S.W.A.T.

December 10, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 111 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Guns and attitude, that’s what makes S.W.A.T. great stuff.

S.W.A.T.

I never really watched the TV show when it was on, so I can’t tell you if this is a sort of remake or not. I don’t believe so though, as they kinda acknowledge the show in the movie, and they do “sing” the theme song (as shown in the previews.) It doesn’t matter either way though, S.W.A.T. is a kick-ass movie.

Jim Street (Colin Farrell) is the front man in this story, and from the beginning he’s on his captains crap list. Seems his partner has a bad habit of not listening to orders and bending the rules a bit too far, and as a result he gets busted off the team and assigned to work the gun cage.

Enter Sgt. Dan ‘Hondo’ Harrelson (Samuel L Jackson) who’s been brought back to S.W.A.T. to put together a crack team to boost the departments image. Let me note here that we don’t really know what he’s being brought back from, why he doesn’t get along with the captain, or why the department needs an image adjustment… though it doesn’t matter in the least, it’s just a plot hole. Hondo pulls Deke (LL Cool J), Chris (Michelle Rodriguez) and Jim to be part of his team, and it’s off to training camp.

Meanwhile, a “really bad guy” gets pulled over for a busted tail light and lands himself in jail. Turns out he’s worth billions, so he offers 100 Million dollars to anyone who can get him out of prison. Hondo’s first assignment is to get him to federal custody while half the city tries to break him out.

OK, so the plot is a little thin. Who cares!? Great guns, great action scenes and great dialogue make this a very solid 4 star movie. More babes and a decent car chase could have given it 5, but highly recommended anyway. Bring on the sequels!

Posted by John | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Colin Farrell, LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez, Olivier Martinez, PG-13, Samuel L Jackson, Theatrical