Carry-On (pronounced [ˈkæri ˌɒn]) is a 2024 American action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by T.J. Fixman. The film stars Taron Egerton, Sofia Carson, Danielle Deadwyler and Jason Bateman. Its plot follows a young TSA officer who is blackmailed into allowing a nerve agent onboard a flight during Christmas Eve. Carry-On was released by Netflix on December 13, 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with praise given towards its homage to action films such as Die Hard, action scenes, visuals, and performances by Egerton, Bateman, and Carson. According to Deadline Hollywood, it will become one of the top ten most watched Neflix films of all-time.

Plot

Ethan Kopek, a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport, has become cynical and unambitious after failing the police academy by concealing his father's criminal history. On Christmas Eve, his pregnant girlfriend, Nora, encourages him to reapply and pursue his dream. Instead, Ethan requests his supervisor, Phil Sarkowski, assign him to manage a baggage-scanning lane, hoping to demonstrate his merit for a promotion. During his shift, Ethan receives an earbud, through which he is contacted by a ruthless mercenary, the Traveler, who orders him to let a specific Carry-On case pass through the scanner—or Nora will be killed. The Traveler's accomplice, the Watcher, monitors Ethan through the surveillance system, thwarting his attempts to alert the authorities. Ethan secretly warns his colleague, Lionel, using a message written in invisible ink. However, before Lionel can act, the Traveler poisons him with aconitine, causing a fatal heart attack. Due to Ethan's seemingly erratic behavior, his friend Jason takes over his position. The Traveler threatens to kill Jason to remove him from the scanner, forcing Ethan to get him fired by framing him for being drunk on the job. As instructed, Ethan lets Mateo Flores pass through with the Carry-On case. The Traveler then reveals its contents: Novichok, a lethal and incurable nerve agent. Meanwhile, LAPD detective Elena Cole investigates a double homicide and discovers the victims had smuggled Novichok into the country. Cole alerts the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and connects the threat to Ethan's aborted 911 call. In response, a terminal-wide sweep is ordered. Ethan adds Mateo to the list of passengers flagged for inspection. However, the Traveler suspects Ethan's interference and confronts him in the restroom. Ethan seizes the Traveler's plastic gun. In retaliation, the Traveler arms the Novichok bomb. Mateo is detained for inspection by Sarkowski, but Ethan interrupts, holding them both at gunpoint. Ethan refuses to shoot Sarkowski, leading Mateo to fatally stab him. Mateo reveals that he, too, is being coerced, as the Watcher is holding his husband, Jesse, hostage. With time running out, the Traveler guides Ethan to reset the bomb. Afterward, Mateo is ordered to kill Ethan, but the plastic gun overheats and explodes, killing Mateo. The Traveler retrieves the Novichok case and orders the Watcher to kill Nora. Ethan uses Mateo's phone to warn her. Nora narrowly evades the Watcher, who is ultimately killed by Jesse. En route to the airport with DHS agent John Alcott, Cole soon realizes he is an imposter—one of the Traveler's accomplices—and kills him in self-defense. Upon arriving at the airport, she confronts Ethan, confirms the active threat, and alerts the LAPD, initiating a terminal shutdown. Cole uncovers that the Traveler's target is a congresswoman aboard a flight to Washington, D.C., who advocates for increased weapons funding. The Novichok attack is designed to implicate Russia, ensuring congressional approval of substantial defense spending, thereby enriching weapons manufacturers. The Traveler boards the flight, unaware that Ethan has switched the bomb into an identical but larger suitcase, forcing him to stow it in the plane's cargo hold. Ethan infiltrates the hold to disarm the bomb, while Nora persuades Cole to allow the flight to take off, preventing the Traveler from becoming suspicious. As Ethan begins dismantling the bomb, the Traveler receives an alert and confronts him at gunpoint. Before the Traveler can re-arm the Novichok and escape using a parachute, Ethan locks him inside an airtight refrigeration unit with the nerve agent, killing him. The plane safely returns to the airport. One year later, Ethan, Nora, and their child pass through a TSA checkpoint as they prepare to travel to Tahiti with Jason and his family. Ethan places his LAPD badge in the scanning tray.

Cast

Production

In June 2021, Amblin Partners signed a deal with Netflix to produce multiple films per year for the streaming service. Carry-On was originally planned to be the first film to come from the deal; the first draft of the screenplay was written by former Insomniac Games writer T. J. Fixman, with Michael Green writing another draft. Only Fixman was eventually credited with the screenplay, with Green receiving an off-screen "Additional Literary Material" credit. In July 2022, it was announced that Taron Egerton was attached to star in the lead role of Ethan Kopek. In August 2022, Jason Bateman joined the film co-starring alongside Egerton as the mysterious traveler. Sofia Carson and Danielle Deadwyler joined the cast in September 2022. Theo Rossi joined the cast in October 2022. Dean Norris, Logan Marshall-Green, and Sinqua Walls were among the eight new cast additions to join the film later that month. On an estimated budget of $47 million, principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from September 2022 to January 2023.

Release

Carry-On was released on Netflix on December 13, 2024.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 76 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Taron Egerton and an against-type Jason Bateman make for great adversaries in Carry-On, a throwback thriller that clears all checkpoints of plot logic with its confident execution." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

References

External links

Carry-On on Netflix Carry-On at IMDb