Parents' Guide to

S.W.A.T.

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

By-the-numbers explosion flick -- no surprises.

Movie PG-13 2003 112 minutes
S.W.A.T. Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Yayofuntime1234
Yayofuntime1234 Adult
May 10, 2021
age 14+

Swat rating

Violence , kissing ,drugs, and smoking, money swearing

This title has:

Too much violence
Dallas L.
Dallas L. Adult
March 31, 2021
age 17+

Really good, really violent.

Extremely violent. An R rating would be right lots of shooting some blood some sexual references. A condom is mentioned. There is one shootout in that is very intense with gangs shooting and there is a suicide. (OFFSCREEN) Language is an issue with a lot of godd-ms and a couple uses of sh-t and one f—k. But this movie is REALLY GOOD with great messages about teamwork and trust and with great acting!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

S.W.A.T. follows Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner), Special Weapons and Tactics officers, who get into trouble in a hostage situation when Gamble shoots without authorization. They are thrown off of the squad, and Gamble quits in disgust. Street stays on, willing to serve time in the gun cage and earn his way back onto S.W.A.T. Gamble feels betrayed. Hondo Harrison (Samuel L. Jackson), a former S.W.A.T. commander, is called back into action and assembles a new team, including Street, Deke (LL Cool J), and Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez). They pass their big test just in time for the biggest S.W.A.T. challenge ever. An international dealer in drugs, weapons, and other items offers a reward of $100 million to anyone who can break him out of jail. This attracts every kind of thug and the ones with no idea about what they are doing are just as big a threat as the ones who do.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (16 ):

This generic summer explosion movie is as predictable as the rhymes in a limerick, but as predictably entertaining as well. There are no surprises in the story, but the action sequences deliver the goods that audiences for this film are there to receive. It is a shame to assemble a high-powered cast of some of the most talented and charismatic people in Hollywood and then not give them any opportunities to let them show us what they can do.

There is nothing distinctive about the characters, despite brief attempts to sketch in some details by showing one with a child, another on a date, and some tender partings when the officers' beepers go off. All these moments do is make stupifyingly obvious the supposed surprise plot twist half an hour before it occurs. Even more obvious is a "You're Chris Sanchez?" surprise that the officer played by Rodriguez is a woman; this from someone who is supposed to have selected her by reading through her file.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the other alternatives the character who commits suicide might have chosen.

Movie Details

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