'S.W.A.T.' misses the mark

I was really pulling for "S.W.A.T." I'd hoped to see a film with some modicum of intelligence headed by the talented likes of Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson, and to a certain extent I did. The problem is, despite solid if underwritten turns by its leads and the intermittently promising direction of actor-turned-director Clark Johnson (he was a regular on "Homicide: Life on the Street" and has directed episodes of "The Shield") the flick didn't add up to the sum of its parts.\nPerhaps I'm not qualified to review "S.W.A.T.," as the shortly lived TV series of the same name (from which the movie is based) debuted in 1975, well before my time. But then again, "S.W.A.T." is nowhere near as accomplished as other TV-to-film adaptations i.e. "The Fugitive" or the "Mission: Impossible" flicks. Hell, even the first "Charlie's Angels" pic bests these boys in blue -- this, minus the ass factor of the former.\n"S.W.A.T." opens in grand fashion with an introductory scene that could best be described as a case of art imitating life imitating art (the scene's a direct, albeit abbreviated, rip-off of the bank heist from "Heat," which was enacted in actuality a few years back during the North Hollywood shoot-out). This is also the audience's introduction to officer Jim Street (Farrell, filling in, appropriately enough, for the recently departed Robert Urich). Street, who, along with his trigger-happy partner, Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner, best known for his work in "National Lampoon's Senior Trip"), arrives on the scene, storms the bank and caps the crooks. In doing so, Gamble intentionally shoots a civilian to get a clear shot at his perp. As this is a movie, the stunt gets both boys booted from S.W.A.T. in a sea of cop movie/TV show clichés.\nRedemption comes in the form of Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Jackson), a kindred spirit to the loose cannon likes of Street. Hondo, in a gesture serving as little more than an upturned middle finger to the brass, invites the young officer aboard his upstart S.W.A.T. team. The crew also consists of Chris Sanchez (the utterly annoying Michelle Rodriguez -- honey, Jenette Goldstein cornered the market on tough latinas back in '86 with her turn as Vasquez in "Aliens"), David "Deke" Kay (an even more agitating LL Cool J, which is too bad, as I liked the guy in "Deep Blue Sea" and "Any Given Sunday"), cookie cutter cop, Boxer (Brian Van Holt in his full mustached glory) and the Lando Calrissian of the bunch, T.J. McCabe ("Sports Night" survivor Josh Charles).\nThe gang's put to the ultimate test when a smarmy, incarcerated, French drug kingpin by the name Alex (Olivier Martinez, last seen in the highly overrated "Unfaithful") offers "One hundred meeleeon dollars" to would-be hoods on national television in exchange for his safe extraction. Especially, when said escape will ultimately be perpetrated with the aid of former S.W.A.T. allies.\nThe film has many problems, one of which stems from the fact that a primary villain is more likable than two-thirds of our heroes. Other snags include, but are not limited to: a crappy soundtrack consisting of trendy rap metal (a few choice cuts by the Rolling Stones and Jane's Addiction being the sole exceptions) and a series of poor action beats (when a lock being blown to bits via a claymore mine serves as a highlight, you know you're in trouble).\nAs the flick's tagline suggests, "Even cops dial 911," with "S.W.A.T.," it's understandable. The film serves far more as a fantastical police recruitment ad than it does an actual narrative.