S.W.A.T.: Movie, DVD, Blu-ray disc Review (2003)

To enjoy "S.W.A.T.," the latest blockbuster to hit theaters by way of a 1970s television show, you need to go into it with lowered expectations--a drag, I know, but a helpful tip nonetheless.

The movie has shortcomings that generally tend to sideline a film--heavy-handed product placements, lapses in logic, clumsy dialogue, a cliched opening that’s been beaten to death by Hollywood, and an uneven tone.

Ever a fighter, "S.W.A.T.” swats back with a solid cast, a blistering chemistry among the actors, and a handful of well-done, over-the-top action scenes that involve planes, trains and automobiles--and the inevitable destruction of each.

Add it up and you're left with an above average movie that wins you over even though some moments occasionally let you down.

As directed by Clark Johnson (“Homicide”) from a script by David Ayer and David McKenna, the film stars Colin Farrell in his eighth movie in three years.

With the possible exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's busy grinning and glad-handing his way through California in his surreal attempt to become the state’s next governor, few actors in Hollywood are working harder than Farrell.

This time out, he's Jim Street, a Los Angeles S.W.A.T. officer whose career is shown the back door after he and his hot-headed partner, Brian (Jeremy Renner), botch the film's opening bank heist by ignoring orders.

Indeed, when Brian accidentally shoots a hostage in the shoulder, the preening, politically minded captain (Larry Poindexter) gives him the boot, Street is demoted to life in the munitions cage and both have the sort of falling out that suggests they aren't through with each other yet.

With its weakest scenes out of the way, "S.W.A.T." gets a healthy punch with the introduction of Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson), a hilariously named, good-natured recruiting officer who’s assembling an elite team of S.W.A.T. officers for training.

Taking a shine to the cocky Street, Hondo adds him to his ragtag roundup of talented marksmen, which includes LL Cool J as Deke, Brian Van Holt as Boxer, Josh Charles as TJ and Michelle Rodriguez as Sanchez.

They complete their training just in time to battle the evil Frenchman Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), a billionaire drug trafficker who uses the media’s interest in him to offer--on live television, no less--$100 million to anyone who can break him out of prison. Naturally, every hungry hooligan within a 100-mile radius who owns a television quickly dusts off their rocket launchers, and soon Harrelson’s S.W.A.T. team is dodging a bullets and bombs from the most inhospitable of people.

With the exception of a few common character names, almost nothing here resembles the old TV show, which isn’t exactly a crime since the TV show was nothing to lock and load about.

The movie is at its best during those scenes in which the action doesn’t rub against the ridiculous, which happens especially toward the end, and when its characters are allowed bond. With a sneer that could cripple most crime in L.A., Rodriguez (“Girlfight,” “The Fast and the Furious”) is once again a highpoint, as are Jackson and Farrell. Each take their stock characters as seriously as they can, breathing a measure of life into them that, if you listen carefully, occasionally sounds like a sigh.

Grade: B-

(Also available on Blu-ray disc)