Carry On (Netflix)- Taron Egerton And Jason Bateman Die Hard For The Holidays
Quick Take: Every year there are a few Netflix titles that end up being worthy, that aren’t just festival pickups or Oscar bait. This past year, Carry On is one of a handful of Netflix originals I’d watch again. It didn’t reinvent the genre, by any means, but it plays to its strengths, and creates a solid action movie for the holidays.
the strength lies in this back and forth between the mysterious baddie played devilishly well by Jason Bateman, and our intrepid hero, played with eagerness by Taron Egerton. Bad guy must get dangerous stuff past TSA, and his plan is derailed when a different employee shows up. He has his crew ready to threaten someone else’s family, but a quick change puts Taron in the crosshairs, and a moral dilemma drives the film.
Can Taron save the world? Can he save his girlfriend? Will it be a Mery Christmas after all? While Bateman and Egerton carry the movie, they are also distracted by a side plot involving an officer (Danielle Detweiler) who is piecing everything together. I love Detweiler, to a point that everyone will know when I put out my pick for Supporting Actress of the year, but this is not her film. She’s not miscast, it’s more that her role doesn’t need to exist, and slows down the pacing. We do get Sofia Carson punching above her weight, and I’m glad to see the Descendants star finding work that doesn’t feel like it was a low cost streaming always option. Carry on feels like it could have been in theatres, which is exactly where Carson needs her career to go.
The audio description is very tight, focusing on the stuff we get to know as Jason Bateman’s mysterious stranger allows us to know it. this was a fun film that a month later, I remember fondly. For more, check out my video.
