Netflix critics hail ’10/10′ thriller inspired by Die Hard and brand it the ‘best Christmas movie of the year’

A new Netflix film inspired by Die Hard has hit the platform just in time for Christmas and critics are raving.

Carry-On is a new ’10/10′ thriller from The Shallows director Jaume Collet-Serra, starring Taron Egerton, 35, and Jason Bateman, 55.

In the film, Taron plays a transportation security agent (TSA) who is blackmailed by Jason’s character to smuggle dangerous items aboard a flight on Christmas Eve.

The film, written by TJ Fixman, was originally planned as the first release as part of Netflix’s deal with Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin, but the film was postponed due to a script rewrite.

Carry-On also stars Sofia Carson, 31, Danielle Deadwyler, 42, and Logan Marshall-Green, 48, and has already received rave reviews from critics.

In his review for The Wrap, William Bibbiani said, “There are about two minutes in it that are as exciting as any action movie this year, and about 100 minutes that are quite fun too.”

Pramit Chatterjee in Digital Media Talkies wrote, ‘Carry-On is the best Christmas movie of the year.’

Meanwhile, The Daily Beast’s Nick Schager added, “This groundbreaking Netflix offering confirms the enduring vitality of its chosen formula—and proves to be an unexpected and welcome holiday streaming gift in the process.”

Speaking to the BBC, Collet said the Bruce Willis classic had inspired the film, adding: “Everyone wants to make the next Die Hard and the reality is no one ever will – it’s a perfect film that doesn’t can be replicated, and also a very specific product of its time.”

“But when I read the script for Carry-On, I felt like I had found a more grounded version of Die Hard – which was our North Star for the whole process – for a new generation.”

Over the years, there have been many discussions about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

And in 2020, director John McTiernan, 73, addressed the debate in a video for the American Film Institute.

He said he drew inspiration for the film from the moment in Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life when Bedford Falls becomes Pottersville.

He said: ‘We didn’t intend for it to be a Christmas film, but the joy that came from it made it a Christmas film.’

It’s been quite a busy year for Netflix, as it was recently announced that two British Netflix series were in the top 10 most searched terms in Britain in 2024.

One series is Fool Me Once, a thriller adapted by Danny Brocklehurst from Harlan Coben’s 2016 novel of the same name.

It features a star-studded cast including Michelle Keegan, 37, Adeel Akhtar, 44, Dino Fetscher, 36, Richard Armitage, 53, and Joanna Lumley, 78.

The show premiered in January and, as of March 31, is the seventh most-watched English Netflix series to date.

Another popular series is Baby Reindeer, a drama based on a struggling comedian who shows kindness to a vulnerable woman. However, it leads to a suffocating obsession that threatens to destroy both their lives.

The miniseries was released on Netflix in April and has won six Primetime Emmy Awards since its release.

Fool Me Once ranked second in the top 10 most searched terms in Britain, while Baby Reindeer took the win by coming first.

Within its first week, Fool Me Once starring Coronation Street’s Michelle was watched by over 37.1 million Netflix accounts with over 238 million hours watched, one of Netflix’s biggest debuts.

All eight episodes appeared in the BARB top 50 most-watched programs of the week, with the opening episode attracting 6.34 million viewers.

And at the National Television Awards, Michelle was nominated for Drama Performance, while the show was nominated for New Drama.

The series follows Maya (Michelle), a mother trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her husband Joe.

However, she is quite shocked when she sees her husband on her new babysitting camera that she installed to keep an eye on her daughter.

Meanwhile, Baby Reindeer, created by Richard Gadd, 35, debuted at number five on Netflix’s top 10 English TV titles in early April, with 10.4 million hours watched.

The following week, the series climbed to number one, with 52.8 million viewing hours.

The series received critical acclaim on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with 98% of 58 critics giving the series a positive review.

The series follows Donny’s twisted relationship with a female stalker named Martha and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark hidden trauma.

The show, directed by Weronika Tofilska, 39, and Josephine Bornebusch, 43, features a star-studded cast including Jessica Gunning, 38, Nina Sosanya, 55, and Nava Mau, 32.