S.W.A.T. (2003)

Director:

Clark Johnson

Writers (WGA):

Robert Hamner (characters)
Ron Mita (story) ...

Release Date:

8 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Tagline:

Even cops dial 911

Plot:

An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody and only the LAPD's Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.

Plot Keywords:

Self Inflicted Gunshot Wound | Entire Title Is Capitalized Acronym | Shot To Death | Acronym In Title | Uniform

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. May 18	8:00 PM	FX
Sun. May 18	10:30 PM	FX

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson
Colin Farrell	...	Jim Street
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Chris Sanchez
LL Cool J	...	Deacon 'Deke' Kay (as James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J)
Josh Charles	...	T.J. McCabe
Jeremy Renner	...	Brian Gamble
Brian Van Holt	...	Michael Boxer
Olivier Martinez	...	Alex Montel
Reg E. Cathey	...	Lt. Greg Velasquez (as Reginald E. Cathey)
Larry Poindexter	...	Capt. Thomas Fuller
Page Kennedy	...	Travis
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	GQ
James DuMont	...	Gus
Denis Arndt	...	Sgt. Howard
Lindsey Ginter	...	Agent Hauser

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references.

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:12 (original rating) | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The bank used at the beginning of the film was an abandoned building scheduled to be torn down, so the film crew was allowed to shoot at it, tear it apart and do whatever they wanted to. They also had to get over 500 signatures from residents and businesses for permission to fly the helicopters at low altitudes during the SWAT team insertion.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Chris Sanchez gets out of her car and runs to a wounded Officer Boxer, some of the camera crew's bodies and faces are reflected in her car door and window for a moment.

Quotes:

Hondo: Street. Don't beat him so badly I can't get a rematch, all right?
Street: I won't make any promises.
Hondo: It's my money, man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Guns, Guts and Justice: An Inside Look (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Oh Shooter

For action fans

'S.W.A.T.' is a movie that does nothing more than deliver. It promises nice action scenes and gives us some. They look pretty good, so I guess in that way I can recommend the movie. The story is, of course, about S.W.A.T., a respected part of the LAPD. We follow a team with leader Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson), Jim Street (Colin Farrell), Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), Deke (rapper LL Cool J), Boxer (Brian Van Holt) and T.J. (Josh Charles). They have to deal with a criminal named Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) who offers 100 million dollars to the people who will help him escape from jail.

The movie opens with Jim Street and his partner Gamble (Jeremy Renner) saving people from bank robbers, but they do that after disobeying an order. Both are punished but Gamble thinks Street has betrayed him so Gamble leaves the fore while Street gets a job out of action. The movie continues six months later, leaving us with the feeling we will hear more from the Gamble-character. We feel correct. These facts, and may be that Street used to date Boxer's sister, are kind of important to know, although every event serves the action or the one-liners that are not that impressive.

Yes, events are implausible, but not in a way they become annoying. For actions fans the movie does exactly what we expect and what we want, entertaining enough. If you are normally not an action fan, only when it is done very good, I should skip 'S.W.A.T.'!