s.w.a.t. movie review

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Half an hour into watching "S.W.A.T.," I realized the movie offered pleasures that action movies hardly ever allow themselves anymore: 1. The characters had dialogue and occupied a real plot, which involved their motivations and personalities.

2. The action scenes were more or less believable. The cops didn't do anything that a real cop might not really almost be able to do, if he were in very, very good training.

I started taking notes along these lines, and here are a few of my jottings: When a cop shoots at a robber in a hostage situation, the hostage is wounded. The chief punishes two hot shots with demotions, instead of pulling their badges and guns and kicking them off the force. When the bad guy steals a cop car, we expect a chase, but he backs up and crashes it within a block. When the chase leads down to the Los Angeles subway system, the cops approach a stopped train, board it, and look for their quarry. Astonishingly, there is not a fight scene atop a speeding train. In a S.W.A.T. team training scene, the trainees are running toward a target while shooting, and somebody asks, "No rolls?" The veteran cop in charge replies: "They only roll in John Woo movies--not in real life." That's the point with "S.W.A.T." This isn't a John Woo movie, or "Bad Boys 2," or any of the other countless movies with wall-to-wall action and cardboard characters. It isn't exactly real life, either, and I have to admit some of the stunts and action scenes are a shade unlikely, but the movie's ambition is essentially to be the same kind of police movie they used to make before special effects upstaged human beings.

The result is one of the best cop thrillers since " Training Day ." Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell co-star, playing the time-honored roles of veteran officer and young hothead. Michelle Rodriguez and James Todd Smith (a k a LL Cool J), both effective actors, give depth to the S.W.A.T. team. And Olivier Martinez , who played Diane Lane's lover in " Unfaithful ," is the smirking playboy arms dealer who offers a $100 million reward to anyone who springs him from custody.

The plot begins with a hostage situation gone wrong. A S.W.A.T. team member (Brian Gamble) disobeys orders, enters a bank and wounds a hostage. He and his partner Jim Street (Farrell) are offered demotions. Street accepts; his partner leaves the force. But Street, a talented officer and a great shot, is spotted by the legendary veteran Hondo Harrelson (Jackson), and chosen for his hand-picked elite S.W.A.T. team.

One of the pleasures of the movie is the training sequence, where Jackson leads his team through physical and mental maneuvers. Many recent action movies have no training scenes because, frankly, you can't train to do their impossible stunts -- you need an animator to do them for you.

A routine traffic bust leads to the unexpected arrest of Alex (Olivier Martinez), an internationally wanted fugitive. Alex offers the $100 million reward on television, the cops assume there will be a lot of escape masterminds hoping to collect the reward, and it's up to Hondo and his team to safely escort the prisoner to a federal penitentiary.

That it does not go smoothly goes without saying. I'm not arguing that the last 45 minutes of the movie are, strictly speaking, likely or even plausible, but nothing violates the laws of physics, and you can kind of see how stuff like that might sort of happen, if you get my drift.

"S.W.A.T." is a well-made police thriller, nothing more. No Academy Awards. But in a time when so many action pictures are mindless assaults on the eyes, ears and intelligence, it works as superior craftsmanship. The director, Clark Johnson , is a veteran of TV both as an actor and director, and supplies a well-made film that trusts its story and actors. What a pleasure, after a summer of movies that merely wanted to make my head explode.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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S.W.A.T. (2003)

Rated PG-13

111 minutes

Samuel L. Jackson as Hondo

Michelle Rodriguez as Chris Sanchez

Colin Farrell as Jim Street

Josh Charles as T.J. McCabe

Brian Van Holt as Michael Boxer

Jeremy Renner as Brian Gamble

Olivier Martinez as Alex Montel

• David McKenna

Directed by

• Clark Johnson

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By-the-numbers explosion flick -- no surprises.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Very diverse characters exhibit teamwork and camar

Extensive action violence and peril, characters ki

Some locker-room style sexual references.

Some strong language.

Social drinking, reference to drug dealing.

Parents need to know that this movie has extensive action peril and violence (not much blood, not too graphic). Characters are hurt and killed. There are some bad words. There are sexual references and situations, but nothing explicit. A character barfs onscreen. Suicide is portrayed as an honorable choice following…

Positive Role Models

Very diverse characters exhibit teamwork and camaraderie.

Violence & Scariness

Extensive action violence and peril, characters killed, suicide. Peril.

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Sex, Romance & Nudity

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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

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Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has extensive action peril and violence (not much blood, not too graphic). Characters are hurt and killed. There are some bad words. There are sexual references and situations, but nothing explicit. A character barfs onscreen. Suicide is portrayed as an honorable choice following disgrace. There is a politically incorrect Polish joke. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (4)
• Kids say (17)

Based on 4 parent reviews

Swat rating

What's the story.

S.W.A.T. follows Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), Special Weapons and Tactics officers, who get into trouble in a hostage situation when Gamble shoots without authorization. They are thrown off of the squad, and Gamble quits in disgust. Street stays on, willing to serve time in the gun cage and earn his way back onto S.W.A.T. Gamble feels betrayed. Hondo Harrison (Samuel L. Jackson), a former S.W.A.T. commander, is called back into action and assembles a new team, including Street, Deke (LL Cool J), and Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez). They pass their big test just in time for the biggest S.W.A.T. challenge ever. An international dealer in drugs, weapons, and other items offers a reward of $100 million to anyone who can break him out of jail. This attracts every kind of thug and the ones with no idea about what they are doing are just as big a threat as the ones who do.

Is It Any Good?

This generic summer explosion movie is as predictable as the rhymes in a limerick, but as predictably entertaining as well. There are no surprises in the story, but the action sequences deliver the goods that audiences for this film are there to receive. It is a shame to assemble a high-powered cast of some of the most talented and charismatic people in Hollywood and then not give them any opportunities to let them show us what they can do.

There is nothing distinctive about the characters, despite brief attempts to sketch in some details by showing one with a child, another on a date, and some tender partings when the officers' beepers go off. All these moments do is make stupifyingly obvious the supposed surprise plot twist half an hour before it occurs. Even more obvious is a "You're Chris Sanchez?" surprise that the officer played by Rodriguez is a woman; this from someone who is supposed to have selected her by reading through her file.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the other alternatives the character who commits suicide might have chosen.

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 8, 2003
• On DVD or streaming : December 30, 2003
• Cast : Colin Farrell , Michelle Rodriguez , Samuel L. Jackson
• Director : Clark Johnson
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Female actors, Latino actors, Black actors
• Studio : Columbia Tristar
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 112 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : violence, language and sexual references
• Last updated : March 1, 2024

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In an era of hyper-powered action spectacles, "S.W.A.T." arrives looking stodgy, without exciting heroes or villains, or, especially, the kinetic cinema to make it memorable. Nonetheless, this widescreen adaptation of the mid-1970s TV series is smart to be flagrantly unfaithful to the short-lived show.

By Robert Koehler

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In an era of hyper-powered action spectacles, “S.W.A.T.” arrives looking stodgy, without exciting heroes or villains, or, especially, the kinetic cinema to make it memorable. Nonetheless, this widescreen adaptation of the mid-1970s TV series is smart to be flagrantly unfaithful to the short-lived show. Pic’s early August release date seems ideal to grab moviegoers fatigued by sequels. But coming in the wake of the physically astonishing “Bad Boys 2,” “S.W.A.T.” seems square, making it likely that B.O. firepower will be contained to the opening week and briefly beyond, with more flurries down the road in vid precincts.

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In contrast to the borderline insanity of danger and extreme action arranged by Michael Bay in “Bad Boys 2,” tyro director Clark Johnson strives for realistic detail and action. Unfortunately, such adherence to technical purity proves to be a weakness for the movie.

Popular on Variety

Johnson, who has superbly parlayed his stint as a Baltimore cop in “Homicide: Life on the Streets” into a terrific small screen directing career, and has shown a knack for depicting finely drawn characters in high-pressure situations, is too often at the mercy of a generally hackneyed script.

Actions starts with a sequence clearly borrowed from a spectacularly militarized North Hollywood bank robbery in 1997, climaxing with the wounding of a hostage that’s blamed on S.W.A.T. partners Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner). Told by Capt. Thomas Fuller (Larry Poindexter) that he can earn a second chance on S.W.A.T. by fingering the short-fused Gamble, Street complies, earning Gamble’s permanent enmity.Whether or not this choice troubles Street’s soul is a matter for a different movie, since he’s next seen working out on the beach with hopes of getting back into the fold while he temporarily does desk work. Street catches the eye of Sgt. Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson), who was transferred from some unexplained exile in LAPD’s Rampart division to head a fresh S.W.A.T. squad — much to the dismay of his former partner Fuller.

The mechanical ways in which Street’s desire for a comeback are shown to match Hondo’s — as well as the intro of each member of the squad — tends to make pic’s first hour drag. Throwing together young, brawny egos — including the unnaturally subdued James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J as Deke, and Michelle Rodriguez’s Chris Sanchez, the first to crack S.W.A.T.’s glass ceiling — would seem to offer fodder for incendiary, witty exchanges. It doesn’t.Genuine tension briefly surfaces during the squad’s final test before being sent to the streets, as the unit breaks the “course record” for freeing airline hostages in a mock crisis which Johnson cannily stages in real time.

But it isn’t until the entry of nefarious international bad guy Alex (“Le Loup Rouge”) Montel (Olivier Martinez) that “S.W.A.T.” breaks free of its episodic narrative for extended sequences that show Johnson to be a good if not yet inspired handler of contempo action. Nabbed by cops for document problems, Montel tries to escape with help from his henchmen. After his second capture, he offers a reward of $100 million to anyone who will help free him again.

Twist doesn’t prove as engrossing as might have been expected, and leads to some easily anticipated character betrayals played out in murky nighttime conditions worsened by what appeared to be a poorly timed color print provided at the review screening.

Jackson and Farrell remain consummate pros throughout, but clearly have no new ideas for playing cops. Perhaps because of her character’s novelty, Rodriguez comes off as more relaxed than in some of her previous, post-“Girlfight” work, and Renner (recently stunning in “Dahmer”) does his part to keep things as interesting as possible.

As the umpteenth cop thriller staged in L.A.’s streets, pic doesn’t create a captivating new angle as, for example, Michael Mann did in “Heat,” or to a lesser degree, Antwone Fuqua did in “Training Day.”

A talented production crew, including lenser Gabriel Beristain, editor Michael Tronick and composer Elliot Goldenthal , has done better work elsewhere. The vast song selection is more inspired, with well-chosen tracks from the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Apollo Four Forty and even an end-credit tune titled “Samuel Jackson.”

• Production: A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures presentation of an Original Film/Camelot Pictures/Chris Lee production. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, Dan Halsted. Executive producer, Louis D'Esposito. Co-executive producer, Todd Black. Co-producers, George Huang, Amanda Cohen. Directed by Clark Johnson. Screenplay, David Ayer, David McKenna, based on characters created by Robert Hammer; story, Ron Mita, Jim McClain.
• Crew: Camera (Fotokem color, Deluxe prints, Arriflex widescreen), Gabriel Beristain; editor, Michael Tronick; music, Elliot Goldenthal; music supervisor, Evyen Klean; production designer, Mayne Berke; art director, Gershon Ginsburg; set designers, Betty S. Krul, Joshua Lusby, Dean Wolcott; set decorator, Casey Hallenbeck; costume designer, Christopher Lawrence; sound (Dolby Digital/SDDS/DTS), Steve Nelson; sound designers, Cameron Frankley, Paul N.J. Ottosson; supervising sound editor, Frankley; visual effects supervisor, Ray McIntyre Jr.; special effects supervisor, Jon G. Belyeu; visual effects, Pixel Magic; digital effects supervisor, Victor DiMichina; stunt coordinator, M. James Arnett; S.W.A.T. technical adviser, Randy D. Walker; assistant director, Lars Winther; second unit director, M. James Arnett; second unit camera, Anette Haellmigk, Steven Bernstein; casting, Sarah Halley Finn, Randi Hiller. Reviewed at Arclight Cinema, L.A., Aug. 4, 2003. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 116 MIN.
• With: Sgt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson - Samuel L. Jackson Jim Street - Colin Farrell Chris Sanchez - Michelle Rodriguez Deacon "Deke" Kaye - James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J T.J. McCabe - Josh Charles Brian Gamble - Jeremy Renner Michael Boxer - Brian Van Holt Alex Montel - Olivier Martinez Lt. Greg Velasquez - Reginald E. Cathey Capt. Thomas Fuller - Larry Poindexter

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S.W.A.T. Review

04 Dec 2003

117 minutes

Even when he's not dropping his trousers for the amusement of his co-stars on the set of Alexander, Colin Farrell knows how to keep busy. 'S.W.A.T.' marks his sixth big screen release of 2003 (after Daredevil, The Recruit, Phone Booth, Veronica Guerin and Intermission) - entire continents have less of a cinema presence than he does.

Needless to say, the quality of his choices has been inconsistent, although Farrell can usually be relied upon to bring a spark to the bonfire. That's also true of 'S.W.A.T.', which has its roots in a little-known TV series from the 1970s and, after a get-the-team-together opening salvo, settles down into a story that's virtually episode-length in scope and running time.

All of the character shading has to fall into that early section and, even then, only Farrell and Jackson are offered adequate screen space to develop the bare bones of their stereotypes (the good cop misunderstood by his fellow officers, the anti-authority veteran who gets results). Elsewhere, Michelle Rodriguez and LL Cool J are 'female cop' and 'family cop' respectively.

As Farrell drives Jackson around recruiting members for the team, the Irishman provides the older actor with his best verbal sparring partner since John Travolta in 'Pulp Fiction'. It's a welcome comedy interlude sandwiched between action sequences, and we could have done with a bit more, especially when such frivolity is sidelined and the serious task of finding a plot takes over.

The style change at this halfway point is tangible. In comes Elliot Goldenthal's score; out goes the jukebox selection of loud songs (from Jimi Hendrix to Linkin Park) that helped create the rockin' good mood. No longer is the banter light and funny; now it's time to knuckle down with a scowl and judge who in the team can be trusted with your life. Formula is now the name of the game, although a steady diet of stunts and shootouts ensures that the audience is never bored.

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• DVD & Streaming
• Action/Adventure

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Jeremy Renner, LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez

Home Release Date

Distributor, movie review.

Special Weapons And Tactics. That’s how S.W.A.T. gets its name. The movie S.W.A.T. (PG-13) gets its name from a short-lived TV series from the 1970s. It’s a standard “recruit, train and deploy the team” action film featuring stock characters such as the young buck in need of redemption, the hostile lieutenant, dirty cops and the villain with the foreign accent. That bad guy is a mobster en route to a maximum security prison. S.W.A.T. must oversee the exchange. When the kingpin creates a media stir by offering $100 million to anyone who’ll spring him, their routine mission gets complicated. And violent.

Most of the film’s drama comes from explosions and bursts of automatic weapons fire. People are shot at close range. A man has his throat cut. But even as bodies pile up, trigger-happy rookies are cautioned, “S.W.A.T. is a life-saving organization, not a life- taking one.” It’s a moment of conscience in a film built around mayhem.

Furthermore, while the members of S.W.A.T. defend justice at personal risk, role models they are not . The morals of Colin Farrell’s insular sharp-shooter are dangerously close to his own Hollywood playboy persona. He claims to treat his body like an “amusement park” rather than a temple, riding the carousels of promiscuity and alcohol. Cops on this elite force also trade playful sexual insults about condoms, lap dances and sodomy—not exactly the sort of banter exchanged by Steve Forrest and Robert Urich in 1975. Nor did the average hour of prime time contain 80 profanities (an f-word, 15 uses of “g–d–n” and nearly 20 s-words). There’s also an obscene gesture.

For families, S.W.A.T. stands for Study What’s At Theaters. If it’s no better than this, stay home.

Bob Smithouser

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Directed by Clark Johnson

You're either S.W.A.T. or you're not.

Hondo Harrelson recruits Jim Street to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay and single mom Chris Sanchez. The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel to prison. It seems routine, but when Montel offers a huge reward to anyone who can break him free, criminals of various stripes step up for the prize.

Samuel L. Jackson Colin Farrell Michelle Rodriguez LL Cool J Josh Charles Jeremy Renner Brian Van Holt Olivier Martinez Domenick Lombardozzi Reg E. Cathey Larry Poindexter Page Kennedy James DuMont Denis Arndt Lindsey Ginter Octavia Spencer Noel Gugliemi Clark Johnson Matt Gerald Ken Davitian Tricia Kelly Ashley Scott Benjamin King Alex Trebek Reed Diamond Neal H. Moritz Max Thayer Jeff Wincott Marcio Rosario Show All… Jay Montalvo Michael Papajohn Sergio Kato Gregory Sporleder Esther K. Chae

Director Director

Clark Johnson

Producers Producers

Dan Halsted Chris Lee Neal H. Moritz Amanda Lewis George Huang

Writers Writers

David Ayer David McKenna

Original Writer Original Writer

Robert Hamner

Story Story

Jim McClain Ron Mita

Casting Casting

Sarah Halley Finn Randi Hiller Courtney Gross

Editor Editor

Michael Tronick

Cinematography Cinematography

Gabriel Beristain

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Bill Purple Lars P. Winther

Additional Directing Add. Directing

M. James Arnett

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Louis D'Esposito Todd Black Shannon Gaulding

Lighting Lighting

Ted Hayash Mike Macias

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Randy Nolen Craig Fikse

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Richard Lacy

Production Design Production Design

Mayne Berke

Art Direction Art Direction

Gershon Ginsburg

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Casey Hallenbeck Karen E. Burnett Greg Wyszynski

Special Effects Special Effects

David J. Barker

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Reid Paul Ray McIntyre Jr.

Title Design Title Design

Stunts stunts.

Seth Arnett M. James Arnett Giacomo Knox Damon Caro Robin Lynn Bonaccorsi Brennan Dyson David Leitch Doug Coleman Chris Palermo John C. Meier Allan Graf Michael Runyard Al Goto Tom Elliott

Composer Composer

Elliot Goldenthal

Sound Sound

Joe Martin Cameron Frankley Peter Brown Larry Hopkins James Simcik Jeremy Pitts Steve Nelson Vincent Guisetti James Ashwill Sean Landeros Lisa Hannan Paul N.J. Ottosson Jeffrey J. Haboush John Kohlbrenner

Costume Design Costume Design

Christopher Lawrence

Makeup Makeup

Deborah La Mia Denaver Allan A. Apone Bill Myer

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Nanci Cascio Patricia Miller

Original Film Camelot Pictures Chris Lee Productions Illusion Entertainment Columbia Pictures

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Spanish French

Releases by Date

04 dec 2003, 08 aug 2003, 03 sep 2003, 17 sep 2003, 24 sep 2003, 25 sep 2003, 27 sep 2003, 03 oct 2003, 10 oct 2003, 16 oct 2003, 17 oct 2003, 23 oct 2003, 20 nov 2003, 21 nov 2003, 25 nov 2003, 26 nov 2003, 27 nov 2003, 28 nov 2003, 03 dec 2003, 05 dec 2003, 09 jan 2004, 22 jan 2004, 22 apr 2004, 11 jun 2004, 08 sep 2006, releases by country.

• Theatrical M

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical U
• Theatrical 13
• Theatrical 15

Netherlands

• Theatrical 12
• Physical 12 Blu ray
• Physical 12 DVD
• TV 12 RTL 5

New Zealand

Philippines.

• Theatrical Manila
• Theatrical Davao

South Korea

Switzerland.

• Theatrical 16 French speaking region
• Theatrical German speaking region
• Theatrical 12A
• Theatrical PG-13

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Popular reviews

Review by dani✨ ★★★ 2

S - colin farrell  W - looking  A - like a  T - snack

Review by 𝚮𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖖𝖚𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖉𝖊 ❤️‍🔥 ★ 9

Colin Farrell: 👮🏻‍♂️ me: 💦💦💦

Review by Christian Di Leo ★★ 4

my thoughts while watching S.W.A.T. :

- thrilling cold-open reminiscent of the 1997 north hollywood shootout 🙇‍♂️

- colin farrell is hot as fuck 🥵

- octavia spencer has a one scene cameo as a stereotypical sassy black woman, love to see it 🤗

- michelle rodriguez is a baddie 🥰

- "you can't trust a man who won't eat a good old-fashioned american hot dog" 🌭

- swat training montages are fun 👍

- ll cool j, samuel l. & reg e. cathey are fresh as hell 😎

- jeremy renner's nu-metal/punk earrings are fucking disgusting 🤢

- RADON RANDELL, BMS BABY! 🏈

- bridget the midget? 🤨

- "i will give 100 million dollars to whoever gets me out of…

Review by 📀 Cammmalot 📀 ★★★ 10

Cinematic Time Capsule 2003 Marathon - Film #87

”They only roll in John Woo movies, not in real life”

Finding out this was directed by Homicide & The Wire’s Clark Johnson makes this big dumb action flick feel like it’s being directed by an old friend.

And the first half is even better than you could hope for in a big dumb action flick. Sadly though, once we’re past training, the final setpiece becomes even more absurd than your average big dumb action flick could ever aspire to be.

So in the end it’s a bit a letdown, but with cast like this and Johnson at the helm at least the sting of a weak story doesn’t hurt too badly.

”You look like you need a Band-Aid” “Somebody else needs a body bag downstairs”

Cinematic Time Capsule - 2003 Ranked

Review by dani✨ ★★★

yes i did just watch it twice in a row because god damn colin fucking farrell just looks That Good fuCk Me!!!!

Review by theironcupcake ★½ 10

"Every cop in this department knows we did the right thing." "Sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing the right thing." "What the hell does that mean?!"

The wailing guitar score and someone saying "let's rock and roll" when the S.W.A.T. team first shows up... a Linkin Park song on the soundtrack... bad tattoos (especially that one tramp stamp)... everyone uses a Motorola flip phone... it's 2003 copaganda, baby!

Points to Samuel L. Jackson for being described as "the gold standard of ass-kickin'" in his introductory scene, LL Cool J flashing his abs at people for no reason and for Colin Farrell's possession of a giant rocket nicknamed the Polish Penetrator (should I elaborate?), negative ten thousand stars for pretty…

Review by Andy Summers 🤠 ★★★½

Director Clark Johnson has spent the majority of his time in front of the camera rather than behind it. With that in mind, Johnson's filmography isn't exactly littered with gold, although his television work, especially on the likes of The Wire and more recently Homeland have been pretty decent. Feature film-wise however, there's less to shout about, with only this film really registering as a hit for the Philadelphia born actor/director. I must admit that I don't remember the seventies television series this film is based on, but I hardy think it matters in the end. This is another of those action crime thrillers that helped magnify Colin Farrell's potential as a leading man and gave Samuel L Jackson yet…

Review by comrade_yui ½

my thirstwatch for colin farrell didn't go so well

Review by frida ★★★½

colin: *breathes* me, basically fisting myself: wow, cînèmá

Review by 🇵🇱 Steve G 🇵🇸 ★★ 2

Of course it was written by David Ayer but I guess it could have been worse. He could have directed it.

It was pretty apparent to me what S.W.A.T. should have been. The whole film should have been Olivier Martinez sending out $100 million offer and the whole city of Los Angeles going mad trying to spring him. Think of the chaos and excitement that could have created if this had also been directed and written by someone good.

Instead we get what seemed like an age of getting the team together and plenty of other pointless shite before anything exciting starts happening. When it does happen, it's not as exciting as it should be because of the limitation of…

Review by sydney ★★

*absolutely devastating one-liner voice* jeremy renner: "she's S.W.A.T.?? oh wow, i didn't know they made bulletproof bras!" michelle rodriguez: "what they need to make are bulletproof condoms big enough to fit your big head!!"

Review by Dan ★½

After seeing Colin Farrell in a police uniform it has come to my attention that there are some points blue lives has made...

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"S.W.A.T." - Movie Review

• Holly McClure Movie Reviewer
• Updated Aug 07, 2007

Genre:   Action

Rating:   PG-13 (for violence, language and sexual references)

Release Date: August 8, 2003

Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Brian Van Holt, Jeremy Renner, Olivier Martinez.

Director: Clark Johnson

Special Notes:   "S.W.A.T." was originally developed as a starring vehicle for Arnold Scharzenegger some years ago.  And Clark Johnson makes his feature film directorial debut here.  His prior experience includes directing episodes of television shows including "NYPD Blue", "Homicide:  Life on the Street", "The Shield" and "Third Watch."

Plot:   An elite S.W.A.T. team is formed under the critical and condemning eye of Captain Thomas Fuller (Larry Poindexter) and led by Hondo (Jackson). He selects Farrell, LL Cool J, Rodriguez, Van Holt, and Charles. They excel as a squad and are ready to take on whatever case is given them when they get a call about an international arms dealer, Alex Montel (Martinez). He announces (on television) that he'll give a million dollars to anyone who can free him and soon, a gang war breaks out to kidnap Montel and get the money.

Good: Inspired by the '70s television series, this story is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill a minute with lots of chase scenes, male bonding, a barely there romance between Farrell and Rodriguez and some funny lines. The action is nonstop and loud – so prepare yourself – but it pays off with clever plot twists that keep you guessing. If you're into cop shows, you'll love this one.

Bottom Line: My 17 year-old wanted to go with me, so we did some mom/son bonding by going to a movie of his choice. We had fun analyzing the story, the special effects and amazing chase scenes. Nathan really enjoyed himself, and I admit I like a lot of the cast (Jackson, Farrell and Rodriguez especially) so it was fun for me to see this talented cast work together. This is a great popcorn movie to enjoy on a hot summer day.

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Hondo Harrelson recruits Jim Street to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay and single mom Chris Sanchez. The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel to prison. It seems routine, but when Montel offers a huge reward to anyone who can break him free, criminals of various stripes step up for the prize.

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S.W.A.T. Review

It's a highly entertaining, refreshing dip in a summer swimming pool of movies that drown you with excess and only want to make you come up for air.

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S.W.A.T.: Under Siege

Where to watch.

Watch S.W.A.T.: Under Siege with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Tony Giglio

Adrianne Palicki

Ellen Dwyer

Michael Jai White

Pascale Hutton

Travis Hall

(H, B, LL, VV, A, D, M) Humanist worldview portraying “might rules,” but secondary moral truths espoused (evil does not win out in the end, loyalty, teamwork, family, etc.); moderate language with about 15 obscenities and four strong profanities; intense action violence with murder, shooting, cutting with knife, fighting, etc.; no sex, but some light innuendo; no nudity; some portrayals of drinking and smoking; and, lying, gambling, and deception.

GENRE: Police Thriller

More Detail:

S.W.A.T. is a basic action/thriller that delivers a good story, decent characters, and a fun time. It is marred by foul language, but not overly so for a cop picture. There is no nudity or sex. There are sexual references, but no sex scenes. And, there is plenty of action violence and explosions to accent the shooting, running, and fast driving.

The basic story is that Jim Street (Colin Farrell) is a S.W.A.T. officer (Special Weapons and Tactics) in Los Angeles who is temporarily kicked off S.W.A.T. because of a stunt his partner pulled in shooting a bank robber without authorization. Unknown to him, his partner has decided to become a villain. With S.W.A.T. now having a black eye in the press, old-timer Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson) is brought back from another precinct to build a new team and fix the problems. Along with training two new members, he decides to give Street a chance.

Soon, after the normal friction, they are a well-trained team taking on adventure and evil-doers. (Amazingly enough, they don’t kill every time!)

Meanwhile, a French drug lord has come to L.A. to even a score. In a fluke situation, he is caught by a traffic cop. After one aborted escape (complete with lots of shooting), while being placed in custody, he shouts out to the video crews that he will give one-hundred million dollars to whoever frees him.

Hondo and Street’s S.W.A.T. team is tasked with moving him from the local prison to a more secure location in the desert. Unfortunately, every nasty bad guy with a machine gun wants to cash in on the money, as well as Street’s ex-partner.

S.W.A.T. is well made, fairly well acted, and, though some of the characters are a little wooden/stereotypical, it is fun to watch Colin Farrell and Samul L. Jackson on screen. S.W.A.T. espouses loyalty, teamwork, family, and, for the most part, following the law (though Hondo s t r e t c h e s it when he needs), but there is enough light sexual innuendo and course jesting to keep it a movie for older teenagers and adults.

S.W.A.T. could be compared to a western of the early 60s. One would expect gunplay and some rough talk. A mature Christian could perhaps enjoy this film without feeling slimed when he or she walks out of the theater.

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SUMMARY: In SWAT, a S.W.A.T. team must move an evil French drug lord to a secure prison, but the bad guy is offering $100 million to any who will free him. With some foul language and a lot of action violence, S.W.A.T. is nonetheless an enjoyable, well-written movie full of non-stop police action.

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S.W.A.T. Parent Guide

Why is S.W.A.T. rated PG-13? The MPAA rated S.W.A.T. PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references.

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) belong to the elite and highly trained Special Weapons And Tactics unit involved in a tense hostage-taking incident on a Los Angeles street corner. The volatile situation escalates when Gamble disobeys a hold order. The action puts the two men under fire. Duly punished by their superior (Larry Poindexter), Gamble throws in his badge, but Street accepts an offer to atone for the deed by polishing boots and cleaning weapons in the gunnery.

However, the insubordinate special teams officer isn’t the only problem the LAPD faces. A string of bad press releases has the department scrambling to improve its image.

Their hours of grueling physical training pay off when the recruits are summoned to take charge of Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), a foreign drug lord who falls into the hands of the city police department. But the newly formed group’s assignment to safely transfer the prisoner to a federal penitentiary is complicated when the nightly news broadcasts Montel’s offer of $100 million to whoever frees him from custody.

Suddenly the transport team’s strategic moves are assaulted by seemingly every criminal element in the country. The result is downed officers, demolished squad cars and bullet-riddled buildings on a city street that looks more like a war zone.

Like Charlie’s Angels before it, this film is based on characters from an earlier T.V. show. Running for only two seasons, the police drama from the 1970s was probably best known for its theme song, which shows up again, in a reworked fashion, for the movie.

While S.W.A.T. offers an edge-of-your-seat storyline, it’s the constant barrage of automatic gunfire, brutal fistfights, fireball explosions, and spilled blood that push the good graces of a PG-13 rating. In addition to the physical violence depicted for much of the screen time, parents may find the calloused attitudes of criminals disturbing. Human life is indifferently disposed of, including that of family members or partners.

An onslaught of profanities, some sexual innuendo and crass remarks exchanged between characters also fails to endear this otherwise action packed operation to family audiences.

About author

Kerry Bennett

S.w.a.t. rating & content info.

Why is S.W.A.T. rated PG-13? S.W.A.T. is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, language and sexual references.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

S.W.A.T. Parents' Guide

Hondo remarks that watching exciting police chases improves his own driving abilities when on the job. If so, how might watching the repeated shootings and brutal attacks in this film affect an individual’s sensitivity to violence?

Does the fact that Street and Gamble are both trained S.W.A.T. members make it easier or more difficult for them to confront one another? When facing an attacker, does it help to be able to anticipate their actions?

How did the media feed into the frenzy surrounding Montel’s hefty offer for freedom? What part does it play in making this criminal an idol in the eyes of the public? What negative or disturbing behaviors are given air time in our society?

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Screen Rant

S.w.a.t.: under siege ended an unlikely movie trilogy.

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Here’s how S.W.A.T.: Under Siege brought an unlikely movie trilogy to an end. The first movie in the S.W.A.T film series – aptly titled S.W.A.T. – was released back in 2003 and based on the short-lived 1970s TV series. Helmed by actor-director Clark Johnson ( Alpha House ), the movie starred Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and Michelle Rodriguez as members of an LAPD S.W.A.T. team whose latest job is escorting cartel kingpin Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) to jail. Trouble is, Alex has offered $100 million to anybody willing to break him out of the S.W.A.T. team’s custody.

While S.W.A.T. banked a pretty penny at the box office, it wasn’t a big hit with critics who deemed it a fun but largely forgettable action movie . Hence, it was quite a surprise when sequel S.W.A.T.: Firefight arrived eight years later in 2011. Shifting the focus to a Detroit-based S.W.A.T. team, S.W.A.T.: Firefight featured a brand-new cast – including Gabriel Macht of Suits fame and Terminator legend Robert Patrick – and a plot that virtually ignored the existence of the original S.W.A.T . Its direct-to-DVD release meant it barely made a blip which is probably a good thing, considering what those who saw  S.W.A.T.: Firefight thought of it.

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All was quiet on the S.W.A.T. front for some years before S.W.A.T.: Under Siege came out in 2017, somewhat inexplicably considering the success - or lack thereof - of its predecessor. Like Firefight before it, S.W.A.T.: Under Siege shared barely any continuity with the franchise’s previous entries – apart from its focus on another S.W.A.T. team, that is – and featured a totally different cast of characters. And like S.W.A.T.: Firefight , it was quietly released straight-to-DVD probably because its distributors realized this formulaic action flick wouldn’t justify the cost of a theatrical release.

Directed by Death Race franchise writer Tony Giglio, S.W.A.T.: Under Siege sees a Seattle S.W.A.T. team’s headquarters come under attack when they take a mysterious man known only by the moniker Scorpion (Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite ) into custody. S.W.A.T. team leader Travis Hall (Sam Jaeger) and boss Ellen Dwyer (Adrianne Palicki, The Orville ) soon discover Scorpion is a spy wanted by some very dangerous people and – worse yet – they may have a mole in their midst.

It may have only been three years since the release of S.W.A.T.: Under Siege but it looks like the unlikely movie trilogy has now come to an end. Nowadays S.W.A.T. franchise producers Original Film are focusing their efforts on TV show S.W.A.T. which airs on CBS and is loosely inspired by the original 2003 movie. Starring former Criminal Minds actor Shemar Moore, the show is currently in its third season and – so far – has been much more well-received than S.W.A.T.: Under Siege and its predecessor.

Next: Why The Dark Knight Trilogy Didn’t Start The DCEU (Despite Inspiring It)

• SR Originals
• S.W.A.T. (2017)

S.W.A.T. (2003)

• Parents Guide

Certification

• Sex & Nudity (14)
• Violence & Gore (29)
• Profanity (3)
• Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking (1)
• Frightening & Intense Scenes (1)
• Spoilers (1)

Sex & Nudity

• Mild 20 of 55 found this mild Severity? None 26 Mild 20 Moderate 6 Severe 3 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• A man makes a joke about women. Nothing sexual just crude Edit
• A man kisses a woman's forehead. Edit
• Women stand in the sun roof of a limousine, dancing and flirting with people in cars around them. Edit
• A woman wears a short top and low-cut pants while cars drive past. Edit
• A man is shown in his underwear, and a man lifts his shirt to show his bare abdomen and part of his boxer tops. Edit
• Men are shown bare-chested in a few scenes while working out. Edit
• A man talks briefly about a venereal disease. Edit
• No nudity. Just references in the film Edit
• Referring to a woman who's left a guy, a person comments that a "case of the crabs". Edit
• A man says that if he gets home in time he might "get a woman." Another team member says he might "find some." Edit
• We see a crazed suspect in his underwear (several views, but nothing explicit). Edit
• No sex or nudity throughout the film. Edit
• Brief sexual comments are made in the film, no nudity or strong innuendos. Edit
• A woman makes a joke about a man having no wife. Edit

Violence & Gore

• Moderate 14 of 21 found this moderate Severity? None 0 Mild 2 Moderate 14 Severe 5 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• A man slams another man into a mirror, shattering some of the glass. There is no blood and the man seems mostly just surprised and upset by the attack. Edit
• A man holding another man hostage with is shot by a SWAT (on accident and misses the gunman). Edit
• Truckloads of armed people pour onto a street surrounding a car, firing their weapons in every direction, smoke canisters are tossed around, other trucks slam into cars, a car explodes, people are shot and fall to the ground dead. Edit
• Two men are on a bus and two men start shooting at it, and people run for cover and scream. Edit
• A helicopter is shot out of the air, it swirls out of control, crashes to the ground, and explodes causing glass in nearby buildings to shatter. Edit
• A man throws another man across the room to the wall causing the glass on the wall to break. Edit
• A man is shot in the backand falls out of a car when the door is opened (we see him motionless on the groud while police run over to him). Edit
• A man is accidently stabbed through the hand and the knife sticks into the bed of a moving train (we hear him groan as he removes the knife). Edit
• Men robbing a bank fire weapons at police officers, some are hit and some vehicles are hit. It is heard on a news coverage that hostages were inside the bank keeping the people hostage. They yell and shout at them threatening them with guns. Edit
• People in a car shoot at a plane, a man in the plane shoots at the car, and the car rams the plane causing it to skid out of control; more gunfire is exchanged Edit
• A car is shot at and two cars on either side of it explode as it passes through. A man and a woman are held hostage on an airplane, it lands on a bridge and skids on the wet road, and the man is shoved out of the plane and the woman remains. Edit
• A man punches a man as he rounds a corner, the man is thrown onto the ground and kicked by another man a couple of times. Edit
• A man grabs a piece of glass and slashes a man who's on top of him in the ear (we see some blood). Edit
• A man in a house shoots a gun toward the street where police are gathered. Edit
• A guy on a bridge is tied with a rope around his waist and is used as support to lower two men to the ground below him. Edit
• A woman throws a frying pan at a man and he drops to the ground to avoid it. Edit
• A man lunges at another man, they yell at each other and the man is pulled away. Edit
• A man in a hospital has a bruised face with blood trickling from his nose, and a woman in a hospital has a cut on her side. Edit
• S.W.A.T. team members lower themselves out of a helicopter and onto a rooftop, with their guns drawn. Edit
• A device is used that is inserted through a wall and when it is pulled out it tears down the entire wall. Edit
• A man talks about having his father killed in a bank. We hear a police radio call for help at a bank robbery in progress. Edit
• A swarm of bats flies at a group of people in a tunnel. There's a tense moment when a man disarms an explosive device, re-arms it and it blows a tunnel door off the hinges. Edit
• A training exercise with a plane hijacking scenario shows people being shot with paint guns. Edit
• Two men do target practice shooting at standees of people with guns (we see holes shot through the fake paper heads). Edit
• A woman has a bloody arm and a man has blood on his face. Edit
• A man vomits (we see the goo). A man chews tobacco and spits into a cup. Edit
• Two men shove each other around and another man tries to keep them apart. Edit
• A man shoots several guns aross a bridge, as people run away. Edit
• A man is hit in the legs and head with a metal pipe, and he and the man who hit him fight with many punches and kicks; one pulls a gun and they fight on train tracks. Edit
• Moderate 16 of 23 found this moderate Severity? None 0 Mild 4 Moderate 16 Severe 3 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• Some profanity is heard in the film. Edit
• As the train passes by a man who is trying to chase another, the man on the train gives him the middle finger Edit
• 1 use of "fuck", 13 uses of 'hell', 5 uses of 'damn' (4 paired with "God), 10 uses of 'shit', 4 uses of 'ass', 3 uses of 'suck', 1 use of "son of a bitch". Edit

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

• Mild 11 of 16 found this mild Severity? None 2 Mild 11 Moderate 2 Severe 1 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• The team drinks at a bar. Edit

Frightening & Intense Scenes

• Moderate 9 of 17 found this moderate Severity? None 2 Mild 5 Moderate 9 Severe 1 We were unable to submit your evaluation. Please try again later.
• A man is shot in the neck unexpectedly. The sudden gunfire could be upsetting. Edit

The Parents Guide items below may give away important plot points.

• There is also an intense hand-to-hand fight scene near the end of the movie. Edit

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Growing up “cease-fire babies” in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement but still feeling the youthful despair of oppressive Unionist rule, childhood besties Naoise (Ó Caireallain) and Liam Óg (Ó Hannaidh) take to heart what Naoise’s dad, Arlo (Michael Fassbender), a car-bombing legend in the IRA, used to instill in them: “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet for Irish freedom.”

Arlo, though, is absent and presumed dead, and Naoise’s mom (Simone Kirby) has become a shut-in. And while the movement to legitimize the Irish language in Northern Ireland gathers steam, Naoise and Liam Óg are little more than clubgoing miscreants just trying to get drugs to either take or sell.

When Liam Óg gets arrested and refuses to speak English to his interrogating officer, mild-mannered music teacher JJ (Ó Dochartaigh) reluctantly steps in to translate. What he finds in the detainee’s rambling journal of his sex-drugs-kick-the-Brits-out lifestyle is the kind of rough poetry that’s only a beat track away from being a rebellious new form of hip-hop.

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With the two friends drawn to the notion, and JJ agreeing to hide in plain sight as their tricolor-balaclava-wearing DJ (there’s wonderful irony in a militant mask helping this guy keep his respectable day job), the newly formed trio goes from impudent pub-stage oddity to community firestorm. As Kneecap’s outspoken music and ketamine-fueled antics give their listeners a pulsating new reason to learn (and protect) their home language, the group also finds itself a fresh target for authorities — including the Republicans’ own self-policing paramilitaries — who find their influence worrisome.

Music-filled and spikily edited, “Kneecap” finds rude wit and edge to underscore its needle-drop righteousness; that it sustains its level so exuberantly is remarkable, especially considering how hit-and-miss these self-mythologizing projects often are. The performances are a punchy combination of skilled and personality-driven, with the appealing Ó Dochartaigh the likeliest candidate of the main trio to land more acting gigs. In all, director Peppiatt (who is, funnily enough, British) is a savvy ringmaster of the story strands, acting styles, tones and his stylistic flourishes, which call to mind the freewheeling zest of “Trainspotting”-era Danny Boyle.

It’s rousing and never tiresome. Peppiatt not only makes drug humor seem joyfully silly again, but treats Irish patriotism as a tempting high worth celebrating; there’s a tough and satiric love at play. Inside the beating rebel heart of “Kneecap” is a bruising comedy of manners — it’s as emotionally attuned to the divides between people on the same side as it is gloriously cheeky about the kinky attraction Liam Óg has for British squeeze Georgia (Jessica Reynolds).

Every Irish speaker in “Kneecap” wants to be seen, felt and heard in their fight for freedom. That funny, funky riot of attention-seeking pain and pleasure, inspired by the pioneering voices of American hip-hop, makes for a bracing, entertaining transatlantic dispatch.

'Kneecap'

In Irish and English, with subtitles Rating: R, for pervasive drug content and language, sexual content/nudity and some violence Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Playing: In limited release

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Shemar Moore Has 'S.W.A.T.' Fans Running to the Comments With His Epic Season 8 News

It's the update on the CBS drama we didn't know we were waiting for!

Just three months after CBS defied the odds against the procedural drama and renewed S.W.A.T. for season 8, the Criminal Minds alum is giving folks a clue at where production stands with shooting new episodes. Posting a video to his Instagram on July 12, Shemar revealed that not only is he coming back to the show as Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, he heads back to set to film the upcoming installment in mid-July.

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When viewers caught wind of the former The Young and the Restless star 's surprise S.W.A.T. update, it didn't take long for them to bombard him with excitement.

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Along with Shemar's epic production update, CBS upped the ante with even more exciting S.W.A.T. news. Uploading a video to the show's Instagram on July 13, folks learned S.W.A.T. season 8 will premiere on October 18, 2024 at 10 p.m. ET .

"It’s almost go time," the caption read. "Season 8 of #SWAT premieres Friday, October 18th on @CBStv … think you can handle the action?"

We need to mark our calendars for this!

As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping , Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie , 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy , though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.

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‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ Review: He’s a Big Kid Now

Harold is an adult on a quest in this tale based on the beloved children’s book by Crockett Johnson.

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By Glenn Kenny

People have been threatening to make a movie out of the beloved children’s book “Harold and the Purple Crayon” for decades. When a visionary director like Spike Jonze was attached to a live-action screen adaptation of Crockett Johnson’s volume, the movie did sound more promising than threatening. (Jonze later left the project.)

In any event, they’ve done it, and now “they” — the writers David Guion and Michael Handelman, and the director Carlos Saldanha — have gone and changed Harold from a cute baby into a cutesy adult. Or rather a child in adult form, played by Zachary Levi, whose Harold has two notes: a plucky grin and a furrowed brow.

First, a narrated and animated prologue walks us through how the movie will shrug off the book. Then, the movie plods around awkwardly, trying to leech whatever charm it can from the remaining elements of the original (like that crayon): In Harold’s real-world quest for his “old man” — whose narration is cut off abruptly in the prologue — the old man does, indeed, turn out to be Johnson. (Johnson died in 1975 and his estate presumably and implausibly cooperated with this venture.) Along the way, Harold meets a family in need. There’s a standard-issue single mom (Zooey Deschanel, whose visible exhaustion here is actually a little too credible) and her boy, Mel (Benjamin Bottani), whose life is in need of wonder.

This wonder will arrive through a tool of “pure imagination” (they really say that!). That is, Harold’s purple crayon, whose concoctions add some not-insubstantial visual interest to the proceedings. One scene in a department store, in which an actual puma and a too-functional kid’s helicopter ride contribute some anarchic slapstick, is a keeper. But it might have been better still as contrived by Terry Gilliam. Or Edgar Wright. Or Spike Jonze.

Harold and the Purple Crayon Rated PG for mild action and thematic elements. Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes. In theaters.