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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
S.W.A.T.
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  out of 4
| *Also starring: | Jeremy Renner, Michelle Rodriguez, Ll Cool J, Olivier Martinez, Real Andrews, Matt Gerald, James DuMont, Sheri Goldner, Heather Charles, Page Kennedy |
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Review by Susan Granger
2 stars out of 4
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Loosely adapted from the short-lived '70s TV series about the L.A.P.D.'s
Special Weapons and Tactics Force, this action picture opens with a North
Hollywood bank robbery sequence in which a hostage is wounded. That's blamed on
S.W.A.T. partners Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his hot-tempered partner Brian
Gamble (Jeremy Renner) who intentionally wounded a civilian to get a better
shot at a perp. Street's told by his smug, paper-pushing Capt. (Larry
Poindexter) that by fingering Gamble he can get a second chance. He does - and
finds himself working for Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) and
training with an elite, new S.W.A.T unit, along with Deke (James Todd Smith
a.k.a. LL Cool J) and Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez) . Their mission is to
deliver a rich killer (Olivier Martinez) to a federal penitentiary; the catch
is the sinister Frenchman has offered $100 million to anyone who can free him.
The clich‚-filled plot eventually attempts to shift gears with totally
predictable betrayals. The finale, however, is memorable, involving a small
Learjet landing on a four-lane bridge in the middle of a city.
What this police thriller has in its favor is gadgetry and realism. The
S.W.A.T. team uses an impressive array of surveillance equipment and its
professional training is as imaginative as it is rigorous. Written by David
Ayer and David McKenna, based on a story by Ron Mita and Jim McClain, and
directed by Clark Johnson, the film eventually disintegrates into mindless
explosive mayhem, and the firepower sound effects boom so loud you feel like
you're trapped in the midst of a war zone. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to
10, "S.W.A.T" is gritty, deafening, ferocious 5. To me, it's a macho,
melodramatic misfire.
Copyright © 2003 Susan Granger
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