S.W.A.T.

Review by Clint Morris

“Requesting SWAT, Code 3...” The old TV show turning movie idea is nothing new.

There’s hardly a show that hasn’t been picked up for the remake treatment, and it’s almost a certainty one in three of the films on offer at the cinemaplex at the moment is based on an old idea.

But one aspect of the trend that seems to be becoming more and more popular these days is staying away from the sitcoms and animated series, and concentrating more on series that’d be easier to adapt to film - in particular, the action series.

One difference between this and, say, other old action/adventure series turned features, The Fugitive, Mission: Impossible or Maverick, is that most audiences probably won’t remember this show. It aired for only two seasons in the 70’s, and even then wasn’t exactly a Nielsen’s favourite.

But maybe that works in the films favour, taking the comparison factor out of the equation and all.

A flashy, popcorn actioner of a film, S.W.A.T [which stands for Special Weapons And Tactics by the way] stars Colin Farrell as a hotshot copper, Jim Street, whose been confined to work in the gun cage following a botched hostage scenario that ended in his partner being ousted because he shot a hostage.

Enter, “old school” S.W.A.T. officer Hondo (Samuel L.Jackson]. He’s been bought back to the compound to kick off a new team. Ultimately, he’ll be Street’s ticket back to the excitement.

S.W.A.T would have been a pretty easy film to write. The first half of the film deals with Hondo picking his guy [which also includes LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez, Brian Van Holt, and Josh Charles] and then putting them through some pretty stringent training.

Then, the second half of the film has the team swing into action – assigned to transfer a big-time criminal [Olivier Martinez] to prison. The kicker here is that the criminal’s put out a nation wide call saying he’ll give $100 million dollars to anyone that busts him out of prison, hence giving the SWAT team a few more targets to fire at.

Could’ve written that on a dinner napkin, hey?

Many will say S.W.A.T is throwaway rubbish with no regard for plot development, character definition or utilising the talent on offer. I’ll just say S.W.A.T is a hell of a lot of fun.

Brimming with action from start to finish, and filled with the kind of characters, dialogue and over-the-top action sequences that combine to make the ultimate summer blockbuster, it definitely delivers.

Okay, so none of the actors have much time to do much acting, but if it’s an enjoyable holiday from more demanding work they desired, they’ve obviously booked a seat on the right flight.

S.W.A.T is not only one of the year’s most unexpected surprise packages, it’s probably the year’s best action film too.

3.5 out of 5

S.W.A.T.
Australian release: Thursday November 27th
Cast: Colin Farrell, Samuel L.Jackson, LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez, Brian Van Holt, Josh Charles.
Director: Clark Johnson.
Website: Click here

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