Every year around this time, people start talking about their favorite holiday movies. It’s inevitable that a real joker will say his favorite Christmas movie is Die Hardhar har. Technically it’s a film set in late December, so it qualifies. But the piece is stale. We hope the new Christmas action film plays Hand luggage (Netflix, December 13) will quickly enter the canon and take some pressure off Die Hard. It definitely deserves its place in this firmament.

Led by Jaume Collet-Sera, Hand luggage is a simple idea that is implemented with great effort. Taron Egertonformer Elton John impersonator and Kingsman of England, plays the humble TSA officer Ethan, who becomes a pawn in a nefarious terrorist attack that takes place at LAX on Christmas. He’s connected via Bluetooth to a mysterious villain – played by him with effective nonchalance Jason Bateman– and asked to let a specific bag go through security. If he doesn’t, bad things will happen to his pregnant girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson). It’s an evolution of a familiar setup where our hero has to do bad and risky things in secret to prevent something even worse from happening.

Collet-Sera and screenwriter TJ Fixman They have this formula firmly under control as they increase the tension in deliberate steps. The film does not aim for absolute plausibility, but is based on the logic and physics of the real world. Hand luggage is refreshingly old-fashioned in this way; It is more interested in actual human capabilities than what modern technology can simulate.

There’s a striking visual sequence here that makes good use of contemporary technology: an exciting scene in a car that’s reminiscent of a similarly dazzling single-take set piece Alfonso Cuaron‘S children of men. Collet-Sera gives it a little leeway, showing an admirable investment in what could easily have been considered a mere sidekick to the algorithm. Hand luggage shows that vision and thought need not only be applied to award-winning films, or, I don’t know, Christopher Nolan Blockbusters. Here is a film pleasantly small in scope and modest in mission, yet it functions like an expensive Swiss watch.

Egerton is a likeable everyman lead, tempering the swashbuckling charm he used so effectively in the series Kingman films and replaces it with a personable, workmanlike decency. His character is frustrated because of his career; He’s ambitious, but not exactly a daredevil. There’s something very likeable about him, even if his greatest desire is to become a police officer. Bateman is the quiet, almost affably evil counterpart to this serious Moxie, displaying frightening confidence as he battles ferociously with Egerton. It’s a captivating dynamic that turns potentially passive phone conversations into gripping suspense. They are pursued by an LAPD detective played by him Danielle Deadwyleralways an impressive screen presence. She skillfully contributes to the efficient competence of the film and gives depth to the most exposed lines of dialogue.

These winning performances are in service of a clever script that pays attention to detail and has a keen internal memory. The film is careful to give every plot device its due; Even small supporting characters are not neglected. It’s perhaps a disgrace to our film age that a film that’s simply in control of its own world feels so exciting, but the same can’t be said for too many other streaming titles.

Maybe it’s narrow-minded nostalgia to think that Hand luggage belongs to an older tradition in which craft and substance played a role even in small genre things like this. Of course there was a lot of junk 30 years ago – we tend to remember the good stuff. But Hand luggage Despite the heavy reliance on smartphones, it is still reminiscent of the action films of yesteryear. It’s sturdy, well shot and endearingly serious rather than arched. What a fun night at the movies – or at home, I guess.