S.W.A.T.

PG-13

Released Aug 8, 2003

1 hr. 56 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

List

48%

168 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Nov 25

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent S.W.A.T. on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

A competent, but routine police thriller.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Edgar M

Siempre me ha gustado esta película que ya cumple 20 años. Me parece una trama interesante y la considero una buena película. Y tiene actores famosos.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Clark Johnson

Director

Samuel L. Jackson

Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson

Colin Farrell

Jim Street

Michelle Rodriguez

Chris Sanchez

LL Cool J

Deacon 'Deke' Kaye

Josh Charles

T.J. McCabe

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bank Robbery Assault

2:55

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - The End of Line

3:03

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Answering the Call

2:44

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Suspect on Foot

2:44

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Training Day

3:18

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Between Old Partners

2:58

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Violent Ambush

2:55

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sniping the Transport

2:26

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Bridge Shootout

3:45

S.W.A.T.: Official Clip - Sixth Street Landing

2:55

View more videos

28%

67%

Fast & Furious

TRAILER

for Fast & Furious

34%

57%

Vantage Point

TRAILER

for Vantage Point

82%

90%

The Bourne Supremacy

TRAILER

for The Bourne Supremacy

3%

37%

Half Past Dead

52%

58%

Transporter 2

TRAILER

for Transporter 2

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

S.W.A.T. Star Shemar Moore Shares 7 Things That’ll Make You Say ‘Whoa’

Our Favorite Fighting Teams

"28 Weeks Later:" Sequel Signs a Leading Man

View more photos

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

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

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

Despite all the explosions and pulsating music in the score, S.W.A.T. feels as dated as a 1970s TV series, making the end result a mildly entertaining but absolutely forgettable movie-going experience.

Nov 16, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

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
Executive Producer: Louis D'Esposito
Screenwriter: David Ayer, David McKenna, Ron Mita, Jim McClain
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Original Film, Camelot Pictures, Columbia 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
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now