TL;DR – This is a film that didn’t need to go as hard as it did, and I am glad that they went there.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Carry-On Review –

Many films just cost on their generic action beats or their main cast and give you a substandard product. Add enough charismatic smiles, and it feels like you can get away with anything. When I came into this film, I honestly thought this was what I was going to get, and I am glad to say that I was wrong.

So, to set the scene, Christmas is upon us, and millions of people are making the trip home to see their families. Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) and his girlfriend Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson) both work at LAX, and Christmas Eve is the worst day for travellers. But as Ethan tries to step up in his job for the TSA thanks to his wife’s pending pregnancy. Little does he know that someone is coming through with a package that will change his life. All he has to do is ignore one package, just one package, and his girlfriend lives. Surely, that can’t be that hard.   

There is a lot that I liked with Carry-On, and the first was the cast. Taron Egerton does an excellent job of playing a guy stuck very much between a rock and a hard place. You can feel the weight of every decision bearing down on him and how it is taking every ounce of strength to go on while trying to stop things where he can. Thus, Jason Bateman then becomes a fantastic foil in this film as the stoic villain about to ruin everyone’s day. He brings an intensity but does not slip into the ‘it’s just good business’ caricature. It also helps that the film is stacked to the brim with quality character actors like Theo Rossi, Dean Norris, and Logan Marshall-Green. Oh, and it is never a bad idea to case Danielle Deadwyler.

It is also a film of two halves, which have different vibes yet complement each other. The first half of the film is the slow burn suspense work, as we sit there wondering who the bad guy is, what is in that case, and if Ethan can get a warning out before people start dying. Things start going from bad to worse, as there is a ticking timebomb here, metaphorically speaking, but also a sniper out there ready to ruin people’s day. You can feel that tension bubble up through every frame of the film, especially when Ethan has to start hurting his friends.

However, right at the point where that tension is starting to hit a wall, the film takes a wild swing and begins ramping up with gusto, with a new shift in gears coming at you every ten minutes or so until the end. I think the highlight for me in this section was when Detective Cole discovered that the Homeland Security Officer in her car was not a Homeland Security Officer, and things deteriorated very quickly. There are some solid action scenes in the back half of the film, with a car chase and a crunch in the conveyor belts being highlights.

In the end, do we recommend Carry-On? Yes, we would. I mean, I might recommend it just for all the running they make Taron Egerton do. There was an outstanding balance of tension and action. The characters all knew what sort of film this was and played into it, and mostly, you could feel the struggle that people went through when put in an impossible situation. If you liked Carry-On, we would recommend to you A Quiet Place: Day One.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched Carry-On?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 


Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Carry-On
Directed by – Jaume Collet-Serra
Screenplay by – T.J. Fixman with Michael Green
Music by – Lorne Balfe
Cinematography by – Lyle Vincent
Edited by – Fred Raskin, Elliot Greenberg & Krisztian Majdik
Production/Distribution Companies – Dylan Clark Productions, DreamWorks Pictures & Netflix
Starring – Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyle, Logan Marshall-Green, Theo Rossi, Dean Norris, Sinqua Walls, Josh Brener, Curtiss Cook, Tonatiuh, Joe Williamson & Gil Perez-Abraham
Rating – Australia: M;