Ok, so like half of the rest of the globe, you watched Carry-On in the last month, and now, you’re kinda in the market for a action/thriller to watch next. Here are a few movies that share some similarities with Carry-On (i.e. they’re big silly plane thrillers) that you may be into…
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Chances are, if you have a Netflix account and encountered a rainy afternoon during the holidays (is that… most of us?!) you will have either seen a promo for Carry-On or have dived in and watched it.
The airport-based thriller has been a mega-hit. After it released in mid-December it rocketed up the charts, and before the year was over, in just two weeks, it became the most watched movie on Netflix globally for the whole year.
This is despite the fact that it’s… well, not really all that good?!?
I love a big silly thriller – weirdly, particularly anything set on a plane – but this one… well, at the risk of a pun as corny as this film, it kinda fails to take off. It’s cheesy, predictable and a bit cringy, buuuut also maybe perfect for a summer watch?
There’s plenty of promise – it stars Taron Egerton (he won a Golden Globe for his lead role in Rocketman a few years ago) and Jason Bateman, and not a bad plot.
Taron stars as Ethan, a TSA agent at Los Angeles Airport, who has just found out that his very beautiful fiancé is pregnant. Taron’s career has been stagnating, particularly since he took a shot at joining the police force (his dream!) but was rejected in the 11th hour of training. But, with the news that he has a baby coming, he looks for more responsibility at his current job.
Unfortunately it couldn’t be a worse day for him to get a shot at a bigger role, scanning bags at customs. Because, it’s the same day a plot to get *something* through the departures lounge and onto a flight is scheduled – and his scanning station is the pre-chosen point of entry to get a carry-on bag through.
Is Taron willing to let the bag go through to save the life of his future wife and baby-to-be? How deep does this plot go? And WHAT is in the bag?
There’s some pretty great moments in this film and Taron does a great job with a pretty lousy script. And while I love Jason Bateman, this is no Ozark and he seems like quite a bizarre choice in casting.
Nevertheless this film has had so much buzz, and so many eyeballs on it, so, if you enjoyed this movie, or didn’t love it at all, I’ve got some others I think you’ll be into. Likewise, if you haven’t watched Carry-On, I don’t think you really have to. If you’d like to watch a big silly action/thriller in the sky, you’d be better off watching one of these five:
Flightplan
This movie is kind of bonkers but it is such a bloody good watch, likely just down to the fact that it stars Jodie Foster and she is goddam magnificent in this (and, everything?!). It’s dark and moody with a brilliantly suspenseful score and is so very, very stressful.
Jodie plays Kyle, an American aircraft engineer who lives in Berlin. She’s flying back to the US under the saddest of circumstances – her husband has passed away and she and her young daughter are taking his body home. She manages to fall asleep on the flight, but when she wakes up, her daughter isn’t in her seat. Her panic grow as she – and everyone – begins to search the plane. But then, comes a heartstopper – she’s informed by the crew that there is no record of her daughter ever boarding the flight. Did she actually die along with her husband? Is she so wracked with grief that she is hallucinating?!
GOD it’s good. And like I said, Jodie is phenomenal. A fun fact – the film was actually written for a man (Sean Penn!) but when Jodie expressed interest the switch was made (although they kept the name of the lead character, Kyle). It also stars Peter Sarsgaard and Sean Bean and you should watch it immediately.
Where to watch it: Disney+
Red Eye
This is another totally cooked early 2000s movie (Like Flightplan, it was released in 2005 – a big year for crazy thrillers set on planes), that is brilliant to watch. It’s directed by Wes Craven (who was right in the midst of his Scream fame) and stars a brilliant line-up of Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox.
Rachel plays Lisa, a young woman who has just attended her grandmother’s funeral and is taking a late-night flight (a redeye) back home to Miami. While she’s waiting for her flight at an airport bar, she shares a drink with a handsome man, Jackson (Cillian Murphy) who she shares a drink with. She’s then super surprised to board her flight and discover he’s actually sitting next to her.
Buuuuuttt… things take a turn when his demeanor totally changes and he soon informs her that he works for a domestic terrorist organization planning to assassinate the current US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Jackson needs Rachel’s help (she’s a manager at a luxury hotel in Miami where the Secretary is going to be staying) to pull of the plot and will go to any length to get her to cooperate.
It’s insane at times and very stressful, but lordy it’s good.
Where to watch it: Rent it from Apple TV, Neon or Google TV
Hijack
If somehow you got through 2023 without watching this miniseries, now is the time to catch up! Yes, it’s a bit different to the others on this list as it’s a series rather than a movie, but somehow, it’s still riveting for all seven insane episodes. It stars Idris Elba, which should be enough for you to stop what you’re doing now, and give it a watch.
Idris Elba plays Sam, a corporate business negotiator who is on a flight from Dubai back home to London to his son and estranged wife. He makes the flight in just the nick of time. Shortly after takeoff though, a teenage passenger finds a bullet in the bathroom – which she talks to another passenger about. He takes the bullet to show a flight attendant. Back on the ground an airport screener suddenly falls ill and leaves her shift early…
Before long Sam’s flight is thrown into chaos when hijackers storm the plane and manage to access the cockpit. It’s a seven hour flight to London – will the hijackers demands be met? Or will Sam find himself having to intervene…
Part of what makes this show a complete edge-of-your-seat watch is that it’s filmed in real time and, it’s full of twists and turns. Be warned though, every episode seems to end on a real nail biting cliff-hanger so the idea of watching ‘just one more’ before bed can land you in trouble (or a very late night!).
Where to watch it Apple TV
Non-Stop
If you’re looking for a big, silly action/thriller/mystery set on a plane, with a big-name actor, then this 2014 film will definitely do the job. Non-stop stars Liam Neeson and is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (the two of them made Unknown together a few years earlier). It also has the fabulous Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery.
Liam stars as an alcoholic ex-NYPD officer who is now a Federal Air Marshall. He’s keeping a low profile on a flight from New York to London when trouble lands in his lap. He gets text messages saying that someone will be killed every 20 minutes if demands are not met. Chaos totally ensues as he tries to work out who onboard are the goodies and the baddies and just what the heck is going on.
Where to watch it: Rent it from Apple TV, Neon or Google TV
Air Force One
You can’t really make a listicle of great plane/airport themed thrillers without listing Air Force One. Yes it’s an older one, from 1997, but it’s one of those FAB ’90s action thrillers that stars Harrison Ford and we just don’t make em like this anymore.
It has all that drama and action of the classic terrorist/hostage situation on a plane, but it’s taken up a big notch when that plane happens to be the President of the United States’ plane, Air Force One. Harrison Ford plays the President (back in the 90s we still thought of Presidents as being, well, Presidential), who is onboard the plane, along with his wife and daughter when a secret service mole enables a group of Russian terrorists (who were disguised as journalists) to obtain weaponry, take out security and hijack the plane. But, the President is an army veteran and a Medal of Honor recipient who isn’t going down without one heck of a fight.
It’s a star-studded cast, with Glenn Close playing the Vice President, Gary Oldman as the baddie and William H. Macy as a military aide to the President. Recommended!!
Where to watch it: Disney+
