state of fear, stress and anxiety. From nerves about becoming a father to the intense anxiety and stress of the traveler threatening to kill his pregnant girlfriend, Egerton does an excellently portrays the varying degrees of worry the TSA agent goes through. Whether it’s telling a story with his eyes or the slightest shift in facial expressions, Egerton is able to convey how Ethan is feeling and reach the audience.
‘Carry-On’ Spurs Curiosity
As the Netflix film progresses, viewers will naturally become more curious. What’s in the suitcase? Why is the traveler doing this? How did the earpiece end up in Ethan’s security lane?
Carry-On seems to spur more questions than answers for the first half of the movie or so; however, the suspense and action keep the story moving. The film keeps us focused on Ethan and the traveler’s cat-and-mouse game, so we’re inclined to stay in it and to keep rooting for Ethan to save the day.
Honestly, we’re too busy (mostly being stressed) to keep wondering about smaller details: what the big reasoning behind this is and who else is helping the traveler enact this act of terror. As we head towards the resolution, the story’s loose ends are tied pretty neatly. It doesn’t feel too rushed or like everything is being answered or resolved at once. We get answers to all of our questions and then some, resulting in a satisfying ending where we can finally catch our breath with Ethan.
A Balancing Act with Thrilling Themes
Despite Carry-On being a holiday action thriller that caused us a lot of second-hand anxiety, it uses juxtaposition and comedy to provide some balance. At the start of the film especially, festive holiday scenes and music sandwich pretty violent and dark scenes to provide contrast and establish the setting and story. As for laughs, the TSA agents playing contraband bingo on Christmas Eve is hilarious. Ethan’s coworker, Eddie, also serves as comedic relief every time he’s on screen but doesn’t show up too much to become annoying.
Based on the press and marketing, Netflix clearly wants us to consider Carry-On a Christmas film in the same holiday action vein as Die Hard, and what’s a Christmas movie without a good lesson or two? The traveler makes it clear to Ethan at least a few times in the film that he’s asleep and needs to wake up. This is a good metaphor for Ethan feeling unsatisfied and stagnant in life and like he isn’t enough. Though we’d all like to avoid being blackmailed, going through the entire suitcase fiasco allows him to appreciate the mundane life he once had at work, not take his loved ones for granted, and come to terms with what he’d like to do with his life — not to mention show that TSA and airport employees of all kinds are underappreciated.
Carry-On is now streaming on Netflix.
