Die Hard has long been regarded as an action classic, yet its status within the pantheon is mired in a contentious debate. Every year around this time, the question resurfaces: Is it truly a Christmas movie? This perennial dispute, sparked by an innocuous Slate post 17 years ago, may not hold great significance, but it has a way of influencing every appreciation of this unpretentious gem. After decades of over-the-top star vehicles, its unfussy craftsmanship seems akin to the work of a medieval artisan whose techniques have been lost to time.

Jaume Collet-Serra's "Carry-On": A Perfect Thanksgiving to Christmas Filler

Premise and Similarities to Die Hard

The premise of "Carry-On" is strikingly simple, much like that of Die Hard. Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent working on Christmas Eve at a busy airport, must thwart a mysterious caller's plan to sneak an ominous black suitcase onto a plane without alerting the authorities or endangering the life of his pregnant girlfriend, who is in the crosshairs of a sniper's rifle. Just as in Die Hard, there is a touch of character development, centered around the idea that Ethan, once an aspiring cop, has settled for a dead-end job in public security but now has a chance to redeem himself. However, the movie doesn't take this too seriously and doesn't ask too much of Taron Egerton, who simply needs to occasionally furrow his brow or flex his muscles. And to avoid any arguments about it being a holiday movie, the first scene ends with the bad guy setting fire to a Christmas-tree lot.

Isolation and Challenges in an Airport

The Die Hard model thrives on confinement, but an airport can seem like a football stadium compared to the single rock in The Shallows. (Die Hard's sequel at Washington Dulles International Airport faced challenges in creating a sense of captivity over several square miles.) Yet, "Carry-On's" script, written by T.J. Fixman, manages to isolate Ethan even when surrounded by thousands of antsy travelers. After a misstep in his job advancement leads him to operate the X-ray machine for the first time, a wayward earpiece appears on the conveyor belt. An anonymous text advises him to start listening, or else. With access to the airport's security cameras, the Traveler (played by Jason Bateman) and his accomplice (Theo Rossi) can monitor Ethan's every move, making any attempt to sound the alarm or deviate from the plan extremely dangerous. The safest place for him is to be alone, but in an airport on Dec. 24, that's easier said than done.

Budget and Directorial Style

Made on a modest $47 million budget, "Carry-On" doesn't have showstopping setpieces like Ethan's Mission: Impossible counterpart. It's not about clinging to the outside of a jet plane or scaling the world's tallest skyscraper. (His surname gives a clue to the stakes; it's the Russian equivalent of a penny.) But director Jaume Collet-Serra is inspired by limitations rather than hindered by them. His big-budget movie, Disney's Jungle Cruise, was less fun, but give him Liam Neeson and a few commuter-train cars, and magic happens. There is one misstep, a car crash staged as a fixed shot through the windshield with transparent digital fakery that stands out like a sore thumb. But overall, it's a no-frills affair that is delightfully so.

Netflix's Role and the Future of Back-to-Basics Filmmaking

"Carry-On" opens with the DreamWorks logo and, like Netflix's Rebel Ridge, it's a movie that would have been a treat to see in theaters before becoming a favorite in living rooms. So many of Netflix's original movies have been overpriced and boring or of low quality. It would be great if this little boom in back-to-basics filmmaking meant that the streaming platform could bring more like this: clever spins on classic set-ups with integrity and occasional flashes of intelligence, but always staying true to the elemental satisfactions that great genre movies offer. Let a hundred "Carry-Ons" bloom and bring more quality entertainment to our screens.