S.W.A.T. is a 2003 American action crime thriller film directed by Clark Johnson and written by David Ayer and David McKenna, with the story credited to Ron Mita and Jim McClain. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, it is based on the 1975 television series of the same name and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt and Oliver Martinez. The plot follows Hondo (Jackson) and his SWAT team as they are tasked to escort an imprisoned drug kingpin/international fugitive to prison after he offers an $100 million reward to anyone who can break him out of police custody.
Plot[]
An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody, and only the L.A.P.D.'s Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.
Cast[]
- Colin Farrell as Officer III James "Jim" Street
- Jeremy Renner as Officer III Brian Gamble, quits police department after bank robbery. Mastermind of Montel's escape.
- Brian Van Holt as Officer III Michael Boxer
- Samuel L. Jackson as Officer III Dan "Hondo" Harrelson
- Michelle Rodriguez as Officer III Christina "Chris" Sanchez
- LL Cool J as Officer III Deacon "Deke" Kaye
- Oliver Martinz as Alex "Le Loup Rouge" Montel (his nickname means The Red Wolf)
- Josh Charles as Officer III Travis Joseph "T.J." McGabe
- Ken Davitian as Martin Gascoigne
- Reg E. Cathey as Lieutenant II Greg Velasquez
- Larry Pointdexter as Captain II Tom Fuller
- Page Kennedy as Travis
- Domenick Lombardozzi as GQ - Officer - Portraying
- Dennis Arndt as Sergeant Howard
- Jeff Wincott as Ed Taylor
- Shannon Sturges as Mrs. Segerstrom
Original series actors Steve Forrest and Rod Perry have cameos; Forrest drives the teams van, while Perry appears as Kaye's father.
Reed Diamond has a cameo as Officer David Burress.
Production[]
Development[]
The idea of a film adaptation of the 1975 S.W.A.T. TV series was conceived in 1997. Michael Bay, Rob Cohen, Antoine Fuqua, Michael Mann, Joel Schumacher, Tony Scott, Zack Snyder, Roger Spottiswoode, Marcus Nispel, and John Woo were all approached to direct the film before Clark Johnson signed on. They passed because they were all busy with other projects. Oliver Stone was also involved as a producer at one point.
Follow the success of The Fast and the Furious (2001), Neal H. Moritz was hired to produce the project.
Casting[]
Mark Wahlberg was the first choice for the role of Jim Street, but turned it down for the lead role in The Italian Job. Paul Walker was originally cast and had even started training for the part, but had to drop out due to filming on 2 Fast 2 Furious. Colin Farrell eventually replaced him in July 2002. Vin Diesel was offered to play Deacon "Deke" Kaye, but passed becasue he was in production with The Chronicles of Riddick and LL Cool J was cast in September 2002. At one point in the early stages of development, Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the role of Dan "Hondo" Harrelson, but he declined and Samuel L. Jackson took the part.
Jeremy Renner was cast as Brian Gamble following his performance in Dahmer. He was originally offered a part in The Big Bounce, but Renner turned it down.
Filming[]
All filming was shot on location in Los Angeles. The bank robbery in the film's opening was choreographed to closely resemble the North Hollywood shootout of 1997. It was filmed at an abandoned building at the corner of Workman St and N Broadway in Lincoln Heights. The unit's training scenes were filmed at the city's historic Ambassador Hotel; the building was demolished in 2006. The film's climax was shot on the former Sixth Street Viaduct, Once one of Hollywood's most popular bridges for location filming.
Release[]
S.W.A.T. saw a nationwide release in North America playing in 3,202 theaters, on the weekend of August 8, 2003.
The film was released in Japan in the weekend of 27 September 2003 and United Kingdom, in the weekend of December 4, 2003.
Home media[]
The film was release on DVD as S.W.A.T. Widescreen Special Edition on December 30, 2003 and on Blu-ray Disc on September 19, 2006.
Videos[]
