S.W.A.T.

Inspired by the popular 70s television series, the explosive action-thriller S.W.A.T. stars Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell in a cast also featuring Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J and Olivier Martinez.

Farrell portrays Jim Street, a former S.W.A.T. team member, who along with his partner Brian Gamble (Renner), 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.

Street gets that chance when team commander Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Jackson) is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch cops for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit (S.W.A.T.). The other members of the new team Hondo recruits are Deacon "Deke" Kaye (James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J), Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt) and T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles).

After weeks of demanding physical training, the new S.W.A.T. team is quickly thrown into action when a notorious drug lord Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), audaciously offers a $100 million bounty to anyone who can free him from police custody. As they escort the kingpin out of Los Angeles and into the hands of the Feds, they are pursued by a ruthless and well-armed band of mercenaries.

S.W.A.T.'s mission is complicated by the fact that one of the people attracted to the reward is Street's embittered former partner Gamble. With insider knowledge of how S.W.A.T. teams function, Gamble immediately becomes a formidable adversary.

In the ranks of S.W.A.T. there can be no greater betrayal than an officer crossing over into the netherworld of corruption and crime. Gamble raises the stakes, not only tactically but morally as well, giving rise to serious questions about honour and loyalty among the men and women in whom the community places its trust.

"We had many conversations about the temptations cops sometimes face," says Samuel L. Jackson, "and how easy it is to get away with some of them. But if you give in, you violate everything you've ever stood for as a person. And that makes you worse than the bad guys. You chose this life to keep the community safe. By turning your back on that, you're violating a sacred trust".

"Jim Street is no angel. He's just a simple fella who really loves his job and believes in what he's doing," says Farrell. "In that way, he's incorruptible and always has been, back to when he was first a Navy S.E.A.L. He's not going to change now, because he's not in it for the power of the gun or for the bravado. He's in it for all the right reasons, mainly just to do a little bit of good".

Similarly, Hondo's sole mission is an unwavering dedication to his work and his team. "Hondo finds meaning and pride in his role on the force and by creating a new S.W.A.T. unit," says Jackson. "They are truly a cut above. The best of the best".

As the ruthless and brutal drug lord, Alex Montel is the complete antithesis of Hondo and Street. "Alex doesn't believe in or care about anything," says Martinez. "He is totally amoral, a man who is truly without conscience".

Part of the continuing allure of police action films is the chance to get under the skin of a criminal, to glimpse into an alien world. "Most of us are fascinated by how a crime scene is investigated, how the police figure out who the bad guy is, what his motives are and the tactics the police use to capture him," says Jackson. "It's a safe way for the audience to glimpse into this dark world and come away with an understanding of how it operates".

The attraction for Jackson was the sheer drama inherent in being part of a S.W.A.T. team and an admiration for its overriding philosophy.

"They're put in situations that are very tense, mostly life threatening, but their approach is always as members of a life-saving organization, not a life-taking organisation," he says. "We generally see S.W.A.T. guys as snipers who are assigned to take the shot if they have it. But that's not their job. Their job is to make sure everybody comes out of situations safely. It takes a special kind of guy to be under that kind of pressure and still have the sensibility not to act like a cowboy".