This Netflix Thriller Is Perfect For Fans Of Christmas Action Movies Like Die Hard

While the Christmas horror movie seems to be having a moment right now thanks to the box office success of “Terrifer 3,” we must not forget the time-honored tradition of the Christmas action movie. The most popular example of this sub-genre is, of course, John McTiernan’s 1988 classic “Die Hard.” Whether or not you want to count “Die Hard” as a Christmas movie is entirely up to you (it is a Christmas movie, btw), but the fact remains that the film is set on Christmas Eve. And in the wake of “Die Hard,” many other action flicks found ways to set their events during the hap-happiest season of all. Hell, “Die Hard” wasn’t even the first ’80s action pic to use Christmas as a backdrop. The first “Lethal Weapon” movie, released a year before “Die Hard,” takes place around Christmas, so does the 1985 Chuck Norris movie “Invasion U.S.A.,” as well as is Sylvester Stallone’s 1986 trash classic “Cobra.” And of course, there’s the Christmas-set “Die Hard 2” (the franchise would abandon Christmas after this entry). 

While it may not have been the first, “Die Hard” remains the gold standard for Christmas action movies, and if you find yourself craving a new holiday-set action-thriller this season, Netflix has you covered. This week, the streaming giant will release “Carry-On,” an action-thriller set in LAX on Christmas Eve. “Carry-On” hails from director Jaume Collet-Serra, an expert in making highly entertaining, highly stylish junk food movies like “Orphan,” “The Shallows,” “Run All Night,” and “Non-Stop.” Collet-Serra took a break from his high-concept, high-cheese thrillers to dip into the land of Dwayne Johnson blockbusters with the dreadful one-two punch of “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Adam.” With “Carry-On,” the director seems to be returning to his roots, and thanks be to Santa for that. Indeed, much of “Carry-On” feels like Collet-Serra’s wonderfully silly Liam Neeson thriller “The Commuter,” simply transporting the action from a train to an airport. 

Now, I wouldn’t say that “Carry-On” is as good as “Die Hard.” Few films are! But “Carry-On” is extremely entertaining, and the Christmas Eve backdrop enhances the movie’s charms. 

In “Carry-On,” it’s Christmas Eve, and TSA officer Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) reports for duty with something heavy weighing on his mind: his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson), who also works at LAX, has just revealed she’s pregnant. Ethan wants to be a father, but he’s also a lowly TSA employee who has never had a promotion even though he’s been on the job for three years. As Ethan puts it himself, he thought he’d be further along in his life and career before becoming a father. With hopes of rising in the ranks and getting a bigger paycheck, Ethan asks his boss (“Breaking Bad” alum Dean Norris) to put him front and center on Christmas Eve so he can prove himself by monitoring the thousands of travelers passing through the airport for the holidays.

Unfortunately for Ethan, it’s the worst possible time to do this, because a highly-skilled criminal mastermind (played by, believe it or not, Jason Bateman) has a plan to smuggle a mysterious (and potentially deadly!) object through security and onto a plane. Ethan soon ends up with a tiny earpiece in his ear as the bad guy, known only as the Traveler, orders him to follow his very specific set of rules and not flag the device when it comes through the check line. If he doesn’t obey, Nora will be killed. Sweaty and desperate, Ethan has to find a way to save the day without alerting anyone to what’s going on, because if he makes the wrong move, the consequences will be deadly. Can Ethan, who once dreamed of being a cop, stop the bad guy and save Christmas Eve? 

The set-up of “Carry-On” is pretty silly, but that’s part of the fun. Collet-Serra is a filmmaker who knows exactly how to embrace the silliness of his movies while also making sure they’re still intense. The action in “Carry-On” is solid and fun, and Egerton makes for a compelling hero. He also gives Tom Cruise a run for his money, quite literally, as he runs like hell all over the airport, sprinting like a mad man as he faces a ticking clock countdown.

And if every action movie is only as good as its villain, “Carry-On” benefits from the presence of Jason Bateman. While Batman doesn’t break bad that often, he should, because he’s surprisingly good at playing the heavy. The horror-thriller “The Gift” made great use of this concept, and “Carry-On” takes it to a whole other level. Bateman’s bad guy is thoroughly evil here, in a very down-to-earth, no-nonsense way that makes him all the more disturbing. He clearly doesn’t care who he has to kill to achieve his goals.

Then there’s the Christmas angle. Not only does the film open with Bruce Springsteen’s live cover of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” and close with Darlene Love’s rendition of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” aka the greatest Christmas song of all time, but there’s a wonderfully over-the-top, one-take action scene in a speeding car set to Wham! performing “Last Christmas.” The end result is an extremely entertaining Christmas action pic that will satisfy your “Die Hard” itch (until you can rewatch “Die Hard’ again, that is). 

“Carry-On” is streaming on Netflix starting December 13, 2024.