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S.W.A.T.
S w a t ver6
Directed by Clark Johnson
Produced by Dan Halsted
Chris Lee
Neal H. Moritz
Written by David Ayer (also loosely based on the Aaron Spelling produced '70s show of the same name)
David McKenna
Ron Mita
Jim McClain
George Huang (Uncredited)
Lem Dobbs (Uncredited)
Chris Morgan (Uncredited)
Craig Fernandez (Uncredited)
Starring Samuel L. Jackson
Colin Farrell
Michelle Rodriguez
LL Cool J
Ashley Scott
Larry Poindexter
Olivier Martinez
Josh Charles
Brian Van Holt
Music by Elliot Goldenthal
Various artists
Cinematography Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by Michael Tronick
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Rated PG-13
Budget $ 70 million
Gross revenue $ $207.1 million


Plot Synopsis[]

Jim Street (Colin Farrell), a former U.S. Navy SEAL and hot-shot cop from the Los Angeles Police Department and his SWAT team are sent to stop a gang of robbers who have taken over a bank. His high-tempered partner and close friend Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) disobeys an order to not fire on the bank robbers, and accidentally wounds a hostage in the process. Gamble and Street are demoted by Captain Fuller (Larry Poindexter), the commander of the LAPD Metropolitan Division. Gamble quits following the argument with Fuller, and Street is taken off the team and sent to work in the "gun cage", where he looks after the gear and weaponry. Six months after the incident, the chief of police calls on Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) to help re-organize the SWAT division. Hondo puts together a diverse team, including himself, Street, Christina Sánchez (Michelle Rodriguez), Deacon Kaye (LL Cool J), TJ McCabe (Josh Charles), and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt). The team members train together, eventually forging bonds of friendship. As a result, their first mission to subdue an unstable gunman is a success.

Meanwhile, French drug lord Alexander Montel (Olivier Martinez) arrives in Los Angeles and goes to a local restaurant to kill his uncle for holding back the family money from him. While driving to the airport, uniformed LAPD personnel stop Montel for a broken tail light and later detain him to get a full positive I.D. on him; they learn through Interpol that he is an international fugitive wanted in over a dozen countries. But as Montel is being transferred to prison, his associates, dressed as LAPD officers, attempt to rescue him as he rides the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bus. Hondo's team arrives in time to kill the two gunmen and recapture Alexander. As the SWAT team approaches the police station, reporters crowd around them, prompting Montel to yell to the cameras that he would "give 100 million dollars to whoever gets [him] out of here". The LAPD makes plans to transfer Montel into federal custody. They initially plan for travel by air, but a mysterious attacker shoots down the helicopter with a high-powered rifle. The police next send out a large convoy, which gang members attack and discover to be a decoy, at the same time as Hondo's team is spiriting Montel away in two SUVs. However, while driving Montel into federal custody, TJ had been plotting with Gamble, and the two succeed in taking Montel from the other officers, critically wounding Boxer in the process.

Hondo and the rest of his team give chase for a final battle against Gamble's group. Fuller later informs them that Gamble intends to fly Montel out of the United States. Fuller dispatches every officer to an airport to prevent the escape. As Hondo and his SWAT team race across town, they observe a plane flying at lower than normal altitudes and deduce correctly that the plane is the one expected by Gamble. They decide to go after the plane, as available units are at the airport and won't make it in time. Before Gamble's group can take off, the team intercepts it, and a gun battle ensues, killing Gamble's remaining thugs, although it wounds Sánchez. TJ commits suicide out of remorse for his betrayal of the team and to avoid being captured. Street pursues and inadvertently kills Gamble by knocking him under the wheels of a passing train, decapitating him. Fuller and the rest of the LAPD arrive to take care of everything else. Fuller thanks Hondo and his team for their success but tells them the job wasn't finished as Montel was not yet in federal custody. Hondo and his team deliver Montel to a federal prison to await trial. On the way home to Los Angeles, a report of a holdup in progress comes over the police radio and despite the team being two officers down and off shift for the past twelve hours, Hondo, Street, Kaye, and Sanchez decide to help anyway.

Cast of Characters[]

Police Officers[]

  • Samuel L. Jackson as Sergeant II Dan "Hondo" Harrelson
  • Colin Farrell as Police Officer III Jim Street
  • Michelle Rodriguez as Police Officer III Christina "Chris" Sanchez
  • LL Cool J as Police Officer III Deacon "Deke" Kay
  • Brian Van Holt as Police Officer III Michael Boxer
  • Reg E. Cathey as Lieutenant II Greg Velasquez
  • Larry Poindexter as Captain Tom Fuller
  • Denis Arndt as Sergeant Howard
  • Daniel Ichikawa as Sergeant Yamoto
  • Jeff Wincott as Ed Taylor
  • Lindsey Ginter as FBI Agent Hauser
  • E. Roger Mitchell as FBI Agent Kirkland
  • James DuMont as Gus


Villains[]

  • Olivier Martinez as Alexandre "Le Loup Rouge" Montel
  • Jeremy Renner as Brian Gamble
  • Josh Charles as Police Officer III Travis Joseph "T.J." McCabe
  • Page Kennedy as Travis Shipley
  • Domenick Lombardozzi as "G.Q."
  • Ken Davitian as Martin Gascoigne
  • Jay Acovone as Lear Jet Pilot
  • Garry Guerrier as Gamble's Thug
  • Matt Gerald as Nick
  • Stephen Ramsey as Lear Jet Co-Pilot
  • Peter Allas as Bistro Gangster #1
  • Alexander Lyras as Bistro Gangster #2
  • Michael Papajohn as Bistro Gangster #3
  • Duane Davis as Security - 6th St. Bridge (uncredited)

Critical Reception[]

  • Reception for the movie was mixed, with a 48% "Rotten" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes, based on 160 critical reviews.
  • Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave S.W.A.T. a favorable rating of three stars, as well as a thumbs up on the At the Movies show. He complimented the characters, dialogue and the action sequences which he found believable.


Trivia[]

  • Original series actors Steve Forrest and Rod Perry make cameo appearances as well. Forrest drives the team's van while Perry, who played Deacon Kay, serves as Kay's father.
  • Michael Bay, Rob Cohen, Antoine Fuqua, Michael Mann, Joel Schumacher, Tony Scott, Zack Snyder, Roger Spottiswoode, and John Woo were all approached to direct the movie before Clark Johnson signed on. They passed because they were all busy with other projects.
  • Mark Wahlberg was the first choice for the role of Jim Street, but turned it down. Paul Walker was originally cast and had even started training for the part, but had to drop out due to filming on 2 Fast 2 Furious. Colin Farrell eventually replaced him. Vin Diesel was offered to play Deacon "Deke" Kaye, but passed because he was in production with The Chronicles of Riddick and LL Cool J was then cast. At one point during the early stages of development, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the role of Dan "Hondo" Harrelson, but he declined and Samuel L. Jackson took the part.
  • In 2011, Sony Home Entertainment released an unrelated and in-name-only sequel entitled S.W.A.T.: Firefight straight to DVD and Blu-Ray. That same year, another Ayer-unrelated-except-in-name-only sequel titled Street Kings: Motor City also appeared on the video shelfs.


Gallery[]

External Links[]

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