S.W.A.T.
What to say about this movie? I'm trying someway to make this witty.....I can't. There were so many things working against this movie.Its based on an obscure television show from the mid-seventies starring Robert Urich before he was....well sort-of famous ( I believe he's more famous for having cancer than for acting). Its directed by Clark Johnson, an actor by trade who did a short stint on Homicide: Life on the Street but spent the better part of his career doing Canadian work.
However, there were things working for this movie. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell. It has the premise of being in the SWAT division of the LAPD. That is pretty cool. I went into this movie with little expectation, other than the reviews I had read on it on Friday. Now, let me digress for a moment. I know that technically, we're critics here, but come on. The reviews I read for this movie said some awful things. They gave it terrible ratings.
I went and watched this movie, and decided that the majority of critics are cynical assholes. This movie, yes, was cliched, but it was paced perfectly, no lulls. The interaction between Jackson and Farrell was spot-on. The supporting cast was made up of perfect character actors. And the bad guy, while not the most sinister, Hans Gruber type, was adequate.
For a first-time director, Johnson seems to know how to get the actors to respond, and knows how to keep the audience interested. This particular action flik manages to pull itself up over the bigger releases like Bad Boys II.
The movie, in terms of plot, spends half the time on recruiting the SWAT team members, and the other half focussing on transporting a major foreign criminal. Both plots are expertly woven together, and even though its all pretty predictable, it flows very smoothly. I knew who screws the team, and I knew they were going to win, but all the stunts were impressive and realistic. Of course, I go to movies to enjoy them and not to pick them apart mercilessly. Yes, I do pick them apart, but when I enjoy a movie, I enjoy it. This was a very entertaining movie, and even though it will never win any oscars, but it was a good movie. If you want to see a good cop/action movie, go see this, not Bad Boys. I'm givin this one an 8 out of 10.
And all those other professional critics out there had better goddamn well lighten up! I mean that.
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