SAS: Rise of the Black Swan

The movie has some good action scenes and surprises but could have been better written and some of the other actors more convincing. The beginning was a bit confusing but did come together in the end. Sam Heughan held this whole movie together and did an excellent job of it and I believe he should be the next James Bond!

The Black Swans, (a private military company) is hired by SAS commander George Clements to clear a small village in the Republic of Georgia to make way for a gas pipeline. Well the Black Swans not only clears the village, they massacre the entire village. But they are unknowingly video taped and A Red Notice is issued by Interpol for the leaders of the group, William Lewis and his adult children Grace and Olly are charged with crimes against humanity. In order to cover up for the government involvement, Clements puts out a kill order on the Black Swans leaders and the SAS seizes their headquarters and kills William. Grace and Olly escape and immediately plan to avenge their father. "This isn't about money, its revenge" - Tom Grace now leads the Black Swans and they hijack a train going to Paris and hold the passengers ransom against the British government. The plan is to blow up the gas pipe network when the train is deep inside the Channel Tunnel. "If you don't pay us I'm going to destroy this tunnel and everyone in it" - Grace "If she exposes what we've done this is a very big problem for me. Get down there and kill her" - Prime Minister Now what they didn't count on is a SAS officer, Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan) being onboard the train. Tom escapes off the train and contacts and warns his friend who is also a SAS agent but he has been bought out by Clements and sends a rescue team into a trap. So Tom is on his own against Grace and the Black Swans. This is a OK thriller with really good actors and lots of action, but it looks more like a TV movie. Still worth the watch. Cast - Sam Heughan, Ruby Rose, Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkonson

I think this movie has everything an action film needed, and the only reason critics tore it to shreds was because their favorite action actors weren't in it. If this had been Tom Cruise, Jason Statham, etc. they'd have given it raving reviews. This movie was good! The plot was good, the actors and actresses were good, and as always... Andy Serkis is superb. Also, loved seeing Sam Heughan take on this role. He has amazing acting skills and shined in this.

A common problem these days. Some old stuff recycled. At least it's a British production instead of an American one

The acting, the plot, the dialogue... All bad.

An above average thriller. The beginning is slow but the train portions are tense. And the best set piece is at the end. It's really character-driven but won't win any more awards for originality.

Meh. Probably not worth your time.

I'm a senior women. I loved this movie! Action-packed with a romance component. But, the functioning psychopath was of great interest. Would love to see a sequel to this further exploring Tom Buckingham. Is he always able to be a psychopath for good? Do people with this personality trait own it for good or bad deeds? Would love to see more.

Excellent movie with extreme twists.

This movie was difficult to watch. SAS: Red Notice is beautiful to look at, but the plot has so many holes and conveniences that it's hard to ignore. Even more difficult is to criticize without commenting on plot elements. So, if you want to avoid spoilers, know that I recommend the movie to those who like old-fashioned action movies, where a single bad boy gets one with everything and everyone. If you care about the plot, you won't be satisfied. From here, I cannot continue this review without criticizing plot elements. **Spoiler warning: From this point forward, I will discuss important plot elements.** In the first few minutes of SAS: Red Notice, we hear narration about psychopathy. We hear that psychopaths are incapable of love, but they can learn. Psychopathy is a widely discussed topic even today, but I'll let that narration slide. But the narration is important because it is the theme of the film. The film introduces us to Black Swans, mercenaries. They destroy an entire village to prove they are the bad guys but end up being filmed by a child with a cell phone, which could expose the British Government's involvement. First, the movie takes place in the 2020 or 2021, digital media era. In what world do these mercenaries live where they assume no one has a smartphone in their hands. Still, either these mercenaries are too good, or I don't know, but I think it's very unlikely that mercenaries like the ones in the movie exist these days, considering how quickly information travels. But out of pity for the plot, this can slide too. So the movie shows us the good guy: Tom. He is a psychopath, according to the film. No, that's not clear and won't be clear until near the end of the movie, but it was obvious to me from the start. With a narration about psychopathy, the way Tom behaves, and the butler's description of how his grandmother loved his grandfather, it was more than obvious that Tom is a psychopath. This will be explored at the end of the movie, of course. The Black Swans are the worst mercenaries of all. Not only must they live in the last century, but they hide in the enemy's backyard, and assume the government won't frame them to get rid of exposure. In less than half an hour, they are tracked down by the SAS, the unit where Tom works. Despite this being a film about active corruption, this element is little explored in the film. The movie focuses more on how Tom is going to save everyone from the train. Save them from the Channel Tunnel train. After being hunted down, the remaining Black Swans decide on a final plan to hijack a Channel Tunnel bullet train. Their plan is to incite terrorist suicide, but really what they want is money and killing innocents in retaliation. Tom coincidentally is on board the hijacked train along with his girlfriend Sophie, a nurse. Tom sneaks out of sight of the Swans, who have tunnel vision. Tom, under the train, decides to open the plumbing in one of the toilets to get on the train and, wow, his girlfriend is in the same toilet, who knew! So their plan is for Tom to save the little girl who was with Sophie in the bathroom but leave Sophie to the Swans to think that Tom took the little girl by force. What a stupid plan. Considering what Tom and Sophie have seen so far, it's obvious that this will end up with Sophie dead, but wrong: for some reason, Grace, leader of the Swans, psychopath, who has so far killed mercilessly, decides to leave Sophie alive, you know, to continue the plot. Much of the film is about Tom sneaking Swans out while the SAS avoids entering out of fear. Here I even understand SAS; in hostage situations, the police are usually passive for the sake of the hostages. But for the sake of the film, the police agree to prepare an entire escape scenario for the bandits in exchange for the freedom of the hostages. I've never seen this happen in reality. The Swans' real plan is to escape through a natural gas pipeline using carts. It's interesting, but it seems so dangerous to me if you consider that one spark and everything goes up in the air. So Tom kills most of the Swans and we're ready for the final battle against Grace. The fight is OK, but then it comes to the point where Tom, being a psychopath, is put to the test. Grace says that she understands him because she is one too and that Tom would make a great Swan. Maybe it would even be interesting if Tom decided to join Grace, but no. He even seems moved, but his will to kill her is stronger. Tom asks Sophie to marry him, but she says no because he is a psychopath. He cries, and she says she will marry him because, if he cried, it means he really loves her. Sigh. The film ends with Tom dying to kill more, with Sophie supporting him as if it were a new adventure. I can't stand films like this. If you want a classic action movie with a lot of gibberish with a macho hero, this movie is for you. I prefer something smarter.