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S.W.A.T.

Play trailer Poster for S.W.A.T. PG-13 Released Aug 8, 2003 1h 56m Action Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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48% Tomatometer 167 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) recruits Jim Street (Colin Farrell) to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay (LL Cool J) and single mom Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez). The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) 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.

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Critics Consensus

A competent, but routine police thriller.

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Critics Reviews

View All (167) Critics Reviews
Nell Minow Common Sense Media By-the-numbers explosion flick -- no surprises. Rated: 3/5 Dec 28, 2010 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader As summer shoot-'em-ups go, this is pretty well executed, with plenty of macho posing and gunfire. May 20, 2008 Full Review Alan Morrison Empire Magazine Solidly entertaining without being spectacular. Rated: 3/5 Apr 1, 2006 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand [Director Clark] Johnson knows how tell stories, and stories within stories, but he’s working around the material here, not within it. Nov 16, 2024 Full Review Patrick Bromley F This Movie! About as straightforward as action movies of this period get. I mean that in a good way. Apr 23, 2020 Full Review Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) Need a dose of pulpy thrills, spills and kills? Just get on this irresistibly idiotic brawn-fest. Rated: 3/5 Apr 20, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jason M D This is a good action movie I don't way it gets so much hate I for one enjoyed it Lot of good action I enjoyed the characters I love coming back to this movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/15/24 Full Review Jack G This movie is a slog to get through. It takes forever for the movie to get going, and by the time it does, you either turned it off or are left wondering why they wasted so much of your time. It takes over an hour for the plot to actually start, as the first hour is dedicated to building the team and getting to know the characters. However, these characters are incredibly bland and forgettable and have very little personality to them. It makes you wonder why they didn't just start the plot after the 15 minute mark and make these characters already a team to begin with. I mean how do you make me forget that Samuel L. Jackson is in your movie? During that hour, you are teased with the main antagonist of the film, but he is the most uninteresting and forgettable antagonist I've ever seen. The only thing that is memorable about him is the fact that he was brought in because of a busted tail light on his car. They try to build him up as this big threat, but everything you see of him is either incredibly pathetic or generic street level villain. It's secondary villain is introduced within the first 15 minutes, but doesn't become a major part in the plot again until past the 1 hour mark, which again, makes you wonder for over an hour why you are even watching this and why they didn't just have the team already established and move onto the next plot point and lace character moments and building throughout the film. Loading the front half of the movie with it, and leaving the back half for the plot to occur makes the pacing insufferable to get through. Especially since the plot itself is rather basic and generic once you remove all the bloat. Once the plot actually starts, the action sequences are serviceable enough, but again lack anything to make them stand out. The performances in this movie can also be described as serviceable enough. You can tell everyone is trying with the material, but the material isn't interesting enough for them to make it memorable, making them feel flat and lifeless. To say that the movie is a slow burn would imply that the fire was ever lit. It isn't interesting. It isn't thrilling. It is a waste of time. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/03/24 Full Review Darren D S.W.A.T. (2003) entertaining time from it's likeable cast, the goofiness & that competitive macho banter of the 80s within early 2000s time frame with it's nu metal soundtrack. Just perfect fun & action. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/24 Full Review Ink S Classic 2000's movie with a great soundtrack and equally great writing + acting. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/26/23 Full Review Alain M highly entertaining with Samuel L Jackson kicking ass and Colin Farrel in his haydays as a cool SWAT ex navy Seal agent. High octane entertainment, Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Don’t care about critics or users on this one, movie is a classic. Great cast, fun scenes, good action. A classic of its time, in a big budget B movie type of sense Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review Read all reviews
S.W.A.T.

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Cast & Crew

S.W.A.T.

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bank Robbery Assault S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bank Robbery Assault 2:55 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - The End of Line S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - The End of Line 3:03 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Answering the Call S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Answering the Call 2:44 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Suspect on Foot S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Suspect on Foot 2:44 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Training Day S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Training Day 3:18 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Between Old Partners S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Between Old Partners 2:58 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Violent Ambush S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Violent Ambush 2:55 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sniping the Transport S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sniping the Transport 2:26 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bridge Shootout S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bridge Shootout 3:45 S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sixth Street Landing S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sixth Street Landing 2:55 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) recruits Jim Street (Colin Farrell) to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay (LL Cool J) and single mom Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez). The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez) 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.
Director
Clark Johnson
Producer
Neal H. Moritz, Dan Halsted, Chris Lee
Screenwriter
David Ayer, David McKenna, Ron Mita, Jim McClain
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Original Film, Columbia Pictures, Camelot Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Sexual References|Language|Violence)
Genre
Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 8, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$116.6M
Runtime
1h 56m
Sound Mix
Surround
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