The result is one of the best cop thrillers since "Training Day." Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell co-star, playing the time-honored roles of veteran officer and young hothead. Michelle Rodriguez and James Todd Smith (a k a LL Cool J), both effective actors, give depth to the S.W.A.T. team. And Olivier Martinez, who played Diane Lane's lover in "Unfaithful," is the smirking playboy arms dealer who offers a $100 million reward to anyone who springs him from custody.
The plot begins with a hostage situation gone wrong. A S.W.A.T. team member (Brian Gamble) disobeys orders, enters a bank and wounds a hostage. He and his partner Jim Street (Farrell) are offered demotions. Street accepts; his partner leaves the force. But Street, a talented officer and a great shot, is spotted by the legendary veteran Hondo Harrelson (Jackson), and chosen for his hand-picked elite S.W.A.T. team.
One of the pleasures of the movie is the training sequence, where Jackson leads his team through physical and mental maneuvers. Many recent action movies have no training scenes because, frankly, you can't train to do their impossible stunts -- you need an animator to do them for you.
A routine traffic bust leads to the unexpected arrest of Alex (Olivier Martinez), an internationally wanted fugitive. Alex offers the $100 million reward on television, the cops assume there will be a lot of escape masterminds hoping to collect the reward, and it's up to Hondo and his team to safely escort the prisoner to a federal penitentiary.
That it does not go smoothly goes without saying. I'm not arguing that the last 45 minutes of the movie are, strictly speaking, likely or even plausible, but nothing violates the laws of physics, and you can kind of see how stuff like that might sort of happen, if you get my drift.
"S.W.A.T." is a well-made police thriller, nothing more. No Academy Awards. But in a time when so many action pictures are mindless assaults on the eyes, ears and intelligence, it works as superior craftsmanship. The director, Clark Johnson, is a veteran of TV both as an actor and director, and supplies a well-made film that trusts its story and actors. What a pleasure, after a summer of movies that merely wanted to make my head explode.
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