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S.W.A.T. (2003) DVD Review
S.W.A.T. (2003) DVD Credits:
S.W.A.T. (2003) Directed by:
Clark Johnson
S.W.A.T. (2003) Written by:
David Ayer, David McKenna, Ron Mita, Jim McClain, Robert Hamner
S.W.A.T. (2003) Cast:
Samuel Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt, Olivier Martinez, Reg Cathey, Larry Poindexter
S.W.A.T. (2003) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
S.W.A.T. (2003) DVD Release Date:
1st January 2006
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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S.W.A.T. (2003) Synopsis:

Jim Street is a former S.W.A.T. team member, who along with his partner Brian Gamble, is thrown off the team in the aftermath of a controversial decision they made during a robbery/hostage standoff. Gamble quits the force in disgust, but for Street, being a policeman is his life and he agrees to a demotion, hoping to someday have the chance to redeem himself and once again wear the privileged S.W.A.T. uniform. He gets that chance when team commander Dan "Hondo" Harrelson is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch officers for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit. After weeks of rigorous physical training, the new team is immediately thrown into action when a notorious drug lord, offers a $100 million bounty to anyone who can free him from police custody. As they escort the kingpin out of Los Angeles into the hands of the Feds, the S.W.A.T. team is pursued by a ruthless and well-armed band of mercenaries.

S.W.A.T. (2003) DVD Review:

Based off the 1970’s television series, S.W.A.T. was a blockbuster of last summer, and is not a total eye candy film, or one that will blow you away. It is an enjoyable film though with a good cast that looks into an interesting unit of everyday police work. The film for sure has homage to the 70’s television series, but is more updated with the advances of today’s weapons and tactical measures. Though there are some problems, overall S.W.A.T. is an entertaining film.

The film centers around the “Special Weapons and Tactics” unit of the LAPD and opens with S.W.A.T. officer Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and his partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) being kicked off the team for disobeying direct orders in a hostage situation. Gamble quits the force in disgust, but Street stays on assigned to other duties, hoping that one day he will return to S.W.A.T.

Six months later, a well-respected S.W.A.T. commander named Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson) return to the LAPD with slots open for his team. As he fills the spots with two newcomers in the aggressive Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez) and the dedicated Deke Kaye (LL Cool J), Hondo pulls some strings to get Street, because he knows that S.W.A.T. is still in his blood.

The film then goes through the interesting training aspects involved with a S.W.A.T., and then the members are put to the test to transport a ruthless international criminal (Unfaithful’s Oliver Martinez) out of Los Angeles.

Director Clark Johnson’s work is nothing special in this film, but like the S.W.A.T. team it is tactful. The film has character and realism with the drama and action being blended well by writer David Ayer, who wrote Training Day, and David McKenna, who wrote American History X.

All the performances are efficient, but it would be nice if Michelle Rodriguez would play something besides a tough girl.

Picture & Audio

The disc, as all new DVDs, looks perfectly clear and concise.

The sound of the disc is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film has stirring sound and effects, with the numerous action scenes and bullets zipping by. The new rendition of the S.W.A.T. television musical score also contributes to the film’s stellar audio.

Extras

Audio Commentaries
• Director Clark Johnson and actors Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Michelle Rodriguez, Brain Van Holt, Josh Charles, and Jeremy Renner
• 4 writers (including David Ayer and David McKenna) and a technical assistant

Deleted and Alternate Scenes
The disc contains eight deleted scenes that were more or less cut due to the film’s running time. One has Jackson’s Hondo for some reason telling a deer that has wandered on to his property to leave. Others have more continuity, but should have been cut such as when Street (Farrell) arrives at Sanchez (Rodriguez)’s for her daughter’s birthday party. There is also a very silly scene that would have brought the film down if left in with a couple of cops running into a gun store, to borrow some automatic weapons during the opening shootout.

Gag Reel
About a three-minute gag reel with flubbed lines, bloopers and the actors just having fun. Samuel L. Jackson looses his balance off the bumper of a police car, Colin Farrell works out while drinking and smoking as well as many other gags. Michelle Rodriguez stumbles on many lines and plays a joke on Jackson. However, the most amusing moment of this reel is when the cops finding a sexual object in Oliver Martinez’s bag at the airport.

Trailers
• Bad Boys II
• TV Action Favorites
• Once Upon A Time in Mexico
• Radio
• Underworld
• Big Fish

Filmographies
• Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, and LL Cool J

“Anatomy of a Shootout” Featurette
This featurette focused on the bank shootout scene at the beginning of the film, with director Clark Johnson breaking down all the steps. Johnson explains how he wanted to make the film realistic and the shootout to be a terrifying aspect. During the deconstruction of the scene, it is also mentioned that Johnson wanted to open the film with a bang.

“6th Street Bridge” Featurette
This featurette divulges one into the planning, shooting, and post-production methods used to film the finale on the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles, CA. Details of the bridge are explained, including its length of being 3,000 feet long, which was not long enough for the visual effects artists. The producers also admit that their initial thoughts were that the scene would be phony, so they attempted to make it as realistic as possible. The visual effects animators also talk about how they took flight simulation programs to help them in their work with the jet landing on the bridge.

The Making of S.W.A.T. Featurette
Like with every DVD, this is your typical behind the scenes making of the film with many interviews from the cast and crew. Shows the steps taken throughout the production, including the actors’ training with real S.W.A.T. officers.

S.W.A.T.: TV’s Original Super Cop Featurette
This featurette contains an advertisement for the original 1970’s S.W.A.T. television series on DVD. There are also interviews with the cast and crew of the film, and the television series. If you have not seen any footage of the original premise of this film, this is your chance. The catchy theme song from the television series is also played in full mode.

“Experience the Sound & Fury of S.W.A.T.
This cool little feature is broken up into two parts for viewers to play with the different sounds of the film.

1) The Sounds of S.W.A.T.
A interactive menu to where you can pick different guns or items seen in the film, then a weapon demonstration along with facts and insights are given by a real S.W.A.T. officer.

2) Scene Breakdowns
This feature allows the viewer to choose a breakdown of isolated mixes of audio for each shootout in the film. This is fun for one’s with a crisp audio system. The scenes include the bank shootout in the beginning of the film, Montel’s escape attempt in Hollywood, the ambush by the gangs, and the climatic bridge sequence.

Overall

S.W.A.T. is a fun cop genre blockbuster that gets out of hands at times (such as the landing of a plane, on the 6th Street Bridge), but overall it is an amusing film. The DVD itself is presented nicely, with easy navigation throughout the special features, which are solid complements to the film. The gag reel and sounds of S.W.A.T. featurettes are the two best that stand above the others. The others are typical DVD extras, but the featurette of the television show DVD is just thrown in as a pure advertisement, as well as the numerous other trailers. The sound of the DVD is full of bullets zipping, explosions, and other noticeable details (shattering of glass). The DVD is nothing too extravagant, but is suitable for the fans of this film.

The Film: B
Video Quality: A
Audio Quality : A
Extra Features: B

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S.W.A.T. (2003) DVD review written by: Joseph Tucker

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