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Poster (c) Columbia Pictures
If S.W.A.T. has one thing going for it, it’s better than last year’s late-summer big-budget PG-13 action movie, XXX. S.W.A.T. can’t compare to other action films of the summer, like Terminator 3, but still stands as a mindless action flick, good for a matinee or if you just want an excuse to eat popcorn. It doesn’t have the merits of a good movie by any means (the acting is bad, the plot is weak, along with characterization), but still is a good time for two hours.
Jim Street (Colin Farrell) is in S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics), but disobeys orders and is back to basics. However Sgt. “Hondo” Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) is looking for new recruits, and soon Jim is back in S.W.A.T. Soon, international terrorist Alex Montel (Oliver Martinez) is now in the U.S. and…aww who cares? Did anyone buy a ticket for its deep, complex, and thoughtful plot? I didn’t think so. There was a better plot on an episode of "SWAT Cats".
Although its action scenes may not be anything original (a highway scene a la The Matrix Reloaded, a subway scene stolen from The Italian Job), they never bored me (something that scenes in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the most recent other action movie I’ve seen, did). I wasn’t always thrilled (except for that great opening scene), but I was never twiddling my thumbs or taking my eyes away from the screen.
Back in the early summer of 2002, a film called Minority Report came out. Starring in it was the ever-popular Tom Cruise, but also a small star who I had never heard of. He was a good actor, and I hoped he wouldn’t turn extremely famous. Sadly, Colin Farrell has become just that. He’s just a tabloid thing, and it’s really taken credibility from him. He seems to be good in every other movie he does: good in Minority Report and Phone Booth, bad in The Recruit and S.W.A.T..
S.W.A.T., however, isn't believable at all. When someone is shot, isn't there blood? When there's fire, isn't there smoke? If they had gone for the R rating to make it seem more lifelike and add some sense to the otherwise worthless story, then it could have been a lot better. However, overall, do you like summer movies? Then you’ll love S.W.A.T., which is just that.
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references.
Review Date: August 10, 2003