Warning: Major spoilers for Carry-On below!Taron Egerton fronts Netflix’s tense new thrillerCarry-On- a title that may cause many UK viewers to do a double take.Carry-OncastEgerton as Ethan, an underachieving TSA agent who Jason Bateman’s mysterious Traveler blackmails into letting him smuggle a dangerous weapon past security.Carry-Onhas been compared toDie Hardmore than once, though it’s more of a slow-burn thriller than an action movie. For UK viewers of a certain age, the title might create some confusion with theCarry Onfilm franchise.
This comedy saga comprises over 30 movies, with titles such asCarry On Screaming!orCarry On Don’t Lose Your Head. The series had its own stable of recurring actors too, including Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor (Eastenders), and many more.The franchise is still the most prolific British film series, with onlyJames Bondcoming closeat 25 installments. However, there hasn’t been a new entry since 1992’s detestedCarry On Columbus.
Carry-On Review: Taron Egerton’s Uneven Netflix Thriller Gets More Fun As It Dumbs Down
When Carry-On goes off the rails and lets Taron Egerton off the leash, I had a good time. But I had a hard time keeping my thoughts from wandering.
UK Audiences Might Confuse Netflix’s Carry-On With The Classic Carry On Franchise
Netflix’s thriller is far from Carry On Flying!
It might be over 30 years since the last entry, butCarry Onhas left a large cultural footprint with UK audiences. The series is constantly repeated on television, and gags such as Kenneth Williams' “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me!” fromCarry On Cleohave become iconic. That’s why some British viewers have been momentarily confused by the title of Egerton’sCarry-On, thinking it might be some kind of reboot before actually reading the synopsis.
Of course,the Netflix movie haszerolinks to theCarry Onseries, and while it has humor, it takes the central premise quite seriously. In hindsight, it’s almost a surprise theCarry Onseries didn’t feature an entry set in an airport too, where the potential for double entendres and bad puns is plane to see.
A spinoff TV series calledCarry On Laughing!also ran for two series in 1975.
A Carry On Movie Reboot Has Been Planned For Years
Carry On has yet to carry on after 30 years away
Just like Westerns or parody movies, certain genres just naturally start to wane in popularity over time.TheCarry Onmovies ran from 1958 to 1992,and during their heyday were enormously successful. That’s why even younger British viewers who’ve never watched one of the movies still know what the franchise is - but their uniquely bawdy sense of humor hasn’t aged terribly well. Despite this, there have been several attempts to dust off theCarry Onbrand and produce a new movie, which has yet to happen.
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Carry On Columbus
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One such attempt was dubbedCarry On London, about a limo service ferrying celebrities to an awards show. Names like Burt Reynolds, Vinnie Jones and David Jason were linked, but the sequel eventually died in pre-production. There were later plans to film three new installments back to back in 2019 (viacomedy.co.uk), but the pandemic appears to have scuttled that idea. Alas,Carry-On 2024’sendingdoesn’t reveal it to secretly be a revival of the beloved comedy franchise - though that could still happen sometime in the future.
Carry-On
Cast
Carry On is a film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, focusing on a young TSA agent who is coerced by a mysterious traveler into allowing a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight. As events unfold, he must use his wits to resolve the perilous situation.
Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head
Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head is set during the French Revolution, featuring Sir Rodney Ffing and Lord Darcy Pue as English noblemen aiding the French aristocracy. Ffing, as “The Black Fingernail,” uses his disguise skills to thwart the French secret police led by Camembert and Bidet.
