directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Let’s enter 2025 with a pinch of adrenaline, shall we? Netflix was recommending me this film way too much to ignore it, so at some point I screamed to myself “FINE” and let it play. And how surprised I was to see two brilliant actors playing quite unexpected roles. But first things first – I’m taking you to LA airport. We get to know Ethan (Taron Egerton), who’s a security officer and his job is to make sure no forbidden liquids are in your hand luggage. Because we all know that extra 100 ml of shampoo is the main cause of plane crashes, right? Anyway, during his shift, Ethan finds an earbud and this way he begins a life-and-death game with a guy referred to as the Traveler (Jason Bateman). His request is simple – Ethan must make sure that one specific piece of luggage will not be scanned and stopped by the security. Maybe it wouldn’t be that complicated to solve this problem if only the Traveler didn’t threaten to kill Nora (Sofia Carson), Ethan’s pregnant wife. The officer has no idea what’s inside that specific bag, but it seems like he must risk everything to save his beloved one. The game begins… Personally, I adore such action films were the protagonist is trapped in a mind struggle and at first, it seems like there’s no way out. I immediately start analysing options, and if the characters surprise me with their choices, I consider it a good script. Watching films should be fun, so if I can predict everything in the first 10 minutes, there’s something not right. Here, I have to admit that they did surprise me and following Ethan’s mind was pretty exciting. Maybe the ending could have been more spectacular, but we can’t have everything. Besides, as I mentioned before, the roles of Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman were quite unusual. The Traveler was a wonderful psycho who in an elegant manner and with not much effort completely controlled Ethan. I associate Jason with comedies and his roles of a generally annoyed yet kind guy-next-door, so that was somehow satisfying to see him as the antagonist. And then, Taron, whenever he plays a slightly confused character, it’s always in comedies. Here, we could see a more dramatic version of his confusion and lack of control over the situation, which was also a fresh experience to me. Anyway, both gentlemen did a great job and I believe that if only the ending had been slightly polished, that could be a brilliant action film to talk about. But at least it’s good, it’s entertaining, and it’s easy to follow, so feel free to begin your year this way as well.
My rating: 6/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 