When we searched for a Christmas Movie on Christmas Eve, we found only the old and cheesy ones that we view every year, or the ones with bad or drunk Santas, and of course a lot of Christmas chick flicks. Then we stumbled upon Carry On.

The first five minutes were boring, and I thought I might not make it very far into this movie. Then it picked up, sort of like Die Hard did, when very bad guys started showing up.

It’s Christmas Eve at the LAX airport, one of the busiest travel days of the year. The TSA team is getting a pep talk from their boss Phil Sarkowski (Dean Norris, who we know as Agent Schrader in Breaking Bad). Everyone is assigned to their stations. The rookies, the ones with one bar on their epaulettes, get to do the grunt work and interact with the public, while the leads, the ones with two bars, man the scanners. Young agent Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) has not received any promotion in three years. His girlfriend, who also works at the airport, is pregnant. He knows he needs to get a promotion, and the lobbies Phil to let him work the scanner for the day. Phil gives in.

It just happens to be a day when a group of terrorists try to smuggle a bomb onto a plane. They were expecting another agent at the machine whom they were going to blackmail. When Ethan shows up, things get complicated quickly, both for the terrorists as well as the TSA. The action escalates quickly, and soon I found myself riveted. The entire plot line is reminiscent of Die Hard, when a single hapless hero is forced to take on a band of ruthless terrorists.

Carry On is full of action and suspense, but there are also some very serious plot holes. When they come around they are obvious and you just have to look the other way. At the end, I was surprised how much I enjoyed watching this movie. I am not sure how realistic the TSA action was represented, but I am sure I will never see the TSA guys at the airport quite the same way.