S.W.A.T.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Clark Johnson
Produced by	Dan Halsted Chris Lee Neal H. Moritz
Screenplay by	David Ayer David McKenna
Story by	Ron Mita Jim McClain George Huang (Uncredited) Lem Dobbs (Uncredited) Chris Morgan (Uncredited) Craig Fernandez (Uncredited)
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Colin Farrell Michelle Rodriguez LL Cool J Josh Charles Olivier Martinez Jeremy Renner
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt
Editing by	Michael Tronick
Studio	Original Film
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 8, 2003 (2003-08-08)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80 million[1]
Box office	$207,725,639[1]

S.W.A.T. is a 2003 action-crime-thriller film directed by Clark Johnson, and is based on the 1975 television series of the same name. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez. It was produced by Neal H. Moritz and released in the United States on August 8, 2003.

  Plot

The film begins with a hostage situation in Los Angeles; this was loosely based on the 1997 North Hollywood shootout. Officer Jim Street (Colin Farrell), a former Navy SEAL and hot-shot cop from the Los Angeles Police Department and his SWAT team are sent to stop a gang of robbers who have taken over a bank. His high-tempered partner and close friend Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) disobeys an order, and wounds a hostage. Gamble and Street are demoted by Captain Fuller (Larry Poindexter), the commander of LAPD's Metropolitan Division, who is portrayed as a "fussy martinet". Gamble quits following arguments with Fuller and Street, the latter of whom is taken off the SWAT team and sent to work in the "gun cage", where he looks after gear and weapons.

Six months after the incident, The Chief of Police calls on Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) to help re-organize the SWAT division. Hondo is transferred in, and soon puts together a diverse team, including himself, Street, Chris Sánchez (Michelle Rodriguez), Deacon Kaye (LL Cool J), T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles), and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt). The team trains together and develops bonds of friendship, and their first mission to subdue an unstable gunman is a success.

Meanwhile, a French drug lord by the name of Alexander Montel (Olivier Martinez) has killed his father and uncle for control of the family's crime empire. Uniformed L.A.P.D. personnel stop Montel for a broken taillight, detain him, and learn through Interpol he is an international fugitive. But as Montel is transferred to prison, his associates, dressed as LAPD officers, assault the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bus transporting Montel in an attempt to free him. Hondo's SWAT team kills the gunmen, and recaptures Alexander. As Montel is being brought into the police station in front of a group of reporters, he yells to the TV cameras, "I will give 100 million dollars to whoever gets me out of here!"

The L.A.P.D. makes plans to transfer Montel into federal custody. They plan to fly him away, but a mysterious attacker (it is later revealed to be Gamble) shoots down the helicopter with a high-powered rifle. The police next send out a large convoy, which gang members attack. It proves to be a decoy, and Hondo's team has spirited Montel away in two S.U.V.s. However, T.J. has been plotting with Gamble, and the two succeed in taking Montel from the other officers, critically wounding Boxer in the process. Hondo and the rest give chase, and there is a final fierce battle, Gamble's group against the SWAT officers. Hondo's team is victorious. T.J. kills himself rather than be captured, and there is a vicious hand to hand fight between Street and Gamble, with Street emerging the eventual victor when he kicks Gamble under the wheels of a passing train, decapitating him. The SWAT team delivers Montel to a federal prison to await trial. On the way home to L.A., a report of a holdup in progress comes over the police radio, and despite the team being two officers down and off shift for the past twelve hours, Hondo, Street, Kaye, and Sanchez decide to help anyway. The film's last line is Hondo shouting, "Mount up!".

  Cast

• Samuel L. Jackson as Sergeant Second Grade Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, He is brought back by the Chief of Police to head a new SWAT Element. He is a retired Recon Marine. He uses both an M4A1 and MP5A2, and personally upgraded the trigger of the M4A1 that he uses. His call sign is 70 David.
• Colin Farrell as Police Officer Third Grade Jim Street. He is originally assigned to SWAT, but after an incident with his partner he is removed from the team and placed in the "gun cage." After Hondo sees his abilities and knowledge of special tactics firsthand, he is recruited for the new SWAT team. He is a former Navy SEAL and explosives expert. Street uses an M4A1 and a Kimber Custom TLE II pistol on SWAT missions.
• Michelle Rodriguez as Police Officer Third Grade Christina "Chris" Sanchez, was a frequent applicant to SWAT, who was rejected each time due to the captain's sexism. Hondo persuades him to allow her to be on his team. She carries an MP5 on SWAT calls. Her callsign is 73-David. She has a daughter named Eliza.
• LL Cool J as Police Officer Third Grade Deacon "Deke" Kaye, is a Patrol officer whom Hondo also recruits. In the SWAT team, he is armed with a Benelli M3 Super 90 shotgun and later Hondo's MP5, and serves as the rear-guard of the team. He is a father of two.
• Josh Charles as Police Officer Third Grade T.J. McCabe, is a member of SWAT who initially has problems with Street.
• Jeremy Renner as former Police Officer Third Grade Brian Gamble, Street's former partner. He quit the L.A.P.D. after being demoted.
• Brian Van Holt as Police Officer Third Grade Michael Boxer is a SWAT officer who has worked with Hondo before. His sister was involved with Street and broke up with him after he was transferred to the gun cage. He is armed with a M4A1.
• Olivier Martinez as Alexander "Alex" Montel, a French criminal. His family controls a huge drug empire which values into the billions.
• Ken Davitian as Martin Gascoigne, an Italian L.A.-based drug trafficker who is Montel's uncle. Gascoigne operates from the Figaro Cafè in Downtown LA.
• Reg E. Cathey as Lieutenant Second Grade Greg Velasquez, is field commander of D Platoon (SWAT) and one of Hondo's old friends. His call sign is 10-David.
• Larry Poindexter as Captain Thomas Fuller, is Commander of Metropolitan Division (Home of the LAPD SWAT) D Platoon; most SWAT officers hate him. His call sign is R-commander.
• Page Kennedy as Travis
• Domenick Lombardozzi as GQ
• James DuMont as Gus

  Reception

Reception for the movie was mixed, with a 48% "Rotten" rating on the Rotten Tomatoes, based on 160 critical reviews.^[2]

Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave S.W.A.T. a favorable rating of three stars, as well as a thumbs up on At the Movies. He complemented the characters, dialogue, and the action sequences which he found believable.^[3]

  Soundtrack

Elliot Goldenthal composed the soundtrack.^{[citation needed]}

  Differences from TV series

In the original TV series, the role of Hondo was played by white actor Steve Forrest, who made a cameo appearance at the end of the film as the S.W.A.T. transport driver. T.J. McCabe is one of the antagonists, whereas in the TV series, he always worked for the team.

The film also changes the S.W.A.T. team in several important ways:

1. In the TV series, Deke is second-in-command to Hondo; whereas in the film he is at the same level as the others.
2. In the film there is a female member of the team, Sánchez; in the TV series it was an all-male team.
3. The TV series had only five members on the team, whereas the film introduced a sixth;
4. Boxer was not in the TV series and the film left out Luca.

  Sequel

A direct-to-DVD sequel was released on March 1, 2011 entitled S.W.A.T.: Firefight.^{[citation needed]}

  References

  External links

• S.W.A.T. at the Internet Movie Database
• S.W.A.T. at AllRovi
• S.W.A.T. at Rotten Tomatoes
• S.W.A.T. at Box Office Mojo