‘Red Notice’ tries for triumph over terrorists on a train
It’s best to begin by deciphering the title of this fast-moving, plot-shifting, violent and engaging thriller.
SAS is the acronym for Special Air Service, a branch of the British army specializing in counterterrorism and hostage rescue. A Red Notice is a request sent to law enforcement agencies around the world to assist in locating and arresting a criminal.
In “SAS: Red Notice,” arrest requests are issued for three American members of a London-based “private military company” (terrorists) calling themselves Black Swans. They will do anything, from triggering huge explosions to cold-bloodedly shooting people down, for money. In the film’s opening scenes, the group’s three honchos — William Lewis (Tom Wilkinson), his daughter Grace (Ruby Rose) and his son Olly (Owain Yeoman) — lead a raid on a village in the republic of Georgia, where a British-owned pipeline is under construction, but the villagers won’t get out of the way. Until the Swans’ raid gets them out of the way, permanently. Send out that Red Notice!
There have been comparable films in which it’s eventually divulged that the people or the agency funding this sort of endeavor are not who you expected. But there’s not much waiting around for the reveal here.
But part of the film’s appeal is that it often becomes difficult to tell who is bad and who is good. A couple of things are certain: SAS agent Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan) is the hero, and Black Swan Grace Lewis is the villain. It’s also clear that Sophie Hart (Hannah John-Kamen), Tom’s love interest, is on the side of good, but pretty much everyone else in the film wears shades of gray as far as their moral compasses.
The story suffers from a bit of meandering during the final moments, but it gets back on track with a very cool ending while the credits are running.
“SAS: Red Notice” is $9.99 on Video On Demand services including Google Play and Amazon Prime Video.