Taglines: You’re either S.W.A.T. or you’re not.
Based on the 1970s TV series of the same title, this film follows a squad of Los Angeles’ Special Weapons and Tactics assigned to protect a drug kingpin who has offered a $100 million reward to anyone who can free him. Samuel L. Jackson plays a grizzled S.W.A.T. veteran who’s in charge of the venture.
S.W.A.T. is a character-driven action-adventure built around a story of redemption, about men and women whose mission is to defuse the most volatile situations faced by policemen in the line of duty. S.W.A.T. is also a study in personality contrasts and how they shape an individual’s destiny. Two devoted S.W.A.T. officers, Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his partner, Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), are reprimanded and demoted after making a controversial call during a bank robbery and hostage crisis. Gamble quits the L.A.P.D. in disgust rather than submit to punishment, while Street decides to stay on, laying low, hoping for another shot someday. Their respective decisions will alter the course of their lives.
For Street, the demotion becomes a path to salvation when he meets Sergeant “Hondo” Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson), who has returned to S.W.A.T. from another division with a mandate to create a new team. Like Street, his motive is to redeem his past. His longtime nemesis, Capt. Thomas Fuller, is doing everything in his power to ensure that Hondo fails. As with Street, Hondo refuses to let detractors get in his way. He doggedly moves forward, putting together the best team the L.A.P.D. has to offer.
“Like Street and Gamble, Hondo and Fuller were partners at the beginning of their careers,” says S.W.A.T. producer Neal Moritz. “They were both good cops but Fuller was much better at climbing the political ladder. Hondo, though, was just the kind of officer you want on the street protecting you.”
Hondo begins his selection process by choosing two established S.W.A.T. officers, Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt) and T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles). Also on Hondo’s short list is an outstanding beat cop with an impressive arrest record, Deacon “Deke” Kaye (James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J).
Read the Full Production Notes
Directed by: Clark Johnson
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeremy Renner, Olivier Martinez, Josh Charles, Page Kennedy
Screenplay by: David Ayer
Production Design by: Mayne Berke
Cinematography by: Gabriel Beristain
Film Editing by: Michael Tronick
Costume Design by: Christopher Lawrence
Set Decoration by: Casey Hallenbeck
Music by: Elliot Goldenthal
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, sexual references.
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: August 8, 2003
