🎥 Carry-On (2024): ⭐️⭐️
This really wants to be a modern Die Hard — complete with opening with a shot of a plane landing directly overhead — but having just watched Die Hard (as we do every Christmas Eve), I can safely say this is no Die Hard. It’s paced a bit too slow for an action/suspense film (Die Hard is 15 minutes longer, but this one feels longer), Edgerton only seems to have one expression and doesn’t remotely embody the relatable “everyman” that Willis did, and too much of what happens happens because the plot needs it to happen, not because it makes sense. The most interesting part was a fun action sequence that’s shot entirely from within a car (which doesn’t involve any of the main characters). But at least the TSA gets their “no, really, they’re just good people trying to do their Very Important Jobs” propaganda in for the holidays!
(Spoilers follow…)
While the “figuring out where the bad guy is by noticing sounds” bit was clever, but depends too much on the bad guy being a chatterbox. The entire “get to know you” bit doesn’t even make sense, as it means the main character is sitting there apparently talking to himself; not exactly a way to not draw attention. The bad guy should have just kept his mouth shut except for instructions and threats, but then the plot wouldn’t have worked.
Whether or not the suitcase was switched just ended up being confusing — I think in the end, he switched the contents of the two cases? Still not entirely sure, though.