Netflix’s Carry-On dubbed as “better than Die Hard 2” despite divisive Rotten Tomatoes score

If you’re looking for a Christmas movie with a thriller twist, look no further than Netflix’s Carry-On, starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman.

There’s a long line of Christmas movies that have attempted to put a more adult spin on festive proceedings, and with Netflix‘s Carry-On, the list keeps growing.

The new movie stars Egerton as Ethan, a TSA agent at LAX who suddenly finds himself entangled in a dangerous conspiracy after he’s instructed to let through a suspicious passenger and package. As Ethan tries to warn airport security, the level of manipulation grows.

All this sounds like prime material for a Die Hard-esque action flick, and that appears to be the case. As divided reviews pour in for the new Netflix movie, one thing is for sure: fans are putting Carry-On above Die Hard 2.

New Netflix movie has a split Rotten Tomatoes score

After being released on December 13, Carry-On has bolted to the top of the Netflix movies chart. However, on the review front, it’s split between a 86% Tomatometer score and 59% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes.

We gave the movie three stars in our own review, writing, “There’s little in Carry-On that’s fresh or original, but TJ Fixman’s script is as professional, ruthless, and efficient as the villain around which his story revolves.”

Other reactions praise the action sequences and performances, with criticism focusing on the lack of realism and over-the-top nature of the plot. However, there’s one natural comparison to Die Hard 2 – another Christmas movie set in an airport – and Carry-On seems to be winning the fight.

One X user said, “Carry-On does ‘Die Hard in an airport’ better than the actual Die Hard in an airport’.”

“Carry-On literally the movie Die Hard 2 wished it had been,” said another.

Netflix

A third wrote, “Decent action thriller that dares to ask the question… ‘what if Die Hard 2 was good?’. Or I guess it’s more ‘Die Hard 2 meets Phone Booth’ than anything; really good at ratcheting up the tension when you think you have it figured out.”

At the time of writing, Die Hard 2 has a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the third-highest ranking of the franchise, but still not as high as Carry-On on the Tomatometer.

Carry-On is available to stream on Netflix now.

For more, check out the Carry-On soundtrack, the ending explained, and find out why the best scene doesn’t feature Taron Egerton or Jason Bateman.