It was the flightmare before Christmas.
Crewmembers and TSA agents alike took pot-shots at Netflix’s hit holiday airport movie “Carry-On,” which they felt took more than a few creative liberties when it came to airport security.
The flight-knuckle thriller follows TSA agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Edgerton) as he tries to outfox a mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) who blackmails him into “letting a dangerous package slip onto a Christmas Eve flight.”
“Carry-On” quickly took Netflix by storm, topping the platform’s global top 10 charts with an impressive 42 million views during its first week, Newsweek reported.
Channeling their best impression of those ubiquitous “expert reviews” series, crewmembers poked many a hole in the flick’s narrative fuselage.
In a recent TikTok video taking off online, stewardess Camille (@camilleintheclouds) and an unidentified male flight attendant, ripped into the scene where Bateman’s character enters the galley.
“I tell people to get the f – – k out of the galley,” exclaimed the incredulous air host, causing Camille to cackle.
Equally ridiculous, per the pair, was the prospect of Bateman lifting the aircraft’s carpet sans any repercussions or the hatch in the aisle that anyone can access and walk down to where people load and unload the luggage.
Jessica Mayle, a spokeswoman for the TSA, also flagged many of the inaccuracies, including a scene where agents play “contraband bingo” with confiscated items.
“We have never heard about anyone playing checkpoint bingo — and certainly not with things permitted in carry-on baggage,” she told Newsweek. “TSA highlights unusual prohibited items on social media, but such games are not part of our operations.”
She also thumbed her nose at the notion in the movie that passengers can refuse scanner screenings sans major consequences.
“All passengers must be screened before entering the sterile area of the airport. In the rare instances passengers refuse, they are denied access,” she observed.
Another aspect that forced Mayle to suspend disbelief? The idea that a single TSA agent could cause such a major security breach with the protocols they have in place.
“Given TSA’s layered approach to security, with intelligence and risk analysis as a basis, it is unlikely the scenarios the movie presented could evade the TSA airport security apparatus at the nation’s airports,” she said.
And never, under any circumstances, would an airport resume normal operations during a security breach like what’s portrayed in the movie, according to Mayle.
Coincidentally, some of the more unbelievable-seeming plot points were actually spot-on, per the security expert, who explained that just like in the movie, a student could use a student ID if bereft of other forms of identification.
However, she noted that said traveler would have to undergo additional identification vetting, which would likely lead to delays.
And, while “Carry-On” seemed rife with more inaccuracies than “Soul Plane,” Mayle said she felt it did a good job capturing the spirit of the TSA.
“The film ultimately portrayed our front-line workforce in a good light, even if the main character did not make the best decisions initially,” she declared.
Meanwhile, film writers overwhelmingly lauded the film, which holds an 87%-fresh score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while also noting that it puddle-jumps the shark in terms of accuracy.
“‘Carry-On’ is a preposterous but entertaining thrill ride about an airport security agent caught up in a deadly terrorist plot involving a smuggled carry-on suitcase,” said Carla Hay, editor-in-chief at Culture Mix. “The movie doesn’t take itself seriously and has well-cast heroes and villains.”
