Carry-On (2024) review

On an extremely busy December 24th at Los Angeles International Airport, Transportation Security Administration officer Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) - whose pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) has been encouraging him to try to attend the police academy a second time (after a failed first attempt) - finds an earpiece that connects him to a "freelance facilitator" nicknamed Traveler (Jason Bateman) who wants him to pass a suitcase through the scanner even though it contains an explosive device filled with Novichok (a nerve agent that the Russians really like); he tries to outsmart Traveler, but more often than not he's unsuccessful.  It's trying to be this Mission: Impossible meets Speed-type go-for-it action movie but the entire setup is utterly ludicrous with multiple implausible moments, although Bateman, whose character on Ozark definitely had a twisted sense of ethics and morality, is believable as the villain.  If the movie's secondary purpose - other than mindless entertainment - is to reestablish "trust" in the Department of Homeland Security and assure everyone their equipment and staff can avert another hijacking ... I'm also not convinced.