Carry-On stars Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman in a deadly game of Simon Says. Photo: Netflix.
Die Hard is a Christmas movie and anyone who disagrees needs to just accept it.
John McClane travels to Nakatomi Plaza to celebrate Christmas with his wife Holly and there just so happens to be terrorists robbing the joint. He didn’t try to stop terrorists and it just so happened to be Christmas – it is important that you don’t get these facts confused!
Regardless of whatever way you fall on the Die Hard debate, it is undeniable that the success of the original film inspired many others over the next 35 years.
This includes Netflix’s newest film, Carry-On.
Carry-On follows Ethan Kopek (played by Taron Egerton), a TSA agent at LAX airport. After being given a seemingly misplaced earpiece while doing a routine security scan, Ethan is forced into a game of cat and mouse with a mysterious terrorist (played brilliantly by Jason Bateman) who is trying to smuggle contraband onto a plane.
Now that we’ve got the plot out of the way, I just want to say one little thing. Thank you, Netflix! All year I’ve been bagging the streaming service out for its half-assed films that struggle to pick a lane and seem to be a way for famous actors or directors to get paid.
Movies like Carry-On are exactly what the service needs. An action flick that provides just enough mystery while also not being so complicated people check out.
It’s not perfect, but it is a fantastic crowd-pleaser and a fun film to watch after a long day at work.
If you can’t tell, this movie worked for me, and I think it comes down to the setting. While on the surface you may say, “This just sounds like Die Hard 2: Die Harder?” And to that, I say, “Yes, it does, but it might actually be better!”
The best part about this film is its pacing and its performances. This movie plays like an 80s thriller in all the best ways. We are given a protagonist who is down on his luck. We, as the audience, know we like him, but we aren’t exactly sure why. Introduce a memorable villain who forces the hero to question his own morals and a few awesome action set pieces, and you have a solid flick.
It is a simple formula, and it works. There’s no reinventing the wheel, there’s no superhero with capes, just an average Joe stopping terrorists. It’s so much fun!
Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman bounce off each other so well in a killer game of Simon Says and while neither will be winning any awards, they add the perfect amount of mayo to their performances. They know what kind of cheesy movie they’re in but also add the right amount of weight that they aren’t treating the audience as stupid.
The two are the heartbeat of the film and remind me a lot of Die Hard with A Vengeance and the dynamic between Bruce Willis and Jeremy Irons.
While I enjoyed this film a lot, one subplot took me out of the experience. It involves an FBI agent looking into the terrorists from afar, unaware of the situation at the airport. Every time the film jumped to this thread, I zoned out. It felt like an episode of CSI, and not one of the good ones. I wanted the film to revert back to Jason Bateman tormenting our hero; it was just so much more intriguing.
All in all, this movie is so much fun. I honestly can’t imagine anyone not finding at least a bit of cheer out of it and can easily see it jumping to the top of the streaming charts over Christmas.
Carry-On is streaming on Netflix.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Riotact.
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