S.W.A.T. Movie Review:

The Special Weapons And Tactics unit of LA police department is the most decorated and professional S.W.A.T. operation in the world. Sgt. Hondo Harrelson (Jackson) has been given the task of putting together a new top-notch team that will be the best that the department has to offer. Their first assignment is to transport an international organised crime boss, Alex Montel (Martinez) to a federal prison but when Montel announces on television that he will pay $100 million to whoever can free him, the mission is taken to a whole new level.

Based on a little known TV show from the 1970s, S.W.A.T. is an action movie that has more in common with films of that genre from the 1980s early 90s than the modern action blockbuster.

The bar has been raised over the last few years when it comes to action flicks but this movie seems to be stuck in later part of the last century. The plot is overly predictable, the action sequences are nothing spectacular and the villain is dramatically over the top. Its saving grace however is the two leading men.

Samuel L. Jackson is arguably the coolest guy on the planet. The man has a screen presence that exudes cool and his performances always grab your attention. This movie is no exception as his character Hondo Harrelson puts together his new S.W.A.T. team. Colin Farrell is another actor who is on top of his game. Whatever movie he stars in, his performances always standout as he lives up to that next big thing moniker he has been given. Bringing these two actors together is what drags this movie out of the mundane as their screen buddy chemistry and verbal interactions are a welcome interlude from the extremely average and predictable plot.

The rest of the cast are fine but are given nothing much to do. LL Cool J's Deke Kay and Michelle Rodriguez's Chris Sanchez are criminally underdeveloped which is very frustrating as these are talented actors. The same goes for Olivier Martinez's Alex Montel because you never really find out that much about him other than he is a rich, wanted organised crime boss. Most noticeably Jeremy Renner just isn't convincing enough to be a suitable foil to Colin Farrell's character.

While the action sequences are Ok, they are nothing new or exceptional by modern standards, especially during the climatic fight, which seems rushed and an after thought. This could be because of director Clark Jackson. Having made his name directing TV shows like Third Watch, The Shield, NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Streets and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, his small screen origins are evident as the movie feels very episodic, like a two-part season opener. The first part is all character introductions but the momentum changes in the second part to all out action, with all the interactions and banter lost to shot outs and explosions and the movie suffers for this.
S.W.A.T. is saved simply by the inclusion of Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. Without them the movie would have been distinctly average but their presence elevates it into decent action adventure.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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Inspired by an old television cop show, S.W.A.T. has lots of unbelievable action that's hard to swallow no matter how medicated you are.

The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson as commander Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson who is assigned to recruit and train five elite cops for a new Special Weapons and Tactics Unit.

Making up his team are Jim Street (Colin Farrell), Deacon 'Deke' Kaye (LL Cool J), Chris Sanchez Michelle Rodriguez), Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt) and T.J. MacCabe (Josh Charles).

They encounter a big problem when they are assigned to transport international drug kingpin and arms dealer Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) to federal prison.

Since Alex doesn't want to go to jail he tells the press that he will pay $100 million reward to anyone who helps him escape police custody.

That puts almost every criminal on the streets of Los Angeles trying to collect the loot thus creating a big mess for the police.

Intersections turn into war zones full of automatic gunfire and even military equipment such as rocket-propelled grenades are used to try and free Alex.

This is where most of the extremely unrealistic battle scenes take place and diminish the impact of the mayhem presented.

On top of that the main cast seem to be competing with each other to win the prize for the best poser with a 'cool' attitude. Colin especially seems to put extra effort in this department. He also has more tattoos than several biker gangs put together. Isn't nice that the Los Angeles Police Department allows such non-threatening body adornment.

Given that this is a big expensive Hollywood studio movie, the massive quantities of fast flying bullets have been instructed never to hit Samuel or Colin or they will never work in this town again.

Furthermore, the bad guys can kill without a second thought almost anybody in the cast but not the star whom they can only hurt and piss off enough for a big end of movie fight scene.

It doesn't matter if the automatic weapons are at point blank range. They might as well be up the nose of these actors and upon being fired would not dare put a scratch on the stars.

The makers of this film can't seem to grasp the fact that if the audience is given over the top action that is ridiculous and implausible in the slightest, then it becomes an expensive waste of time.

S.W.A.T. is silly with a bit of humor that can't break through from its unconvincing and uninspiring shootout mentality.

Gil Benzeevi

S.W.A.T.

After a summer full of mindless action scenes plus too many car chases,
which equals to lengthy action films, another cop movie seems the last thing
moviegoers would like to ponder. However, based off of the mediocre 70’s
television series, S.W.A.T. is an enjoyable film that has just enough action and
drama clocking in less than two hours.

The film centers around the "Special Weapons and Tactics" unit of the
LAPD and opens with S.W.A.T. officer Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his partner
Brian Gamble (Dahmer’s Jeremy Renner) being thrown off of the team for poorly
made decisions during a recent hostage situation. Gamble quits the force in
dismay, but Street stays on assigned to working in the gun cage, hoping that one
day he will return to S.W.A.T. Flash forward to six months later, when
respected S.W.A.T. commander Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to
the LAPD with five open slots for his own team. Hondo recruits two already
reliable SWAT members named McCabe (Josh Charles) and Boxer (Basic’s Brian Van
Holt) along with two newcomers, the tough Chris Sanchez (Girl fight’s Michelle
Rodriguez) and the dedicated Deke Kaye (James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J). With
one last spot open, Hondo selects Street because he knows he still has
S.W.A.T. in his blood, but also to "piss off the Captain."

After the new group of unlikely recruits pass the many different
obstacles of their training, they are assigned to escort a powerful international
criminal named Alex Montel (Unfaithful’s Oliver Martinez) out of Los Angeles.
After Montel makes a offer to the television cameras of 100 million dollars to
anyone that sets him free, the S.W.A.T. members are put to the test with many of
the city’s criminals slobbering at Montel’s vast offer.

This film has character and realism, in which most, not exactly all of
the action and situations are believable. S.W.A.T. was under the direction of
Clark Johnson, who previously directed the Emmy nominated pilot episode for The
Shield. Johnson’s direction is nothing special, but like the S.W.A.T. team,
it is tactful. The action and drama are blended well, with even moments of
comedy arising every once and awhile.

The screenplay was written by David Ayer, who also wrote Training Day
(2001) and Dark Blue (2003), and David McKenna, who wrote the powerful American
History X (1998). There are some inconsistencies in the script with the
majority of unbelievable moments happening at the end of the film and also when
Montel easily gets a knife through airport security. In addition to, the way
Montel first gets apprehended is questionable to the ruthlessness of his
character. However, the script does work well with the following of these recruits
becoming one under the mentorship of Hondo. In fact, the insights to the
training of the elite S.W.A.T. units are the best moments in the film. The script
and direction by Johnson do stay true to the formulaic cop genre and the film
barely resembles being a categorized "popcorn" movie.

Samuel L. Jackson does not play Hondo with the same cockiness or fire
that he so often inhabits and portrayed recently in Basic (2003). Jackson’s work
as Hondo is cool, collective, and is portrayed more so as a teacher rather
than an intimidator. The rest of the cast journeys into areas audiences have
seen from all of them before. Colin Farrell is once again the talented lead
recruit. James Todd Smith (LL Cool J) is the muscle family man of the group that
occasionally delivers one-liners. Michelle Rodriguez once again plays the
hard-nosed female of the crew. Rodriguez has a presence, but it would be nice
to see her for once shy away from the tough girl roles, she has the persona to
be an efficient actress.

S.W.A.T. is not an eye candy film, or a one that will absolutely blow you
away. It is an entertaining film with a good cast looking into an
interesting unit of everyday police work. The film does have some homage to the 70’s
television series, with the catchy musical theme of the show being revitalized
for this film version. S.W.A.T. has a few problems, but overall it is a fun
film to watch.

Grade: B

08/08/03
By Joseph C. Tucker

Cops, terrorists, city under siege and an elite crime-fighting unit are just of the elements that appealed to viewers in the late 1970s as a new television show burst onto the scene. The series showcased the best-of-the-best of law enforcement and starred TV veteran Steve Forrest as “Hondo” Harrelson and young actor Robert Urich as Jim Street. When SWAT debuted it was yet another TV show that showcased policemen as everyday superheroes and it but only lasted 34 episodes.

More than 25 years later, SWAT has been remade into a feature film starring Samuel L Jackson as “Hondo” and Colin Farrell as “Jim Street”. The film updates the concept of the series but still sticks with the “superhero-styled” persona of law enforcement. This being politically correct, especially when showcasing the LAPD, is up for debate.

The story of the new feature film finds Jim Street (Farrell) falling out of grace with the LAPD until legendary veteran Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson (Jackson) returns to SWAT unit. Harrelson’s mission is to bring together the brightest and most fully-equipped unit the LAPD has ever seen. This will in turn hopefully bring back some of the glory and power of the LAPD.

After Harrelson assembles his team, their first mission is to escort a recently arrested drug kingpin Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) to a maximum security facility. The catch is that Montel has announced to the media that he will pay anyone $100 million dollars if they secure his release from the LAPD. This brings every crazy-bent-on-being-a-millionaire out of the woodwork to stand in the LAPD’s way. Can Hondo’s team get this madman to prison? Will one of his men fall for the reward and abandon his post? With the city in utter chaos, can they even survive this escort mission?

“SWAT” starts off with a bang. The opening action sequence is rigorous and does a lot to set-up the escalating plot of the film. The film also doesn’t rush into the action sequences as we get to know the members of the unit. Farrell is surprisingly very effective as Street and Jackson is dynamite as always. The film itself has its share of problems.

The first problem is that it is so predictable and not nearly as intense as it could be. So many people complained about the intensity and excessiveness of “Bad Boys 2” well this movie isn’t excessive enough. I never once felt that any of these guys were in danger or that Hondo wouldn’t succeed.

The second problem is the dialogue. There are so many bad lines that you sometimes cringe when people are talking. There really needed to be a script-doctor on this one.

Parts I did like mainly involved the formation of unit and the training exercises. I liked seeing what it takes to be SWAT. I also felt that these scenes made me think of the “Dirty Dozen” films and all their clones. I always loved those movies where a jaded misfit team is assembled for a deadly mission and only a few survive.

I also really enjoyed Colin Farrell, which is probably the first time since “Tigerland”. There are some amazing stunts and some great action scenes but the trailers for this film are far more exciting.

After witnessing “Bad Boys 2”, “SWAT” feels like tame cousin.

(2.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer

Dean Kish

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