It can only meet you halfway: you have to be able to grin at this stuff, not sneer.
S.W.A.T. (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:160
Fresh:76
Rotten:84
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: A competent, but routine police thriller.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, language and sexual references
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Aug 8, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $116,643,346
Synopsis: They’re the best of the best, the elite of law enforcement. And they’ve been recruited for their most dangerous mission ever. Inspired by the popular ‘70s television series, the... They’re the best of the best, the elite of law enforcement. And they’ve been recruited for their most dangerous mission ever. Inspired by the popular ‘70s television series, the explosive action-thriller S.W.A.T. stars Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell, is produced by Neal H. Moritz, directed by Clark Johnson and features an ensemble cast that includes Michelle Rodriguez, James Todd Smith (aka LL Cool J), Brian Van Holt, Jeremy Renner, Josh Charles and Olivier Martinez. Farrell portrays Jim Street, a former S.W.A.T. team member, who along with his partner Brian Gamble (Renner), is thrown off the team in the aftermath of a controversial decision they made during a robbery/hostage standoff. Gamble quits the force in disgust, but for Street, being a policeman is his life and he agrees to a demotion, hoping to someday have the chance to redeem himself and once again wear the privileged S.W.A.T. uniform. Street gets that chance when team commander Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (Jackson) is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch cops for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit (S.W.A.T.). The other members of the new team Hondo recruits are Deacon “Deke” Kaye (James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J), Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt) and T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles). After weeks of demanding physical training, the new S.W.A.T. team is quickly thrown into action when a notorious drug lord Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), audaciously offers a $100 million bounty to anyone who can free him from police custody. As they escort the kingpin out of Los Angeles and into the hands of the Feds, they are pursued by a ruthless and well-armed band of mercenaries. Columbia Pictures Presents An Original Film/Camelot Pictures/Chris Lee Production S.W.A.T. starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, James Todd Smith (aka LL Cool J), Brian Van Holt, Josh Charles and Olivier Martinez. S.W.A.T. is directed by Clark Johnson. The screenplay is by David Ayer and David McKenna from a story by Ron Mita & Jim McClain. The producers are Neal H. Moritz, Dan Halsted and Chris Lee. Gabriel Beristain, ASC/BSC is the director of photography. The executive producer is Louis D’Esposito. The co-executive producer is Todd Black. The co-producers are George Huang and Amanda Cohen. The production is designed by Mayne Berke. The film is edited by Michael Tronick, A.C.E. The music is by Elliot Goldenthal. The music supervisor is Evyen Klean. Christopher Lawrence is the costume designer. [More]
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Olivier Martinez, Michelle Rodriguez
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Olivier Martinez, Michelle Rodriguez, Josh Charles, LL Cool J, Brian Van Holt, Ken Rudúlph, Jeremy Renner
Director: Clark Johnson
Director: Clark Johnson
Screenwriter: David Ayer, David McKenna, Ron Mita, Jim McClain
Story: Ron Mita, Jim McClain
Producer: Neal H. Moritz, Dan Halstead
Composer: Elliot Goldenthal
Studio: Columbia Pictures
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Reviews for S.W.A.T.
[Jackson and Farrell] manage to keep us interested with pure charisma.
Though the film's second half has some good action moments, it never fulfills the promise of its earliest scenes.
An over-amped action film with just enough character shadings and color to make us wish it were better.
[N]ot... actively awful -- it’s just sort of boring and completely predictable and a little bit laughable in its psychology.
The camaraderie is realistic and heartening, the escape plan is exciting, and the ladies will love it when LL flashes his abs.
One long adrenaline shot that never takes itself seriously and never pauses long enough to worry about making much sense.
The fresh cast breathes some life into the proceedings, and it looks good on screen, but the formulaic plot gets less and less believable as it goes along.
A big, near-incoherent action thriller best suited for audiences who don't mind being pummeled into submission.
It's every police movie you've ever seen wrapped into one, done so stiffly that the characters are barely able to bend at the waist to collect their hundreds of spent shell casings.
If this movie was going to be sold in a grocery store, it would be in a plain white box with black letters that say, "GENERIC SUMMER EXPLOSION MOVIE."
As close as we're going to get to a 2003 version of The Fast and the Furious.
S.W.A.T. proves something of a throwback entertainment in this summer of digital-effects duds. The story couldn't be more cliched or conservative.
S.W.A.T. fits its late-summer release date. It senses we’ve been worn out by blockbusters, and doesn’t try too hard to please us.
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