Carry-On was released by Netflix on December 13, 2024, and received positive reviews from critics, praising the performances (particularly of Bateman), visuals, and action sequences, although some criticized the plot and TSA inaccuracies. It earned more views during its opening week than any other film released on Netflix in 2024.[1]
Plot
Ethan Kopek, a Transportation Security Administration (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, remotely monitors Ethan, 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 Jason's life, forcing Ethan to get him fired by framing him for being drunk on the job. As instructed, Ethan lets a man pass through with the carry-on case, spying the name Mateo Flores on his boarding pass. The Traveler then reveals the case's contents: Novichok, a lethal and incurable nerve agent.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Department (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.
Sarkowski detains Mateo for inspection, but Ethan interrupts, holding them both at gunpoint. Mateo fatally stabs Sarkowski after Ethan refuses to shoot him, before revealing that he, too, is being coerced; the Watcher is holding Mateo's husband, Jesse, hostage. With time running out, the Traveler guides Ethan to reset the bomb. Afterward, Mateo is ordered to kill Ethan and takes the plastic gun, but is killed when it overheats and explodes. 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 the agent is an imposter—one of the Traveler's accomplices—and kills him in self-defense. Upon arriving at the airport, Cole 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
Taron Egerton as Ethan Kopek, a 30-year-old man who works as a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport.
Jason Bateman as Traveler, a ruthless mercenary who blackmails Ethan to deliver a dangerous package, revealed to be Novichok.
Sofia Carson as Nora Parisi, a 27-year-old woman who works at the airport as an airline manager. Nora is Ethan's girlfriend and is pregnant with their child.
Danielle Deadwyler as Elena Cole, an LAPD detective investigating the Novichok.
Theo Rossi as Watcher, Traveler's partner who helps him spy on Ethan to ensure that the package clears TSA screening.
Logan Marshall-Green as Agent Alcott, a DHS agent revealed to be an impersonator and one of Traveler's accomplices.
Dean Norris as Phil Sarkowski, senior TSA agent at the airport and Ethan and Jason's supervisor.
Sinqua Walls as Jason Noble, Ethan's friend and fellow TSA officer. Jason has a wife named Rochelle and they have twin sons.
Curtiss Cook as Lionel Williams, Ethan's colleague who works as a police officer at the airport.
Josh Brener as Herschel, Elena's partner who helps her investigate the events.
Tonatiuh Elizarraraz as Mateo Flores
Production
In June 2021, Amblin Partners signed a deal with Netflix to produce multiple films per year for the streaming service.[2]Carry-On was originally planned to be the first film to come from the deal, the initial draft of the screenplay was written by former Insomniac Games writer T. J. Fixman, with Michael Green writing another draft.[3] Only Fixman was eventually credited with the screenplay while Green received an off-screen "Additional Literary Material" credit.[4] Fixman intended the film to be an illustration of the trolley problem.[5]
On an estimated budget of $47 million,[10]principal photography took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from September 2022 to January 2023.[11]
Fixman received extensive expert advice about airport security but deliberately used artistic license with TSA procedures for the sake of the storyline.[5]
Ten days after its release, the film had 97 million views, and was anticipated to become one of the top ten most-watched films on Netflix.[15]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 87 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."[16]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 68 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]
Sarah Little, writing for Screen Rant, said, "Netflix's Carry-On has been shockingly divisive in the days following its premiere, as most critics seemingly enjoyed the movie, while audiences have (ironically) been more critical of it."[18]
The TSA noted that the film contains inaccuracies but praised the filmmakers for portraying a TSA officer in a heroic light.[5]
