S.W.A.T.

Rented this with Tammy.

I couldn't tell from the previews if I'd like this movie or not.  But my initial impression was that it was going to be your fairly typical brain-dead Hollyweird action flick.

I guess I was tired, or maybe it was distracted.  Because a lot of this movie didn't stick with me.  Part of the reason is it's just a fluff movie.

The movie starts with two of the main characters ignoring orders and hotdogging it in a bank robbery.  One inadvertantly shoots a hostage, who sues the city.  The other keeps his job, but is demoted to property clerk, where he remains for a few years.   Despite being treated as a pariah, he keeps his skills and can beat any active duty cop in his precinct on a gunnery course.

Along comes Samuel L. Jackson.  Somehow, he's gotten a mandate to build an elite force (I forget how that came about.)  So, in typical Hollyweird style, he chooses to go around picking misfits to build his team.  Apparently according to the Hollyweird Action Movie Formula, nobody who is disciplined can be excellent.

He puts the team together, there's a little potential romance suggested with the chick, they show the team bonding outside of work, blah, blah, blah.  They show the antagonism between the main character and his ex-partner.

The huge reward causes all sorts of precautions when the bad guy is transported.   I guess I was zoning out here, because I wasn't really following the proposed precautions closely.

They have the Big Surprise, and then it becomes a protracted chase.  And of course the misfits end up having to save the day on their own.  The rest of the police department is nowhere to be found.

I'm still trying to decide if it's possible to land a Lear-type jet on a bridge.   I suppose it depends on the bridge and the approach to it.  But my impression from the shots they used in the movie is that it would be incredibly risky.   Absolutely no room for error.  And, I'd be surprised if there would be enough room for a takeoff.

It's not going to be much of a spoiler to say that the good guys win in the end, and the lead character faces down his nemisis mano-a-mano at the end.  It's all pretty much what you expect.

On my brother's Total Movie Value Scale, Pay Per View. Slightly better than expected Hollyweird action movie.

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