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Jeff's Review of:

S.W.A.T.

Aug. 8, 2003
2003, 2 hrs 5 min., Rated PG-13 for violence, language and sexual references.�Dir: Clark Johnson. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson (Sgt. Dan 'Hondo' Harrelson), Colin Farrell (Jim Street), Michelle Rodriguez (Chris Sanchez), LL Cool J (David 'Deke' Kay), Josh Charles (T.J. McCabe), Brian Van Holt (Michael Boxer), Jeremy Renner (Brian Gamble), Olivier Martinez (Alex Montel), Reg E. Cathey (Lt. Greg Velasquez), Larry Poindexter (Capt. Thomas Fuller).

I'm leaving in 14 hours for Canton, Ohio, so this review will be as quick as a S.W.A.T. raid, in and out with extreme prejudice and with all the targets hit between the eyes.

God bless the police. I give them all their due, so any flick that portrays them as the good guys and, especially for a cop flick taking place in Los Angeles, without constantly showing them as corrupt.

Samuel L. Jackson is Hollywood's elite badass, or in S.W.A.T. the "gold standard of ass kicking." That his nickname is Hondo can only be a plus, and he gets to put together a squad of his own.

Colin Ferrell is among Hollywood's elite young talents, quickly turning into the next big action hero. This is all the better when you know that Ferrell is Irish, and his accent is thicker than molasses on a hot summer day, so he has to change every bit of his spoken voice for American films. Hey, in another 20 years, he can run for governor of California!

In the film, naturally, Jackson recognizes Ferrell's immense talent for killing bad guys even as he's never seen him in action.

Joining Ferrell in the ragtag bunch are LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight), Josh Charles (Sports Night), and Brian Van Holt (Basic). Quickly following is the requisite training montage, which works, especially the plane test.

The plot involves a really eeevil French guy (but I repeat myself) who is an international fugitive offering $100 million for his rescue. The criminal folk of L.A. come out of the woodwork, and bullets fly.

S.W.A.T. has the hip beat and the heroism; you know from the first minute that these guys rock. Their given roles in S.W.A.T. - Special Weapons and Tactics for a reason. As a result, all carry a suitable swagger that borders on arrogant but never pushes the edge.

The humor is made up largely of smart alec comments, of which I'm very fond. Nothing better for a zinger than to demean your friends in order to make yourself look better!

See S.W.A.T. for what it is, a late-summer action yarn with negligible emotional pull, and enjoy.

The verdict:

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