Netflix’s Certified Fresh, IR-Red Action Thriller Will Make You Think Twice About Travel Plans
Written by Robert Scucci | Published
I may have been skeptical, but I’m starting to wonder how many others there are Die Hard ripoffs we really need to put up with before someone finds a different way to organize an interesting event. I can see why it’s a 2024 Netflix Original Go ahead it was well received by critics for reliably hitting all the expected beats, with the right talent to pull off its premise, but what I’m always curious about is the gap in reception you see on Rotten Tomatoes. In the critical phase, Go ahead has an 88 percent, New Verified Rating across over 100 reviews.
Look at the Popcornmeter, however, and the 52 percent approval rating tells a very different story. What I gather from audience reviews is that we’ve all seen this type of story played out before, and usually better. Go ahead it must be based on truth, but its plan is so unbelievable that suspending disbelief becomes a real challenge. All that’s left is crunching, by the numbers Die Hard carbon copy going directly to broadcast.
I find myself sitting squarely between both camps. Taron Egerton is a likable, serviceable lead, and Jason Bateman is the perfect, straight-faced antagonist who runs the show with influence and terror. Complaints about facts don’t really follow me because Die Hard rules, but let’s call a spade a spade while we’re talking about it. None of us are watching Die Hard for its truth or. We watch it because it kicks ass, and a lot of people watch it Go ahead because it is chasing the same audience.
Die Hard At An Airport
Go ahead centers on Taron Egerton’s Ethan Kopek, a clueless TSA agent who works at LAX during the holidays. He has just learned that his girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) is pregnant, which has made him reevaluate his stagnant career. Ethan was previously rejected from police academy, leaving him with two options. He can reapply now that some time has passed, or he can take his TSA job seriously and get a promotion that keeps him legal while allowing him to support his growing family.
Ethan chooses the latter on Christmas Eve, another Die Hard drag, when he asks his boss Phil (Dean Norris) for more responsibility. That decision backfired almost immediately. The baggage-scanning route he was assigned to was no longer chaotic when a traveler pointed out a missing earbud and handed it to Ethan. After a while, he receives a text from a blocked number instructing him to put the device in his ear.
On the other end of the line is Traveler (Jason Bateman), who calmly informs Ethan that he needs to let a certain bag go through security or Nora will be killed. Ethan tries to call 911, but it quickly becomes clear that he is being watched by a man known as The Watcher (Theo Rossi). Every detail of Ethan’s life is already known. Address, employment history, Nora’s location, everything. The traveler uses that information as leverage, forcing Ethan to comply.
Completely under the Traveler’s control, Ethan follows orders while slyly trying to warn his superiors that something is wrong. The stakes are further raised when it is revealed that the bag contains a large amount of Novichok, a deadly nerve agent capable of killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people if the plan is successful.
Meanwhile, Detective Elena Cole (Danielle Deadwyler), who has been investigating a double murder tied to a Novichok store, realizes that Ethan is at the center of the operation. After tracking a disconnected 911 call back to him, he races toward the airport as Ethan tries to stop the bag from getting on the plane while keeping his loved ones alive.
Little by little Very Easy
Here is the problem with Go ahead. It’s well made, expertly shot, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. We’ve all seen this movie countless times under different titles, you know the drill. Egerton works because he is a sympathetic protagonist who is pushed into actions he cannot morally justify. The tension reads clearly on his face, and it works. Bateman is a legitimate threat, and his commitment to an act of domestic terrorism feels believable within the standard framework of this genre.
The issue is doubt. We all know how these movies work. A reluctant hero finds the bomb, disarms it with two seconds left on the clock, saves the day, and everyone claps. That prediction is where the audience divide comes from. On the other hand, Go ahead it does exactly what you expect, and some viewers find comfort in that. On the other hand, Go ahead it does exactly what you expect, eliminating the basis for any real disagreement.
You don’t watch movies like that Go ahead to see a hero fail. You watch them struggle, adapt, and finally do what needs to be done when all the pieces fall into place. Go ahead it is perfectly adequate, but offers nothing new. It’s a familiar place, and if that’s your thing, no judgment here. It’s comfort food. I’m not very happy Die Hard knockoffs where I can sit and watch Die Hard.
Go ahead is a Netflix Original and available to stream with an active subscription.
