Kaboom. Grunt. Bang. Manly comment. Boom. Pow. Grunt. Splat.
That's S.W.A.T. in a nutshell, but onomatopoeia does not a review make.
S.W.A.T. is based on the 1970s television series by the same name that I've never seen an episode of. I got the feeling that the name association serves to coax reluctant moviegoers to see the film while providing a convenient excuse not to provide much of a back-story.
The film gets off to a jarring start, with the hero SWAT (special weapons and tactics) unit shooting at random bad guys in a Los Angeles bank lobby. Jim Street (Colin Farrell, Minority Report) and his partner, Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) disobey orders and shoot without orders to do so.
The two get in trouble and lose their SWAT status, with Street resorting to doing office work in "the cage" while Gamble goes off on his own. Gamble begins to suspect that Street has ratted on him to their one-dimensional creep of a boss, Capt. Thomas Fuller (Larry Pointdexter). Naturally, Street wants his SWAT job back and Gamble resents Street enormously. Farrell seems born to be a good underdog-rebel-hero - but little more.
When Sgt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson, XXX) finally strolls coolly onscreen, the movie immediately feels different. An aging Jackson is perfect as the retired SWAT officer assigned by Fuller to enhance the prestige of the current SWAT units. Hondo seeks to help Street and other diamonds in the rough. One such underdog is Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), a tough female SWAT candidate who has been rejected three times. Rapper LL Cool J also stars as fellow SWAT member Deacon "Deke" Kaye. (Many of the ladies in the audience applauded during the scene in which he lifts his shirt to reveal rippling abs.)
The new SWAT unit moves on to bust a self-destructive man out of his home with Street's makeshift battering ram before the real challenges begin. Evil Frenchman Alex (Olivier Martinez), a stereotypical and uninteresting foreign drug lord, is broken out of a prison bus by criminals posing as police officers. Alex is offering $100 million to anyone who will set him free. After a violent scramble, and anticlimactic traffic stop for a bad taillight, Alex falls into SWAT hands - but the race for the prize is still on. This gives Gamble an opportunity to avenge himself and profit at the same time. From there, the film gives lots of hints so you'll never have to guess too hard about what will happen next.
Memorable imagery includes fiery exploding cars, power-packed AK-47 gunfire and a hijacked private jet using the Sixth Street Bridge as a landing strip. Watch the film for the excellent action scenes produced under the direction of Clark Johnson, best known as an actor in the "Homicide: Life on the Streets" television series and in a few films. S.W.A.T. is a classic example of the underdog tale, a film that has been done over and over again but still seems appealing. Don't watch this movie for character development, as characters develop little more than sharp-shooting skills, and extra muscle from fist-fighting others and lifting product-placed soft drinks.
If not for its brand name and star power, this would have simply been another mediocre summer action flick with excellent action choreography and a rousing soundtrack. You can pour more budget into snazzier action scenes; character development and plot line are more difficult.
But maybe I set my standards too high; after all, this is just an action flick. Just an action flick that, as much as I hate to admit it, is pretty entertaining.
Nicole Saidi is the Content Editor of the Web Devil. Reach her at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
