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The opening sequence of S.W.A.T. mirrors a famous shoot-out that happened in Los Angeles several years ago. You remember the one where a couple guys dressed in full body armor engaged police in a brazen street battle that seemed to go on forever. In the film, it's the aftermath of a bank robbery gone bad. The gunfight outside lasts only a minute, but inside a hostage situation has developed. The S.W.A.T. unit is called in. Using extraordinary technology, they're able to scope out the situation, but how to proceed is unclear. The unit's leaders order all the men to hold their positions while negotiations can take place, but one S.W.A.T. pair have other plans. They sneak in through the bank's roof and catch the robbers by surprise. In the brief shoot-out that follows, both thieves are killed but one of the hostages is wounded.

Despite the apparent success of the mission, the unit's supervisor, an egomaniac of a police captain right out of central casting, goes ballistic. Those two "violated orders," those two "could've gotten somebody killed." One of the men, Brian Gamble, can't take the abuse and quits the force in a rage. The other man, Jim Street, loves S.W.A.T. so much that he's willing to take his humiliating punishment in the hope that he can rejoin the squad down the road. The movie is about his journey back to the front lines of police work and the conflicts that await him when he returns.

Colin Farrell, who's making a name for himself playing young hot-shots (Phone Booth, The Recruit), is Jim Street. If you've seen Farrell before, you've seen him here. He has that good-looking smirk and cool demeanor that makes him a perfect pr man or cop.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the role of Sgt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson, a banished S.W.A.T. leader who's been allowed back into the department. Not only does he get to return to S.W.A.T., he's asked to form a new unit and hand-pick its members. Along the way, he gets to irritate the higher-ups, crack wise with the underlings, and basically act like a bad ass. Jackson has played this role way too many times. Still he can smile with the best of 'em and deliver his zingers on cue. When a fellow S.W.A.T. member chides him for not "rolling" during a training exercise, he remarks, "They only roll in John Woo films, not real life."

The supporting cast is fine. I always enjoy seeing LL Cool J in a movie; he has a natural charisma that appears effortless. And though Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious) is in danger of being typecast as the tough but pretty girl in a world of men, there's no denying she plays the part well. The villain, played by Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful), is French, which seems to be the only requirement for a villain these days.

Director Clark Johnson made his name with impressive work on television crime shows like "Homicide" and "The Shield." Knowing his way around a shoot-out, he thankfully foregoes most of the genre's cliches, so there are few slo-mo shots and no bullet-time moments. Instead, he and editor Michael Tronick move the film along with crisp editing and a direct style of storytelling. The movie is helped enormously by its tight script. I was nervous early on when the stereotypical police captain made his entrance to cuss out Jim Street. Then when a series of irritatingly obvious product placements hit the screen, I thought my worst fears were coming true.

But the screenplay, by David Ayer (Training Day) and David McKenna (American History X), finds its way. The initial meetings between Hondo and Street are predictable but still compelling. The real meat of the film, though, are the scenes when Hondo's S.W.A.T. team comes together. The idea of Hondo being able to choose his own five people may be a little hokey, but the team dynamics are anything but. The training montage is fantastic, and their test mission--having to storm an airplane filled with hijackers--is both intense and believable. The movie even manages to throw some legitimate surprises into the mix. But what I liked best was that, though Jackson and Farrell are clearly the stars, the film takes the time to establish the sense of teamwork that goes into a real S.W.A.T. unit--how you have to trust the people around you, how each person brings his or her talents to bear.

Which is why the movie's ending is so disappointing. Though the screenplay does a marvelous job of emphasizing the team aspect of S.W.A.T., the film's finale ignores that part almost completely. We have a long but pointless chase scene. And then we see Colin Farrell go mano a mano with his nemesis, while the other good guys each pick out one bad guy to chase down. We get mayhem instead of planning, executing criminals instead of executing a game plan. It feels like a betrayal of everything that's come before.

Still S.W.A.T. is compelling entertainment. If you're in the mood for cops and robbers, you probably won't be disappointed. 

J. Robert Parks 8/7/2003

In the 1960s, with urban tensions at an all-time high following the Watts riots, a special police unit was formed in Los Angeles to combat new threats and situations that the typical officer was not trained to handle. The now-famous S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons And Tactics), having become a fixture over the years in police departments around the world, has been featured in many films and television shows and was even the basis for a popular show in the seventies. The popularity in media shows how the unit, created out of necessity to save lives and keep the peace, has become a fixture of modern society.

In the film based upon the show of the same name, audiences are introduced to S.W.A.T. Officers Jim Street Colin Farrell and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), as they attempt to diffuse a very violent standoff involving hostages and well armed robbers. Gamble ignores an order to hold position and resolves the situation his way, much to the chagrin of the department and many fellow officers who, despite supporting his actions in private and off the record, find themselves distancing themselves from him. Faced with a load of pressure and bad publicity, Captain Fuller (Larry Poindexter) removes Gamble from the unit and offers Street a chance to remain if he will admit that he did not support Gamble and that his actions violated his orders. Street remains loyal to Gamble and is assigned to menial duty. Gamble is angered by this turn of events, thinking Street should support him and leave the force along with him. He leaves in anger, feeling betrayed by Street and the police force.

Flash forward six months. Street is given a chance to redeem himself by Lt. Dan Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson), who is charged with assembling a new S.W.A.T. unit to restore the tarnished image of the department. Hondo is a maverick with a history and his decision to include Street and a female officer named Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriquez) is not received well by Fuller. He agrees to the team only on the condition that should they screw up, Hondo and Street are off the force.

In no time, the unit completes training, setting a new course record in its final evaluation drill, and is put into service. Things are going well until an international fugitive named Alex Montel (Oliver Martinez) is taken into } a violent escape attempt, the S.W.A.T. team is tasked with delivering him into Federal custody since they acted so well in preventing his escape.

Things become further complicated when Montel offers a reward of $100 million to anyone who can free him from prison. Naturally, his televised offer gathers all sorts of attention and unleashes pure chaos, leaving S.W.A.T. to keep the public safe and deliver Montel to justice.

There are some nice moments in the film, as Farrell and Jackson give solid performances. The action is solid without being unrealistic and over the top. The cast works well together, but it is in need of some depth for the supporting characters. LL Cool J gives a nice performance as David Deke Kay, but he is reduced to little more than a good cop with a desire to do good. Rodriquez is given a tiny bit of depth, as we know she is a single mother, but that's about it. The other two members of the team are fleshed out even less--all we know about two of them is that one is the brother of Street's last girlfriend and the other has a taste for the high life. Martinez does well with a role that is basically a stock bad guy, portraying Montel as a refined killer who is as comfy with killing as he is with nice clothing and cars. Montel believes that human life is something he can use, buy, and sell at his whim.

Despite the lack of character development, S.W.A.T. works; it moves at a nice pace and contains a nice blend of action and comedy without being over the top. In this summer filled with over-hyped misfires, S.W.A.T. is an entertaining film--ready to serve.

Gareth Von Kallenbach  8/10/2003