On average, 241,000 people pass through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) daily. According to the LA Times, the airport expects over 3.2 million travelers during the holiday season.
Where better, then, to set a thrilling, deadly action movie?
“Carry On,” a new Netflix nail-biter, hit screens on December 13, 2024, and immediately topped the site’s Top 10. The film amassed 97 million views in its first 10 days.
The film follows TSA Agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) as he’s confronted with a major conspiracy: he must let a conspicuous carry-on bag pass through his security checkpoint, or else his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) dies.
He listens to the instructions of a spine-chilling villain (Jason Bateman), who speaks to him through an earpiece.
The film (surprisingly) fills up its nearly two-hour runtime; there are plenty of twists, violent fight scenes and dramatic sprints through terminals (I much prefer the ones found in a Rom-Com).
A little reality must be suspended in most action movies. “Carry On” is no different, except for the lingering question of “What if?” Maybe it’s why thrillers keep our heart rates speeding, sometimes even more than a fantastical horror movie: real-world scary petrifies us, we see ourselves in it.
Leo Kanner (Form V) liked the movie, but thought the plot was “a little dumb.” He said, “Though, it did make me think about every time I get on a plane.”
Isabel Gorman (Form V) agreed that the movie had disappointments. “It had a disappointing ending,” she said. “A lot of buildup but it got boring.” Gorman said she has no plane anxiety or airport anxiety and was fine watching the movie.
However, some people’s anxiety deterred them from watching.
Macy Griffith (Form VI), who hasn’t yet watched “Carry-On,” said, “I wouldn’t watch a movie about a plane crash when I’m on a plane.” Griffith admitted to having plane anxiety, which is new for her. “I’ve been flying since I was little and didn’t have it,” she said. “I just started in the last couple of years to actually think about what would happen if we crashed.”
“It’s not a rational fear,” said Charlotte Symons (Form V), defending those with plane anxiety. “When people are scared of stuff it’s not because they think rationally. When I feel turbulence I feel scared not because I actually think I’m gonna die, but because I just have an uncontrollable reaction to it.”
I watched the movie with my family during winter break. Thankfully, as my sister joked, after we finished all our travel. After “walking the dog” (how my dad refers to the endless scrolling between streaming apps), we settled on “Carry-On.” A slow start, but purposefully – we learn about our protagonist, and the movie succeeds in a necessary goal: we begin to care.
Initially, the plot seems one-of-one. Most thrillers don’t choose their location as a salmonella-infused, depressing grey landscape. Although designated as LAX in the movie, the airport could be any such one across the globe. The chilly message is clear: this could happen anywhere.
And with that, the movie finds its footing.
For the frightened fliers, this movie isn’t for you. For those who enjoy the thrill before takeoff – the moments before the wheels lift from the ground – you’ll feel that familiar shiver throughout the two-hour movie.
