Films for Breakfast

One of my favorite sub-genres of films are those that incorporate genre pictures into Holiday films – even if they are bad, the novelty is at least usually fun enough to keep me engaged. In terms of Christmas movies, a few of my favorites that come to mind are Gremlins, Eyes Wide Shut, Black Christmas and, of course, Die Hard – which seems like the golden standard for Christmas-based action films. Carry-On, a film that takes place almost entirely on Christmas, follows Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton), a young TSA agent determined to prove himself worthy for a promotion after learning his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) is pregnant. On his first day at the front lines of security, a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) blackmails Ethan into letting a dangerous and mysterious package slip through security and onto a flight.

Jaume Collet-Serra is a director I’ve always enjoyed, as he is a more than serviceable and efficient director when it comes to crafting tightly-paced and plotted thrillers. Black Adam felt like a bit of a stumble for him and everyone else involved, so with Carry-On, he gets to go back to the basics of what made him such a fun director in the first place. And it’s within his direction that the film really shines, delivering what be my favorite film of his thus far. The film does a fantastic job at building the tension of Ethan’s situation in an organic way, that gradually builds throughout each line of dialogue exchanged between him and the mysterious, unnamed traveler. Every moment feels like it matters here, whether it’s towards better understanding the traveler’s mission or learning more about Ethan and his capabilities.

One of the reasons I think this is my favorite film from Jaume Collet-Serra is that it perfectly blends his action and horror/thriller sensibilities into one incredibly entertaining package. Some of the films best moments occur before the action even begins, when the traveler and Ethan are exchanging dialogue, trying to better understand each other. The narrative device of having Ethan stuck at his TSA desk, with one AirPod in listening to a mysterious stranger threatening him and also monitoring all the incoming bags is pretty fantastic; it hooks you from the get-go. But once the film hits full throttle with the plot, Collet-Serra truly showcases his talents with fantastic action set pieces that feel genuinely unique. One of which is an impressive one-shot sequence taking place entirely within the confines of a car – my jaw literally dropped.

An action film is usually only as good as the lead you have to portray your protagonist, and Taron Egerton has proved himself worthy before with the Kingsman franchise. Carry-On feels like an even nicer showcase of his talents as a leading man, because opposed to his Kingsman character Eggsy, Ethan is stuck in a pretty realistic setting where he doesn’t have any gadgets at his disposal. It’s entertaining to watch a regular, everyday guy deal with this kind of situation and think on his feet – should he comply for the sake of his future family or actually try to stop this mysterious stranger? The film keeps a great balance at keeping both Ethan and the stranger on their toes, constantly outwitting one-another. This makes for the actual action to hit all the harder when it goes down.

On the flip side to my point about an entertaining protagonist being needed for any good action film, I don’t know if the same point can be said for antagonists – I’ve seen plenty of action films where the villain didn’t work on any level for me, but it still remained entertaining due to the action. In the case of Jason Bateman’s mysterious stranger, he serves as an excellent foil for our lead Ethan – his banter with Taron Egerton is what makes the film so immediately exciting and thrilling. Bateman isn’t a stranger to taking darker turns, as Ozark was a fantastic display of his dramatic talents – but it’s truly impressive how twisted and frightening he is here. The fact that he is an actually an effective and menacing villain that feels genuinely unpredictable only adds to all the other impressive elements the film has going for it.

All of this culminates into one incredibly enthralling and downright fun package that I couldn’t resist. Sure, there are maybe one too many subplots going on that prevent it from being totally lean and mean and, yes, you’ll have to suspend your disbelief a bit in certain moments. But if you’re a fan of action films, I don’t think there is anything too preposterous here – and the good certainly outweighs any bit of bad you can find. So while I don’t think Carry-On will get close to having the same legacy as Die Hard, I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen this year. Between Jaume Collet-Serra’s tightly-knit direction and keen eye for tension and action, as well as Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman’s fantastic performances and chemistry, this is a true winner this Holiday season. Well worth a watch.

4/5