S.W.A.T. (2003)

An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody and only the LAPD's Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.

Director:

Clark Johnson

Writers:

Robert Hamner (characters), Ron Mita (story),

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson
Colin Farrell	...	Jim Street
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Chris Sanchez
LL Cool J	...	Deacon 'Deke' Kay (as James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J)
Josh Charles	...	T.J. McCabe
Jeremy Renner	...	Brian Gamble
Brian Van Holt	...	Michael Boxer
Olivier Martinez	...	Alex Montel
Reg E. Cathey	...	Lt. Greg Velasquez (as Reginald E. Cathey)
Larry Poindexter	...	Capt. Thomas Fuller
Page Kennedy	...	Travis
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	GQ
James DuMont	...	Gus
Denis Arndt	...	Sgt. Howard
Lindsey Ginter	...	Agent Hauser

Storyline

Based off of a one time T.V. show, two Los Angeles S.W.A.T. officers Jim Street and Brian Gamble were sent in to foil an extremely violent bank robbery. Although they thwarted the robbery, they shot a hostage in the process. Street was suspended from S.W.A.T. while Gamble was fired altogether. After 6 months, a veteran S.W.A.T. officer, Daniel Harrelson or "Hondo", is told to assemble a S.W.A.T. team for his division. He chooses other S.W.A.T. officers as well as 3 rookies. However, after they pass the S.W.A.T. training, they receive a message that a French crime boss, known as Alex Montell is trying to escape from prison. This will not be easy to prevent, especially after Montell promises $100 Million to his rescuers.

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Plot Keywords:

swat team | hostage | police | bank robbery | uniform | 

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Taglines:

Even cops dial 911

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Sony [br] Sony Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

8 August 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

S.W.A.T. - Unidad especial

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,960,281 (UK) (5 December 2003)

Gross:

£5,274,283 (UK) (9 January 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Original Film, Camelot Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) is being handcuffed by Jim Street (Colin Farrell), he is seen face down over Alex Trebek's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Alex Trebek also provides the (uncredited) newscast voice-over during this shot.

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Goofs

The female police officer in the last sequence inside the SWAT vehicle has a silver ring on her right thumb as she views a photograph of her daughter. In the following shot as she places the photo into her shirt, the ring is missing.

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Quotes

Brian Gamble: Terrible day, I need a cocktail.
Street: I'm staying.
Brian Gamble: [In disbelief] You're what? After that?
Street: In time, Fuller will have some new asses to chew on, and he'll put us back on the team.
Brian Gamble: Fuller, is a cop pincher in this department, brother and he's never gonna give us a second chance.
Street: So, what are you gonna do, piss away the hard work you did to get here?
Brian Gamble: Piss *what* away, Jimmy? The cage? C'mon man, we're better than that and you know it. Wanna join me? Oh, I guess that a real partner wouldn't have to ask ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Director Clark Johnson, who appears in the film briefly as Deke's beat partner, is credited as 'Deke's Handsome Partner'.

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Connections

Referenced in The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Give Your Life a Break"
Written and Performed by John Gipson
Courtesy of PS Records

User Reviews

Swaggering Action Film Is Violent, but Fun!

S.W.A.T. may be the best action film since THE TRANSPORTER...Just ignore the plot holes, leaps of logic, and occasional cold-bloodedness, and enjoy the fast-paced action and macho camaraderie!

Jim Street (Colin Farrell, easily 2003's busiest actor!) is a decorated LAPD S.W.A.T. member, but when his partner, Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner, looking like a pumped-up Elijah Wood) disregards orders during a bank robbery, and wounds a 'civilian' female, while taking out the leader, the lady sues the city (considering the baddie was about to kill her, the reaction seems a bit illogical!). Dressed down by their boss, Capt. Fuller, Gamble goes ballistic, and quits the force; Street "eats crow", and is demoted to working in the Weapons Cage, cleaning weapons and putting up with verbal abuse from former teammates (who thought he'd 'sold' his partner out...an attitude that seems illogical, as well, as he'd been in their ranks three years, and they SHOULD have known him better! ). He maintains an insane physical regimen, and prays for the day he can return to S.W.A.T.

Six months pass, and the unit's reputation is on the skids, so veteran warhorse 'Hondo' Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson, looking sexier and more dangerous than ever!) is called in, to put together an elite team inside of S.W.A.T., sort of a 'baddest of the bad' crew, to take on worst case scenarios (how this would help the performance of the REST of the unit, who knows?) He picks Josh Charles and Brian Van Holt from S.W.A.T., LL Cool J, a street cop with an 'attitude', Michelle Rodriguez, as a female cop with even MORE of an attitude...and Jim Street, with whom he bonds like a long-lost brother, despite threats from Capt. Fuller. There is GREAT chemistry between Jackson and Farrell, and their scenes together are film highlights!

After 'DIRTY DOZEN'-like training scenes, and embarrassing the egotistical Fuller by ace-ing his terrorist hijacking training scenario ("Best time ever, right?" Hondo razzes the Captain, as the last 'terrorist' is taken down), the new unit is given a choice assignment...moving a youthful international crime kingpin (played by UNFAITHFUL's Olivier Martinez) to a holding facility. Unfortunately, in front of television cameras, Martinez offers $100 million to anyone who can spring him...and virtually EVERY hood in L.A. decides to take a shot at the money. Then the fun REALLY begins, as the film becomes one long action sequence!

While the subsequent 'surprises' are predictable, and the climax, a Lear Jet landing on a bridge, is impossible (the winds alone would have cracked up the small aircraft against the narrow confines of the span), the pacing is so fast and furious that you accept the leap of logic of the sequence, and the subsequent fight between Street and...well, watch the movie!

While I'm not sure S.W.A.T. will encourage tourism to L.A. (which is pictured as so crime-ridden that it makes New York City look like an Amish village!), the film IS fun, in a violent sort of way, and seeing the star of the original series, Steve Forrest, in a brief cameo, was a pleasure! Now, if I can just get that darned theme song out of my head...