Rating 5/10
Every year, Netflix trumpets a bunch of films it hopes will win Oscars. This year, they include the crime musical comedy-drama hybrid Emilia Pérez, Maria with Angelina Jolie as opera star Maria Callas, and August Wilson’s Piano Lesson, which explores the legacy of slavery and racism. Those have all remained conspicuously absent from the Top 10. However the release that has been firmly ensconced at the #1 position is Carry-On. The film is from director Jaume Collet-Serra, who gave us a series of Liam Neeson action thrillers, including Unknown and Non-Stop. Carry-On is in that same spirit, except it bypassed theatres and went straight to streaming on December 13. The nicest thing I can say is that it is serviceable.
In a bid for being the next “Is this a Christmas movie?” discussion, our saga begins on the Eve of that holiday. A mysterious man we’ll call the Traveler (Jason Bateman) at LAX blackmails TSA officer Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) into allowing a suitcase through security. It contains a fatal nerve agent intended to cause mass casualties aboard a flight. The criminal threatens to murder his pregnant girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), if he does not comply. Despite Ethan’s minimal efforts to alert colleagues, the Traveler’s minions neutralize them one by one, forcing Ethan to play along. Meanwhile, LAPD detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) uncovers the scheme and races to the airport, clashing with the Traveler’s operatives.
To appreciate Carry-On means adjusting your intellect to align with what it is asking us to accept. In the beginning, Ethan is given an earbud by a shady passenger, asked to put it in his ear via text from an unknown number, and hears, “One bag for one life. That’s the deal,” from an eerie voice. A rational person could have removed the earpiece and smashed it right there, but then we wouldn’t have a movie. Inseatd Ethan continues to indulge this calm, measured terrorist and his demands. Mind you, Ethan looks like he is talking to himself for the duration of the story. Yet, at no point does anyone in the airport—whether his superiors, coworkers, or passengers—question who he is talking to. Ethan spends considerable time away from his post. The menacing individual even hangs out with Ethan while conversing with him in full view of everyone. Still, no one suspects this shadowy figure might be up to no good.
Carry-On is filled with plot holes that are so big you could fly a plane through them. Defenders will say, “Turn off your brain and just enjoy the ride,” but the sheer number of senseless absurdities become impossible to ignore. Accept that LAX is nowhere near as busy as it should be on Christmas Eve, characters can casually walk around upright in the cargo hold of a plane while in flight, and an essential narrative incident that hinges on a bag switch is poorly presented. Sure, I can suspend disbelief, but this account is riddled with so many inanities that I couldn’t keep calm and carry on.
12-16-24