Carry-On: A Solid Action/Thriller for a Fun Watch

Sometimes a good, turn-off-your-brain movie is just what you’re looking for. Carry-On is a movie that fits that need. It’s a straight-ahead action/thriller that is not seeking to reinvent the wheel, but only to provide a good time.

One bag for one life. That’s the dilemma TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Edgerton) is faced with on Christmas eve. Shortly after starting his shift at LAX, he is contacted by an unknown traveler (Jason Bateman) that demands Ethan either let a suspicious bag through security and avoid alerting anyone, or his girlfriend will be murdered. It’s not much of a choice, and so Ethan will have to play along until he can find someway to stop that package from getting on a plane.

Carry-on is very formulaic and filled with clichés and tropes. That can be a bad thing, but here it works. Carry-on is not trying to be something new, nor trying to convince you it is. It embraces the cliches and tropes, and borrows from Die Hard 2, Phone Booth and a lot of Liam Neeson action movies. The script is not inventive, but it knows all the right beats to hit, and results in a solid movie. Still, the lack of inventiveness prevents it from being truly memorable.

I really liked Taron Edgerton in the lead role. He brings a lot of natural charm, and his portrayal of someone caught in an impossible situation is believable. He conveys a nice mix of confusion, fear and determination as he strives to resolve his dilemma. The supporting cast are all good as well. Danielle Deadwyler, Sofia Carson, Dean Norris and Theo Rossi all play their roles well, even if none of them have a whole lot to do.

I am a little mixed on Jason Bateman as the villain. At times he is quite good, showing the determination and ruthlessness needed to accomplish his task. At others, it sounds like he has a constant smirk on his face that felt off to me. It’s not a bad performance per se, but I never truly felt the full menace I felt the character needed. It doesn’t really detract much from the movie though, and I can see where some would really like his performance.

In terms of action, Carry-On provides just enough to be entertaining. There are a few well-staged sequences that, while not ground-breaking, do help get the blood pumping a bit. One scene in particular, a fight inside a car while barreling down the freeway, is a lot of fun, even with some cracks showing in the CGI and camerawork. A fight scene in the luggage area of the airport is quite entertaining as well, even if it does borrow a little too heavily from Die Hard 2.

But Carry-On is more thriller than action movie anyway. It’s all about the tension being raised as Ethan looks for ways to prevent the bag from getting on the plane, or to at least alert someone as to what is happening. The game of chess being played between him and the villain is quite good, and what works best about the movie. And although the script does rely on tropes and cliches heavily, there are still a few twists that prevent it from being completely predictable.

There are times when Carry-On feels like it could be more. I’m not sure director Jaume Collet-Serra is interested in that though. He seems to be content to stick to a formula that he has used in the past. I wish he had pushed the story a little more, but sometimes you have to be happy with what you get, and with his capable direction, what you get with Carry-On is an entertaining movie.

If you’re looking for a good action/thriller, you could do a lot worse that Carry-On. The movie is never inventive nor clever enough to be much more than just an entertaining watch, but that’s not such a bad thing. A solid script, good action and a talented cast were enough to keep me engaged. It may never elevate itself above other similar movies, but it is a fun way to spend a couple hours, and I do recommend seeing it.

Have you seen Carry-On? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.