S.W.A.T. (2003)

Number Rolled: 6

Movie Name/Year: S.W.A.T. (2003)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 117 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Director: Clark Johnson

Writer: Robert Hamner, Ron Mita, Jim McClain, David Ayer, David McKenna

Actors: Samuel L Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt, Olivier Martinez, Reg E. Cathey, Larry Poindexter, Page Kennedy, Domenick Lombardozzi, James DuMont, Denis Arndt, Lindsey Ginter, Lucinda Jenney, E. Roger Mitchell

Jim Street’s partner, Brian Gamble, is a little impulsive. During a S.W.A.T. mission, he goes against orders and accidentally shoots a hostage in the attempt to shoot her captive. The heat falls and both Jim and his partner are taken out of S.W.A.T. altogether. Jim opts to take a much less glamorous job in the gun cage, while Brian gets rid of his shield completely and leaves the force. We follow Jim as he’s picked up by a returning Sergeant and brought back onto the force. After being tested and going through a few low-key missions, his unit is called to escort a highly dangerous international criminal to a federal prison.

I found this movie very fun to watch. It’s everything you expect out of an action/adventure; big explosions, lots of guns, etc. To be honest, I enjoyed it at a higher level than I scored it. There was just a single glaring issue I couldn’t ignore when the credits rolled.

To be frank, the storyline was stupid. I didn’t realize until I did my research after the movie that it was based off an old TV show (of the same name). That fact explained so much. For as entertaining as the movie was, the story felt patch-worked. If it had been broken up into around three episodes of a TV series, it would have made so much more sense. Instead, they tried to fit too much into it and nothing really flowed as well as it could have.

I have no problem, however, with the actors. Even if I ignore the fact that I’m a huge fan of a couple of them, everyone else was spectacular, too. With big names like Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Colin Farrell, though, the only surprise would have been if they’d dropped the ball. Personally, I think the sun shines out of Michelle Rodriguez’s ass, so I’ll refrain from commenting on her at all.

In the end, it’s more enjoyable than it should be.

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5