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S.W.A.T. (2003 film)

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S.W.A.T.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClark Johnson
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Ron Mita
  • Jim McClain
Based onS.W.A.T.
by Robert Hamner
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGabriel Beristain
Edited byMichael Tronick
Music byElliot Goldenthal
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • August 8, 2003 (2003-08-08)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$70 million[1]
Box office$207.7 million[2][1]

S.W.A.T. is a 2003 American action crime thriller film based on the 1975 television series of the same name. Written by David Ayer and David McKenna, with the story credited to Ron Mita and Jim McClain, directed by Clark Johnson and produced by Neal H. Moritz, the film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt and Olivier Martinez.

Like the TV series, the film revolves around a police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team operating in Los Angeles California. 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 a $100 million reward to anyone who can break him out of police custody.

Plans for a film adaptation of the 1975 TV series began in the 1990s, but never materialized until the early 2000s. Johnson was hired as director and Jackson, Farrell and LL Cool J were cast in 2002.

S.W.A.T. was released in the United States on August 8, 2003 by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures banner. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $207 million worldwide.

Plot

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Los Angeles Police Department SWAT officer Jim Street, his partner Brian Gamble, and their team infiltrate a bank taken hostage by robbers (in a scene loosely based on the North Hollywood shootout), where Gamble disobeys orders and engages the robbers, causing a hostage to sustain injuries. He and Street manage to subdue the criminals but are taken off the SWAT team by Captain Fuller, the commanding officer of the LAPD Metropolitan Division. Fuller offers Street a chance to rejoin the team by implicating Gamble, but he refuses and is therefore demoted to working at the police inventory. Gamble, under the assumption that Street ratted on him to stay on SWAT, quits the force and ends their friendship.

Six months later, the chief of police calls on LAPD veteran, Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, to reorganize the SWAT team. Hondo takes an interest in Street, and recruits him along with fellow officers TJ McCabe, Michael Boxer, Deacon Kaye, and Chris Sanchez, despite Fuller's protests. They bond as they train together and manage to pass their numerous tests; as they celebrate afterward, Street has a hostile run-in with Gamble. The team then succeeds in their first real mission: subduing an unstable gunman by using a wall-breaching battering ram designed by Street.

Meanwhile, French drug lord Alexander Montel arrives in Los Angeles and kills his uncle for embezzlement, after assuming control of his family's criminal empire by killing his father. As he drives to the airport in his uncle's car, he is pulled over by police for a broken tail light, and detained due to discrepancies with his false I.D.; authorities determine that he is an international fugitive and is wanted by Interpol. Montel's associates, disguised as LAPD officers, attempt to break him out as he is being transferred to jail, killing two Sheriff's deputies. Hondo's team manages to arrive in time to kill the gunmen and recapture Montel. As reporters swarm the team, Montel announces to the cameras that he is willing to offer $100 million to whoever is able to break him out, which draws the attention of criminals across the city.

The LAPD prepare to transfer Montel into federal custody by air, but are unable to escape before Gamble shoots down the helicopter. The police send out a large convoy, which is ambushed by gang members but discovered to be a decoy for Hondo's team, who transport Montel in two SUVs. McCabe reveals himself to be in league with Gamble, who critically wounds Boxer and escapes with Montel and McCabe to the subway, where they hijack a subway car and flee through the sewers as the SWAT team gives chase. Fuller then sends all available units to Hawthorne Airport to prevent Montel from escaping by plane.

Hondo's team commandeers a limousine to reach the airport but realizes that Gamble has a private plane that will land on the Sixth Street Bridge to fly the criminals out of the country. Preparing to take off, the plane is intercepted by the SWAT team; Gamble's men are killed, Sanchez is wounded while Kaye arrests Montel, and Hondo confronts McCabe, who commits suicide. Street pursues Gamble to the railyard under the bridge, where they fight hand-to-hand until Gamble is knocked under a passing train and killed. Fuller and the rest of the LAPD arrive, and Hondo's team delivers Montel to federal prison. As the team drives back to Los Angeles, they receive a report of an armed robbery in progress to which Hondo readies his team with prompting from Street.

Cast

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Original series actors Steve Forrest and Rod Perry have cameo appearances; Forrest drives the team's van, while Perry appears as Kaye's father.[3]

Reed Diamond has a cameo as Officer David Burress. Diamond and director Clark Johnson appeared together on Homicide: Life on the Street for three seasons (in two of which their characters were partners). Johnson himself has a cameo as "Deke's Handsome Partner," who gets hit with a pan while Deke chases a suspect.

Production

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Development

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A film adaptation of the 1975 S.W.A.T. TV series was conceived in the 1990s; Sony was planning to produce and release the film under its TriStar Pictures banner with Marcus Nispel attached to direct.[4] However, the project never panned out. Michael Bay, Rob Cohen, Antoine Fuqua, Michael Mann, Joel Schumacher, Tony Scott, Zack Snyder,[5] Roger Spottiswoode, 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.

Following the box office success of The Fast and the Furious (2001), Neal H. Moritz was hired to produce the project.

Casting

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Mark Wahlberg was the first choice for the role of Jim Street, but turned it down in favor of portraying 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.[6] Colin Farrell eventually replaced him in July 2002.[7] Vin Diesel was offered to portray Deacon "Deke" Kaye, but passed because he was in production with The Chronicles of Riddick and LL Cool J was then cast in September 2002.[8] At one point during 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.[citation needed]

Jeremy Renner was cast as Brian Gamble following his performance in Dahmer.[citation needed] He was originally offered a role in The Big Bounce, but Renner turned it down.[citation needed]

Filming

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Filming took place 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 Workman St and N Broadway in Lincoln Heights.[9] The unit's training scenes were filmed at the city's historic Ambassador Hotel; the building was demolished in 2006.[10][11] The film's climax was shot on the former Sixth Street Viaduct,[12] once one of Hollywood's most popular bridges for location filming.[13]

Soundtrack

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Main article: S.W.A.T. (soundtrack)

Elliot Goldenthal composed the soundtrack.[14]

Release

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S.W.A.T. saw a nationwide release in North America playing in 3,202 theaters, on the weekend of August 8, 2003.[15][2]

The film was released in Japan in the weekend of September 27, 2003, and United Kingdom, in the weekend of December 4, 2003.

Home media

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The film was released on a Special Edition DVD, in both Widescreen (2.39:1) & Full Screen (1.33:1) formats, on December 30, 2003, and on Blu-ray Disc on September 19, 2006.[16]

Reception

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Box office

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In its opening weekend, S.W.A.T. grossed $37,062,535 in 3,202 theaters, with a $11,574 average per theatre, ranking at #1 and beating out fellow new release Freaky Friday ($22,203,007).[2] On its second and third weekend, the film fell to #2 behind Freddy vs. Jason earning $18,122,486 and $10,581,327 respectively.[17][18]

The biggest market in other territories were Japan, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, where the film grossed $16.9 million, $9.7 million, $7.1 million, $6.47 million respectively.[19] S.W.A.T. ended its box office run on December 11, 2003, grossing $116,934,650 in North America and $90,790,989 in other territories, resulting in a worldwide gross of $207,725,639, against its $70 million production budget.[2] It is the 22nd highest grossing film of 2003.[20]

Critical response

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Reception for the movie was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 48%, based on 168 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads, "A competent, but routine police thriller."[21] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[22] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on a scale of A to F.[23]

Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave S.W.A.T. a favorable rating of three stars, as well as a thumbs up on At the Movies. He complimented the characters, dialogue, and the action sequences, which he found believable.[24]

Accolades

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List of awards and nominations[25]
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
BET Awards Best Actor Samuel L. Jackson Nominated
Black Reel Awards Best Film S.W.A.T. Nominated
California on Location Awards Location Professional of the Year - Features Mark Benton Johnson (Shared with Holes) Won
Irish Film & Television Academy Best Actor in a Lead Role – Film (Jury Award) Colin Farrell Nominated
MTV Movie Awards Mexico Best Colin Farrell in a Movie S.W.A.T. Won

Sequels, and spin-off

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Sequel films

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Main articles: S.W.A.T.: Firefight and S.W.A.T.: Under Siege

A direct-to-video film titled S.W.A.T.: Firefight came out in 2011. None of the main actors reprised their roles.[26] A second direct-to-video movie titled S.W.A.T.: Under Siege came out in 2017.

Television series

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Main article: S.W.A.T. (2017 TV series)

In February 2017, CBS ordered a pilot based on the movie with Justin Lin, Shawn Ryan, and Moritz as producers.[27] Stephanie Sigman, Shemar Moore, and Jay Harrington were reported to star in the series. Justin Lin was announced to be directing the pilot.[28][29][30]

References

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  1. ^ a b "S.W.A.T." The Numbers.
  2. ^ a b c d "S.W.A.T. (2003)". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ Mitchell, E. (August 8, 2003). "FILM REVIEW; Working Up A S.W.E.A.T." The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Cox, Dan (June 25, 1997). "'S.W.A.T.' regroups". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Fleming, Michael; Brodesser, Claude (August 16, 2000). "Col rolls new 'SWAT' team". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Swanson, Tim; Brodesser, Claude (July 24, 2001). "Col cops a 'SWAT' shot". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Brodesser, Claude (July 7, 2002). "Col takes shot at 'S.W.A.T.'". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 17, 2002). "LL Cool J takes 'SWAT' at pic". Variety. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  9. ^ "S.W.A.T. 2003". www.movie-locations.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  10. ^ "The Actual Southern California Locations where 2003's "S.W.A.T." was filmed". www.seeing-stars.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Nichols, Chris (January 22, 2014). "Movies Filmed at the Ambassador Hotel". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  12. ^ "S.W.A.T. (2003) Film Locations". www.globalfilmlocations.net. April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Koeppel, Dan (February 9, 2016). "Exit L.A.'s Most Cinematic Bridge". The Atlantic.
  14. ^ "Elliot Goldenthal - S.W.A.T." allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  15. ^ "Release info". imdb.com. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  16. ^ "S.W.A.T. DVD release". dvdsreleasedates.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  17. ^ Domestic 2003 Weekend 33: August 15-17, 2003 - Box Office Mojo
  18. ^ Domestic 2003 Weekend 34: August 22-24, 2003 - Box Office Mojo
  19. ^ "S.W.A.T. International box office". boxofficemojo.com. Boxofficemojo. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  20. ^ 2003 Worldwide Box Office. Box Office Mojo
  21. ^ "S.W.A.T." Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  22. ^ "S.W.A.T." metacritic.com. Metacritic. August 8, 2003. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  23. ^ "S.W.A.T. (2003) B+". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  24. ^ Ebert, Roger. "S.W.A.T. :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  25. ^ "S.W.A.T. awards". imdb.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  26. ^ "S.W.A.T.: Firefight | Sony Pictures". www.sonypictures.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  27. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 4, 2017). "'S.W.A.T.' TV Drama Reboot From Shawn Ryan & Justin Lin Gets CBS Pilot Order". Deadline. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  28. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (February 13, 2017). "'S.W.A.T.' Reboot at CBS to Star Bond Girl Stephanie Sigman (EXCLUSIVE)". Deadline. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  29. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 28, 2017). "Shemar Moore To Topline 'S.W.A.T.' CBS Drama Pilot Inspired By Movie". Deadline. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 13, 2017). "'S.W.A.T.': Jay Harrington To Star In CBS Drama Pilot Inspired By Movie". Deadline. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
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