Carry-On (2024)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson

A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.

Had ‘Die Hard 2’ never been made, ‘Carry-On’ might have filled the void. Fair enough, it’s not as action-packed, but it also revolves around a cop (or security officer in this case; close enough) being in the wrong place at the wrong time (at an airport) on Christmas day, and having to outsmart terrorists.

Ethan (Taron Egerton) is a TSA officer who feels his life is going nowhere. His fiancée, Nora (Sofia Carson) is pregnant. Realizing they will need more money, Ethan asks his boss for a promotion. In order to prove himself, he convinces his boss to put him in charge of the X-Ray scanner – replacing his colleague Jason.

Jason was about to become the target of the terrorists, but now Ethan is the target. He is instructed by a mysterious Traveler (Jason Batemen) to clear a case through the scanner. If he doesn’t oblige, Nora would be killed. But when Traveler makes his plan known to Ethan, it becomes a race against time to save Nora…and 250 passengers. The film becomes and exciting cat and mouse game as they try to outsmart each other.

Meanwhile, Detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler) is trying to solve a murder – and her discovery leads her to the airport. What follows is an edge of your seat thriller that will keep you glued to the screen, wondering how the scenario will play itself out. The more involved it gets, the more interesting it is. Thanks to a good script and good performances, ‘Carry-On’ delivers!

Would I watch it again? Yes.