Carry-On is a 2024 Christmas-set action thriller about a TSA agent forced to let a dangerous package onto a flight. Its holiday deadline and contained, high-stakes setup invite a Die Hard comparison—but that’s a useful genre shorthand, not a claim that the films share the same story or quality. Whether the ride works comes down to its performances, pacing, and how much credibility you’re willing to grant its escalating airport predicament.
What is Carry-On about?
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by T.J. Fixman, the film follows Ethan Kopek, played by Taron Egerton, a TSA agent working a Christmas Eve shift. A mysterious traveler, played by Jason Bateman, blackmails Ethan into letting a dangerous package pass onto a flight. Sofia Carson and Danielle Deadwyler are among the supporting cast.
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The setup turns an ordinary workplace into the center of a time-sensitive threat. The airport’s security procedures and the approaching departure give Ethan a narrow space in which to respond, while the blackmail makes the danger personal as well as public.
Is Carry-On like Die Hard?
Yes, in the broad sense of a holiday-set action thriller built around an everyday protagonist, a dangerous antagonist, and a confined high-stakes situation. Netflix Tudum calls Carry-On a Christmas movie in the same conversation as Die Hard, and RogerEbert.com places it in the familiar tradition of single-setting action films often described as “Die Hard on a ____.”
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The comparison sets expectations for the kind of suspense, not a one-to-one match. Carry-On centers on airport security and a coerced worker, rather than reproducing Die Hard’s plot or characters. Its own test is whether the airport predicament, the lead pairing, and the mounting pressure hold together—and whether its more strained turns feel like acceptable action-movie license.
What makes the contained setting matter?
The airport is more than a Christmas backdrop: Ethan’s job puts him at the point where a threat has to pass through a system, and the flight deadline gives the story a clear clock. The confined framework keeps attention on how he navigates that pressure instead of shifting into a sprawling action-adventure.
Rank #2
- DVD
- Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color
- English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
- 1
- 97
Collet-Serra described the appeal of this kind of setup to Netflix Tudum: “Contained environments force us to get to know the movie’s characters very quickly and personally — we’re immediately in the thick of the story with them, which creates a genuine investment in what’s happening on-screen.” That explains the filmmaking challenge; how strongly the approach lands will vary by viewer.
Is it worth watching?
Carry-On is a reasonable pick if you want a brisk, Christmas-set thriller with a clear ticking-clock premise and a central clash between Ethan and the traveler holding leverage over him. The airport setup gives the familiar action formula a distinct workplace angle. The main reservation is plausibility: if the decisions and complications in a high-pressure thriller need to feel tightly convincing, the story may test your patience.
Rank #3
Rotten Tomatoes displayed an 87% Tomatometer from 107 reviews and a 52% Popcornmeter from more than 5,000 ratings when checked on October 8, 2026. Those are dated, live aggregator scores—not Netflix viewership figures or objective measures of quality. They reflect a divide between critics and audience ratings at that point, but they don’t replace a viewer’s own judgment of the film’s formula, performances, and suspense.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you watch Carry-On?
Carry-On is identified as a Netflix title, and Amblin describes it as streaming only on Netflix. Catalogs can vary by country and change over time, so check the film’s listing in your local Netflix catalog. Netflix Media Center lists its release as December 13, 2024, at 8:00 AM GMT.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
- Based on the 1983 film a Christmas story
- Old Man stands 8 inches tall and fully poseable
- Dressed in fabric clothing
- Accessories included: 2 interchangeable heads; leg lamp
- Collector friendly window box packaging
Sources and further details
- Netflix Tudum: cast, release details, premise, and Collet-Serra interview
- Rotten Tomatoes: Carry-On
- RogerEbert.com: Carry-On review
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