Movie review

Swatting bad guys back

Colin Farrell stars as a cop on a mission

Did you know? S.W.A.T. is based on the 70s TV series of the same title.

You saw him in Phone Booth and The Recruit, and now he's back again. This time Colin Farrell stars as a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team police officer in the new film S.W.A.T..

Along with his partner Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), Jim Street (Farrell) is having problems with his job as a cop and is demoted.

Luckily for Street, the head of the SWAT unit, Commander Dan �Hondo� Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson), has to go on a special mission and needs a team of professional cops. He is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch cops for a new SWAT unit. Among the candidates he selects are Jim Street, Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt), T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) and Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez), the first woman to be chosen for a SWAT team.

Hondo shortlists another outstanding beat cop with an impressive arrest record, Deacon "Deke" Kaye (LL Cool J), to complete the team.

Having assembled five different men and women, Hondo must now train them to think and act as a team. The SWAT training process is extremely demanding, but molds the team into a strong, tightly knit unit capable of thinking and acting as one.

After weeks of physical training, the new SWAT team is quickly thrown into action when a notorious drug lord, Alex Montel (Olivier Martinez), announces to reporters that he will pay $100 million to anyone who can free him from custody. The bold announcement is broadcast throughout Los Angeles and starts a little war among the city�s gangsters.

Incredibly, one of the people attracted to the reward is Street's former partner Gamble, who had been an insider who knows how SWAT teams function. Gamble immediately becomes a formidable adversary.

Anyone hungry for shooting and exploding scenes shouldn't miss S.W.A.T., now showing in cinemas everywhere.

VOCABULARY

demote (v): to move somebody to a lower position or rank, often as a punishment
recruit (v): to find new people to join a company, an organisation, the armed forces, etc
shortlist (v): selecting a small number of candidates for a job, etc., who have been chosen from all the people who applied
demanding (adj): expecting a lot of work or attention from others; not easily satisfied
notorious (adj): well known for being bad
custody (n): the state of being in prison, especially while waiting for trial
formidable (adj): if people, things or situations are formidable, you feel fear and/or respect for them, because they are impressive or powerful
adversary (n): person that somebody is opposed to and competing with in an argument or a battle