Carry-On

Many know that I'm a massive Kingsman fan, and thus, a massive Taron Egerton fan. The concept and star alone had me on board with Netflix's newest thriller, Carry-On. Add Jason Bateman in a villainous role and I'm definitely intrigued. 

Carry-On comes from Liam Neeson and The Rock regular director, Jaume Collet-Serra. He's a capable filmmaker who provides decent enough thrillers with adequate, sometimes impressive action. 

With Carry-On, now stored in my mental overhead bin (sorry, not my best), I found it to be one of Collet-Serra's best films. 

Carry-On starts by almost going out of its way to have us believe that Taron Egerton's Ethan is a bit of a loser who is coasting in life. Sure, I'll buy it. Obviously, his life as a TSA agent is about to change as a normal Christmas-bustle day at the airport turns into a high-stakes thriller once a mysterious earpiece tells him to pass "one bag for one life". 

As mentioned, the premise carries the early part of the film with tons of mystery. Who is this man? What reach does he have? What's in the bag? How bad is it? Most of those questions are answered in satisfying ways, even if they're not totally surprising, but that's where Carry-On's skill lies best is stringing the yarn and making is 2 hour runtime feel a bit faster than it is. 

Beyond the premise and mystery that is served up in enticing chunks, Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman have good cat-and-mouse chemistry. We already know Egerton can play the hero pretty damn well, so he brings a lot of that energy here (though, lesser because ya know...he's supposed to be a loser!). Bateman's "Traveler" is more sinister than I'd originally imagined, as is the overall film's tone, and he brings a lot of his Ozark intensity to this dark, mysterious fixer. What ensues is a rather traditional, but well-done thriller that kept my wife and I highly engaged the entire time. There are lulls here and there and the film can sometimes lose focus with side characters, but largely speaking this isn't a film I found overstayed its welcome. 

If I had any complaints, it would largely just be that doesn't have anything - aside from Bateman perhaps - that is truly fantastic. The editing and pacing are solid, the action is more on the realistic side and thus fine, but nothing impressive, and things like the original score serve the movie well, but don't last outside its walls. There is a memorable sequence coupled with Wham's "Last Christmas", but it's marred by some traditionally bad Netflix CGI that keeps it from being as special as it wanted to be.

I was happy to walk away from Carry-On pleasantly surprised. It's a film where what you expect - a strong thriller with a cool premise and impressive star power - is what you get. Particularly in its first viewing, I was engaged and had a good time with it in its entirety. 

Rapid Rath's Review Score | 8/10