This thriller from Netflix is ​​perfect for fans of Christmas action movies like Die Hard

While the Christmas horror movie seems to be having a moment at the moment thanks to its box office success “The Horror 3” We must not forget the time-honored tradition of the Christmas action movie. The most common example of this subgenre is of course John McTiernan’s 1988 classic Die Hard. Whether you like it or not Consider “Die Hard” a Christmas movie It’s completely up to you (it He is A Christmas movie, btw), but the fact remains that the movie takes place on Christmas Eve. And in the wake of “Die Hard,” many other action movies have found ways to set their events during the happiest season ever. Hell, “Die Hard” wasn’t even the first ’80s action picture to use Christmas as a backdrop. The first “Lethal Weapon” was released a year before “Die Hard” and was set at Christmas, as was Chuck Norris’s “Invasion USA” in 1985, and also Sylvester Stallone’s neglected classic “Cobra” in 1986. And of course there’s “Die Hard 2” which revolves around Christmas (the series will be abandoning 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 itching for 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 Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. “Continue” comes from Director: Jaume Collet-Serrais an expert in producing highly entertaining and stylish fast food movies such as “Orphan”, “The Shallows”, “Run All Night” and “Non-Stop”. Collet-Serra took a break from his high-concept, cheesy thrillers to delve into Dwayne Johnson blockbuster territory with the harrowing “Jungle Cruise” and “Black Adam.” With “Carry-On,” the director seems to be returning to his roots, and thanks to Santa for that. In fact, much of “Carry-On” feels more like Colette Serra’s wonderfully silly thriller “The Commuter,” simply shifting the action from the train to the airport.

Now, I wouldn’t say “Carry-On” is good In the name of “Die Hard”. Few movies! But “Carry-On” is a lot of fun, and the Christmas Eve backdrop enhances the movie’s magic.

In “Carry-On,” it’s Christmas Eve, and TSA Officer Ethan Kubiak (Taron Egerton) reports to duty with something heavy on his mind: his girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), who also works at Los Angeles International Airport, revealed… She just got pregnant. . Ethan wants to be a father, but he is also a lowly TSA employee who has never gotten a promotion even though he has been on the job for three years. As Ethan himself says, he thought he would have come a long way in his life and career before becoming a father. Hoping to move up the ranks and earn a bigger paycheck, Ethan asks his boss (Breaking Bad alumnus Dean Norris) to put him ahead of the game on Christmas Eve so he can prove himself by monitoring the thousands of passengers passing through the airport. For holidays.

Unfortunately for Ethan, this is the worst possible time to do so, because the highly skilled criminal mastermind (played, believe it or not, by Jason Bateman) has a plan to smuggle a mysterious (and potentially deadly!) object through security and into. airplane. Ethan soon ends up with a tiny earpiece in his ear as the bad guy, known only as Traveler, orders him to follow a very specific set of rules and not report the device when it passes through the screening line. If he does not obey Nora, she will be killed. Sweating and desperate, Ethan must find a way to save the day without alerting anyone to what’s happening, because if he makes the wrong move, the consequences will be deadly. Can Ethan, who has dreamed of becoming a cop, stop the bad guy and save Christmas Eve?

The “Carry-On” setup is pretty silly, but that’s part of the fun. Collet-Serra is a filmmaker who knows exactly how to embrace the absurdity of his films while also making sure they remain powerful. The action in Carry-On is solid and fun, and Egerton makes a compelling hero. It also gives Tom Cruise a run for his money, quite literally, as he runs like hell all over the airport, running like a madman as he faces the meter clock’s countdown.

If every action movie is only as good as its villain, then “Carry-On” benefits from the presence of Jason Bateman. While Batman doesn’t break things badly very often, he should, because he’s surprisingly good at playing heavy roles. The horror-thriller “The Gift” made great use of this concept, while “Carry-On” took it to a whole other level. Bateman’s bad guy is downright evil here, in a very realistic and nonsensical 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 movie open with a live Bruce Springsteen cover of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” and closes with Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” aka the greatest Christmas song of all time, but there’s also a great action scene And a great one-shot in a speeding car set to Wham! Performance of “Last Christmas”. The end result is a highly entertaining Christmas picture that will satisfy your “Die Hard” craving (so you can rewatch “Die Hard” again).

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