Carry-On

A real guilty pleasure.

"Carry-On" is an action movie that is definitely a Christmas movie, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

... A filling chunk of crude entertainment – as carb-rich and greens-free as the baked potato you’ll probably eat with it.

Egerton brings an edge to the protagonist derived out of a keen sense of self-disgust, while Bateman again abandons his once archetypal droll, comic persona, for a darker and more sinister place.

Carry-On does everything a decent Hollywood genre movie should: concise on the plotting, tense when time gets tight, and a showcase for star Taron Egerton.

Die Hard karaoke this may be, but it delivers — and eclipses at least two of John McClane’s outings in the process. Look forward to future eye-rolling debates as to whether it qualifies as a Christmas movie.

There are, of course, plot holes large enough to fly a Dreamliner through... but these are problems you expect from a movie like this.

Carry-On is a vigorous reminder on the power of an engrossing B-grade action flick and showcases Collett-Serra's well-honed skills in breakneck characterization and plotting needed for emotionally invested tension.

Anybody comparing this lazy junk to “Die Hard” is either living in an alternate universe or needs a couple of semesters of film school.

...Jaume Collet-Serra...draws more on the action thrillers of the glorious '80s and much of the '90s. [Full review in Spanish]