Review of S.W.A.T. (2003) by Diogomendes — 03 Aug 2014

Before I make up my own review of the other cop film starring Samuel L. Jackson (yeah the terrible one), I'll give my thoughts on this police thriller. Unfortunately, this is a bland, forgettable and inane movie that must be seriously thought before watching it.

The story should captivate more. Jim Street and his fellows mates are sent to stop a gang of robbers who have taken over a bank. His hot-tempered friend Gamble disobeys an order to not shoot in the bank robbers and accidentally wounds a hostage, causing him an expulsion on S.W.A.T team. While Jim decides to stay in order to work in the "gun cage", Gamble turns against his once close friend and all of sudden, becomes the antagonist of the film. However, his screen time is not that much and his motivations are poorly executed. Clearly, the character development is not the strong point of this movie.

However, the cast and acting are surprisingly good. Jackson and Ferrell give magnificent performances and believable dialogue. But the rest of the film is just a colossal bore until the final act which is provided by the return of the friend Gamble. His bloated screen time and uninteresting story prevents him from being a remarkable opponent for Jim, such a shame. He's more annoying than amusing but I guess that's part of the movie's charm. The director and his team could have put a lot of effort in the final battle but they decided instead using boring gunshots and underwhelming crashes, can't get what you always want right?

In conclusion, this movie has no charisma or depth. It's a two hours long of poor character development, dull story and loud soundtrack. It's heavily bad even for today's standards.