By Robert Scucci
| Published 18 seconds ago
Maybe I’ve grown cynical, but I’m starting to wonder how many more Die Hard ripoffs we really need to endure before somebody figures out a different way to structure an action thriller. I can see why the 2024 Netflix Original Carry-On was well received by critics for reliably hitting all of the expected beats, with the right talent to pull its premise along, but what I’m always most curious about is the reception gap you see on Rotten Tomatoes. On the critical front, Carry-On boasts an 88 percent, Certified Fresh rating across more than 100 reviews.
Take a look at the Popcornmeter, though, and the 52 percent approval rating tells a very different story. What I’ve gathered from audience reviews is that we’ve all seen this kind of story play out before, and usually better. Carry-On is supposed to be grounded in reality, but its plot is so implausible that suspending disbelief becomes a real challenge. What’s left is a run-of-the-mill, by-the-numbers Die Hard carbon copy that went straight to streaming.
I find myself sitting squarely in the middle of both camps. Taron Egerton is a likable, serviceable lead, and Jason Bateman is a perfectly cast, straight-faced antagonist who runs the show through influence and intimidation. The complaints about realism don’t really track for me because Die Hard rules, but let’s call a spade a spade while we’re talking about it. None of us are watching Die Hard for its realism either. We’re watching it because it kicks ass, and most people are watching Carry-On because it’s chasing the same audience.
Die Hard At An Airport
Carry-On centers on Taron Egerton’s Ethan Kopek, a directionless TSA agent working at LAX during the holidays. He has just learned that his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) is pregnant, prompting him to reevaluate his stalled career. Ethan was previously rejected from the police academy, leaving him with two options. He can apply again now that some time has passed, or he can take his TSA job more seriously and earn a promotion that keeps him in law enforcement while allowing him to support his growing family.
Ethan chooses the latter on his Christmas Eve shift, another Die Hard pull, when he asks his supervisor Phil (Dean Norris) for more responsibility. That decision backfires almost immediately. The baggage scan lane he’s assigned to becomes ground zero for chaos when a traveler points out a missing earbud and hands it to Ethan. Moments later, he receives a text from a restricted number instructing him to place the device in his ear.
On the other end of the line is The Traveler (Jason Bateman), who calmly informs Ethan that he needs to let a specific bag pass through security or Nora will be killed. Ethan attempts to call 911, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s being watched by a man known only as The Watcher (Theo Rossi). Every detail of Ethan’s life is already known. Address, employment history, Nora’s location, everything. The Traveler uses that information as leverage, forcing Ethan to comply.
Completely under The Traveler’s control, Ethan follows orders while subtly trying to alert his superiors that something is wrong. The stakes escalate further when it’s revealed that the bag contains large quantities of Novichok, a deadly nerve agent capable of killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people if the plan succeeds.
Meanwhile, Detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler), who has coincidentally been investigating a double murder tied to a supply of Novichok, realizes that Ethan is at the center of the operation. After tracing an aborted 911 call back to him, she races toward the airport as Ethan struggles to stop the bag from boarding a plane while keeping his loved ones alive.
A Little Too Convenient
Here’s the problem with Carry-On. It’s well-acted, competently shot, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. We’ve all seen this movie countless times under different titles, you know the drill. Egerton works because he’s a sympathetic lead being pushed into actions he can’t ethically justify. The tension reads clearly on his face, and it’s effective. Bateman is a legitimate menace, and his commitment to carrying out an act of domestic terrorism feels believable within the genre’s familiar framework.
The issue is suspense. We all know how these movies work. The reluctant hero finds the bomb, disarms it with two seconds left on the clock, saves the day, and everyone claps. That predictability is where the audience divide comes from. On one hand, Carry-On does exactly what you expect, and some viewers find comfort in that. On the other hand, Carry-On does exactly what you expect, which drains the premise of any real tension.
You don’t watch movies like Carry-On to see the hero fail. You watch them struggle, adapt, and eventually do what needs to be done once all the pieces are in place. Carry-On is perfectly adequate, but it doesn’t offer anything new. It’s familiar territory, and if that’s your thing, no judgment here. It’s comfort food. I just don’t get especially excited about Die Hard knockoffs when I can always go watch Die Hard.
Carry-On is a Netflix Original and is available to stream with an active subscription.