S.W.A.T.
The movie begins in Los Angeles during a shootout between police officers and several bank robbers armed with automatic weapons. Officers put out a request for assistance from the Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T) Unit. The group, Jim Street (Colin Farrell) and Brian Gamble (Jeremy Renner) arrive on-scene and prepare to infiltrate the bank. The police captain, Thomas Fuller (Larry Poindexter) negotiates with the suspects, to get them to release several people being held hostage. One of the robbers has grabbed a woman and is holding her at gunpoint, using her as a shield. Gamble & Street infiltrate (disobeying orders) and Gamble shoots through the hostage's shoulder to end the standoff. Cap. Fuller is furious at Street & Gamble for their reckless actions, the wounded hostage is now suing the city. Fuller removes both officers from SWAT as punishment, regulating them to "cage duty" (distribution of weapons to other officers). Fuller offers Street a chance to remain on SWAT if Street rats out Gamble for recklessness. Street meets up with Gamble later on. Gamble believes Street has betrayed him and walks out-essentially leaving the police force behind. Six months later, Street is still in the gun cage. A new police officer, Sgt. Daniel Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) comes to the precinct and asks Street to fix his customized rifle. Street notes the custom job and is impressed. Hondo meets with his friend Lt. Velasquez (Reginald Cathey). Velasquez wants Hondo to form a new SWAT unit. Velasquez offers Hondo 2 of his own officers- T.J. McCabe (Josh Charles) and Michael Boxer (Brian Van Holt). Hondo decides to pick out 3 more candidates from the personnel files. Captain Fuller will have the final say. Street shows off a new idea he had for the SWAT teams: a gigantic hook & chain designed to bring down barricades. Sgt. Hondo comes in to collect his weapon and is impressed by Streets' work. Out at the officers' targeting range, T.J. manages to out-shoot Hondo, but Hondo bets $200 that Street is a better shot. T.J., not feeling threatened by a "gun bunny" like Street, agrees to the challenge. They face off, and Street ends up victorious. Meanwhile, a young man named Alex (Oliver Martinez) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport and heads out into the city. He intends to visit his uncle's favorite restaurant as a birthday surprise. Hondo recruits Street into being his driver for a day in order to recruit more SWAT members. They investigate an officer named Deacon Kay (LL Cool J), who is found in the middle of a foot pursuit with a suspect. Hondo ends the pursuit early, angering Deke. Hondo invites Deke to study at "SWAT school." Hondo & Street go to speak to a police officer named Chris Sanchez, who has applied and been rejected to SWAT three times previously. Officer Sanchez is a woman (Michelle Rodriguez), and women are not usually permitted to join the SWAT teams. Despite this, Hondo offers her a spot on the team. Hondo asks Street if he wants to fill the last spot on the team. Street is hesitant, knowing that Captain Fuller is very unlikely to approve him for SWAT. Street also confirms that he did not say anything bad against his old partner, Gamble. Hondo meets with the Captain, Fuller rejects both Sanchez & Street, but Hondo refuses to back down. Alex comes to a local gourmet restaurant and meets his uncle, who is shocked at his nephew's arrival. It appears that Alex's uncle has been stealing money from the family for some time, and Alex has come to exact revenge. Alex stabs his uncle and leaves the restaurant. Since the car Alex is driving is his uncles' (and there is an arrest warrant out for that name), the officers detain him for questioning and verification of his identity. The next day is the first day of SWAT school. Hondo puts the group through several tests- including infiltration, armor, weapons, physical conditioning and long-range shooting. They are soon performing admirably. Team's final evaluation. Fuller has set up a unique scenario- the team will have to infiltrate an airplane taken over by "terrorists"; they will have to take back the aircraft and take out all six hijackers within the time limit. While looking over the plane's schematics, Street realizes that there is an alternative entry point for the plane: a tiny elevator shaft which only one member of the team could fit through. Sanchez. They move into the plane, and the group takes out all the hijackers and sets a new record for the course in the process. Alex is still in jail, frustrated because his fingerprints do not match his identification and thus he must remain locked up. Sanchez follows Street to his favorite bar and witnesses a confrontation between Street and his ex-partner, Gamble. Then next day the SWAT team in activated for their first mission. Lt. Velasquez outlines the situation- a crazy man has barricaded himself in a house and is taking shots at officers through the windows. Street volunteers his grapple weapon, and the team uses it to tear down the man wall of the house, ending the standoff in seconds. At the sheriff's department, a deputy finds some details pertaining to Alex's true identity. Velasquez is notified and asks Hondo's unit to intercept and escort the prison bus carrying Alex. Alex's accomplices ambush the prison bus, and almost letting Alex get away before the SWAT unit arrives. Captain Fuller gives a press conference confirming that the man they have in custody is Alex Montel, an international fugitive wanted in over a dozen countries on charges including murder, arms dealing & drug trafficking. As Montel is being led to a holding cell, he faces a TV camera and pledges $100 million as a reward for anyone who breaks him out of jail. Hondo's unit is preparing to evacuate Montel via helicopter when the chopper is shot down by an unseen assailant. They take Montel back inside and form a new plan- to lead the fugitive away via a motor parade. Several gangsters attack the vehicles, hoping to free Montel. But the vehicles turn out to be a decoy, and Alex is being led down a private access area into some unmarked SUV's. Halfway through the second checkpoint, T.J. stops the car. He has decided to take Alex's offer. As they attempt to reason with him, Boxer is shot by T.J.'s partner- Gamble. Street screams out for help via the radio, and the rest of the team shows up within seconds. Hondo & Street chase Gamble's group into the local subway station. They miss the train and hope to catch it at the next station. But Deke & Sanchez report that the train did not arrive at the station, so they give chase in the tunnels. After nearly falling into an explosive trap set by Gamble, the team arrives outside the tunnel. At this point, Captain Fuller is furious- he suspects the entire team might be in on T.J.'s betrayal. He orders Hondo and his crew to stand down. As they drive out, Sanchez notices a low-flying jet over the city. They decide that the jet must be Gamble's plan for evacuating Montel. Fuller has previously sent all possible reinforcements to the local airport in an attempt to cut off the potential escape. Hondo & his group follow the jet, which is actually landing on a bridge rather than at the airport. Hondo gets radio confirmation that Gamble has hostages on board the airplane, and they need to stop the craft immediately to save innocent lives. Hondo drives their car into the landing gear of the plane, crippling it. A gun battle erupts between SWAT and Gamble's team. Sanchez is hit in the shootout, receiving a minor shoulder wound. Alex makes a break for it, but Deke follows (echoing his earlier foot pursuit) and re-captures Montel. Hondo confronts T.J. inside the plane. T.J. asks about Boxer. Hondo is hesitant but confirms that Boxer has received treatment and will presumably survive from his injuries. T.J. pulls out his gun and shoots himself in the head, preferring death over facing his actions. Street chases Gamble into a train yard, where they have one last fight. Street prevails, and Gamble is decapitated by a passing train. Fuller arrives, commending the team for their work, but pointing out that the job is not yet finished. They take a SWAT bus out to the nearest Federal prison, finally releasing custody of Montel to the proper authorities. As they sit on the bus, heading home, a report of a robbery in progress comes onto the police band. Hondo points out that their shift has technically been over for 12 hours. Despite this, the team agrees to mount up and head out to their next mission.
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