Bullet Points: SAS: Red Notice

How do you know when a movie is really an action movie? You can’t always trust IMDb. And you can’t always trust the “action genre” section of your favorite streaming service.

To me a tried and true method of determining if a movie is really an action movie is to check the plot summary and ask yourself “Does this sound like a movie Cannon or PM Entertainment would have produced?” If the answer is yes, you are about to watch an action movie. If the answer is no, you could be in for a rude awakening.

I am happy to report that 2021’s SAS: Red Notice passed my Cannon/PM test. In fact if it was 30 years ago, I could easily see Gary Daniels in the lead role that Sam Heughan has in SAS: Red Notice and that should be taken as a huge compliment. Let’s get to the review…

• Family Business: As the movie begins we are introduced to The Black Swans, a group of private military contractors led by William Lewis (Tom Wilkinson, Rush Hour). At William’s side his daughter Grace (Ruby Rose, John Wick Chapter 2) and his son Olly (Owain Yeoman). The Black Swans have been hired to clear a village in the Republics of Georgia that is in the way of a major pipeline project. But the villagers don’t plan on leaving their homes without a fight… bullets start flying between the two sides, but The Black Swans take it a step further when they pull out the flamethrowers and torch the village… unfortunately for The Black Swans a young villager girl pulled out her cell phone and recorded the incident.
• Put a Ring on It: We are then introduced to the hero of the movie, Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan, Bloodshot). Tom has returned to his family’s home to retrieve his grandmother’s ring. Tom has plans on surprising his girlfriend, Dr. Sophie Hart (Hannah John-Kamen), with an impromptu trip to Paris where he intends on popping the question. Tom completes phase 1 of his grand plan when he stops by the hospital and informs Sophie that the two will be going away to Paris (he even took the liberty to check in with Sophie’s backup at the hospital to cover for her). But first, Tom has some SAS business to handle.

• Special Air Service: When the cell phone footage of the incident at the village hits the media, The Black Swans know trouble is headed their way, even though it was the British government that contracted them to “assist” with the pipeline expansion project. William Lewis, Grace Lewis and Olly Lewis have Red Notices issued on them. The Special Air Service is called in and they storm The Black Swans’ headquarters taking out several members of The Black Swans and nabbing the ring leader, William Lewis. The strike is led by George Clements (Andy Serkis, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and we get to see Tom Buckingham in action for the first time and meet a friend of Tom’s going back to their days in basic training, Declan Smith (Tom Hopper, The Umbrella Academy). It is not a total victory for the SAS however, as many of The Black Swans are able to escape, most notably the Lewis offspring.
• Die Hard on a Eurostream: Tom and Sophie decide to take the Eurostream train from London to Paris for their romantic getaway… but wouldn’t you know who else is on the very same train… Grace Lewis and some of her Black Swan cohorts! When Tom excuses himself to “the gents” he catches a quick glimpse of Grace and things quickly start going in the “Die Hard on a Eurostream” direction. The Black Swans wait until the Eurostream enters the Channel Tunnel where they then hijack the train, cut out all security cameras and start to round up the hostages. Their demands are huge sum of money and guaranteed safe passage to a destination of their choice or for the British Prime Minister to admit he hired The Black Swans to do what they did in the Republic of Georgia… If neither of these demands are met, Grace intends on destroying the Channel Tunnel, ironically by blowing up the pipeline that runs inside the Tunnel. A diabolical plan to say the least, but Grace was not planning for Tom Buckingham to be the proverbial fly in the ointment. The action picks up even further, when the SAS make their way to the Channel Tunnel.

Fans of the long running Starz series Outlander already know this, but Sam Heughan makes for one hell of a leading man and from the Bulletproof Action perspective, he has the potential to be one hell of an action hero to boot. The Tom Buckingham character is seemingly from a well to do family, so something had to drive him to the line of work he is in and that something may have to do with Tom’s ability to compartmentalize the work he does and his personal life outside of it.

Ruby Rose was absolutely fantastic as the cold and calculating villain. Grace Lewis was basically raised to be a super villain and it shows. I enjoyed Ruby’s work in John Wick Chapter 2 and her work in SAS: Red Notice has only added to my Ruby Rose admiration.

I will now add to this review by including some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Book It: SAS: Red Notice is based on the novel Red Notice written by Andy McNab, who is in fact a former member of the British SAS. McNab’s first book Bravo Two Zero was about McNab’s own personal experiences in Iraq during the first Gulf War. Bravo Two Zero was turned into a movie in 1999 with Sean Bean playing Andy McNab.
• Doctor of the Year: Over the past year, medical professionals around the globe have been praised and rightfully so. Today I would like to nominate Dr. Sophie Hart for Doctor of the Year. There’s a scene in the film, where Tom comes for her and she could have easily escaped. But knowing that there were passengers on board that were injured and needed a doctor, Sophie refused to leave the train.
• Sibling Rivalry: There is a definite sibling rivalry between Grace Lewis and Olly Lewis. There is also no question who their father prefers.
• Directed By: SAS: Red Notice was directed by Magnus Martens. Much of Martens’ previous directorial experience was in the world of television (including two episodes of Banshee), but he proved in SAS: Red Notice that he can direct a new school action feature with an old school feel.
• Sequel?: The table was set for the further adventures of Tom Buckingham as the movie came to a close.