S.W.A.T. (2003)
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A veteran police sergeant must assemble a new SWAT team to transport a high-value international fugitive through a city of criminals.
The story
Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer Jim Street and his partner Brian Gamble are taken off the team after a bank robbery goes wrong. Six months later, Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson is tasked with reorganizing the SWAT team. He recruits Street along with several other officers, including TJ McCabe, Michael Boxer, Deacon Kaye, and Chris Sanchez. The team must bond and train together to handle their first major mission: transporting a dangerous French drug lord, Alexander Montel, who is an international fugitive. However, Montel offers a $100 million reward to anyone who can break him out of custody, drawing dangerous attention from gangs across the city.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a bank robbery incident where partner Brian Gamble disobeys orders and wounds a hostage, Street and Gamble are removed from the SWAT team. Gamble quits, believing Street betrayed him. Six months later, Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson is called to reorganize the team. He recruits Street, TJ McCabe, Michael Boxer, Deacon Kaye, and Chris Sanchez. Despite initial friction between Street and Boxer, the team bonds and successfully subdues a Polish hostage. Meanwhile, French drug lord Alexander Montel arrives in LA, kills his uncle, and is detained as an international fugitive. His associates attempt a breakout, but Hondo's team recaptures him. Montel then offers a $100 million reward for his release. During a transfer to federal custody, Gamble shoots down a helicopter and joins forces with McCabe to hijack a subway car and flee through sewers. The SWAT team pursues them to Hawthorne Airport. The team intercepts Gamble's private plane, derailing it. During the fight, Sanchez is wounded, Kaye recaptures Montel, and Hondo confronts McCabe, who commits suicide. Street eventually fights Gamble hand-to-hand under a bridge, knocking him under a train to his death. The team successfully delivers Montel to federal prison.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 117
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Clark Johnson
- Writers
- David Ayer · screenplay; David McKenna · screenplay; Ron Mita · story; Jim McClain · story
- Cast and characters
- Samuel L. Jackson · Sgt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson; Colin Farrell · Officer James "Jim" Street; Michelle Rodriguez · Officer Christina "Chris" Sanchez; LL Cool J · Officer Deacon "Deke" Kaye; Josh Charles · Officer T.J. McCabe; Jeremy Renner · Officer Brian Gamble; Brian Van Holt · Officer Michael Boxer; Olivier Martinez · Alex "Le Loup Rouge" Montel
- Genres
- action; crime; thriller
- Themes
- Teamwork; Loyalty; Betrayal; Justice
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Gritty; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- Police Procedural; Action; Crime; Heist; Team-up
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1975–76 television series S.W.A.T.
- Franchise connections
- S.W.A.T. (including sequels S.W.A.T.: Firefight and S.W.A.T.: Under Siege)
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $207.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $70 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 48% · review count: 168; Metacritic · score: 45 · scale: 100 · review count: 35; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A to F
- Production trivia
- The bank robbery scene was choreographed to resemble the North Hollywood shootout of 1997 and uses real dispatch audio from that incident.; The film's climax was shot on the former Sixth Street Viaduct.; Director Clark Johnson appeared together on Homicide: Life on the Street for three seasons with Reed Diamond.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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