Director: Clark Johnson
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt, Olivier Martinez
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Classification: M15+
Running time: 117 minutes

Based on the 70’s television series, SWAT is about a newly formed unit who are forced to immediate action when drug lord Alex Montel (Oliver Martinez who seduced Diane Lain in “unfaithful”), offers on national television a $100 million bounty to anyone who can free him from custody.

The film begins in the midst of a hostage situation in a bank where SWAT are on the scene. Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) get reprimanded for careless actions on the job and subsequently lose their positions on the force… Street’s girlfriend also leaves him… when it rains it pours huh?

Enter Sgt “Hondo” Harrelson (Samuel L Jackson) who is assigned to recruit and train five officers from the force for an ultimate super duper elite SWAT unit. Then amazingly, most of the movie is then spent with the recruitment and training of the delegated officers. They consist of Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez of Girlfight fame wasted and typecast AGAIN on another tough, fighting against the prejudices of being a woman in a mans world while simultaneously dealing with the racism of being latin in a white America and having the courage to show them all role), T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) who is the funny man of the group, David ‘Deke’ Kay (L.L. Cool J) the headstrong black guy with the body and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt) who is Street’s main rival and brother of his ex girlfriend… needless to say Street is recognised by Hondo and gets the opportunity to prove his abilities and gain a position in the unit.

The recruits then set off on their training and after a bit of adversity they prove themselves and pass the final tests as a unit. Their first assignment is to escort Alex Montel to a maximum security prison but with $100 million bounty now public it’s safe to say they are met with adversity on the way. Several failed attempts at transporting Montel led to an elaborate ruse by the SWAT escort and with only essential members of the police force informed, it seemed that they were home free…

At this point you begin to witness what you had anticipated five minutes into the film would occur. The unit is betrayed by Street’s rival who is in on it with Street’s disgraced partner. They then set out to free Montel and claim the bounty for themselves.

I really liked the idea of Alex Montel proclaiming on TV that he’ll Pay $100 million to his rescuer. I thought that they could have done a lot more with that part of the story and maybe built some tension thoughout the film with the scramble to find and train a unit worthy and skilled enough to transport Montel and deal with the inevitable resistance that a $100 million bounty would attract. Instead it focused more on fire power and action.

Even writing the review I was uninspired and the process took longer than usual because I simply didn’t want to relive anything about the movie. Go and watch it if you feel like action and explosions. Not much else though. Even Michelle Rodriguez couldn’t make me like this one.

S.W.A.T. is out now, check guides for screening times.

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