Firearms specialist Patrick McNamara has strongly criticized Samuel L. Jackson’s box office hit, S.W.A.T., which grossed $207 million. McNamara awarded the film just one star due to what he perceives as numerous inaccuracies. Although Jackson has starred in many remarkable action films, including his iconic role as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction and other adrenaline-fueled titles like The Hitman’s Bodyguard, The Hateful Eight, and Kingsman: The Secret Service, S.W.A.T. stands out for its lack of realism in action sequences.
Throughout his illustrious career, Samuel L. Jackson has tackled many roles, from quintessential action hero to a supporting mentor. Significant franchises featuring Jackson include the Shaft series and his pivotal role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, one of his roles from 2003 put him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons when it came to accurately portraying law enforcement procedures.
S.W.A.T. Receives Low Rating for Accuracy From Firearms Expert
The Movie’s Training Scene Lacks Realism
McNamara specifically focused on S.W.A.T., a film inspired by the 1975 crime drama. In this movie, Jackson’s character, Sergeant Dan “Hondo”Harrelson, endeavors to bring the drug lord Alex Montel, played by Olivier Martinez, to justice while simultaneously thwarting a plot to rescue him in exchange for a $100 million bounty. Despite its commercial success, boasting a $70 million budget and return of $207.7 million, the film received mixed reviews from critics, holding a 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In an analysis featured in Insider’s series How Real Is It?, McNamara scrutinized the film’s training scenarios, particularly a moment involving Officer Jim Street, portrayed by Colin Farrell. One of McNamara’s main critiques was directed at an unnecessary roll performed by a character, asserting that such behavior compromises safety and mobility during real-life combat situations. He further noted flaws in scenes from the shooting range, including the mishandling of gun malfunctions and unrealistic training competition results. The commentary includes this notable excerpt:
One of the S.W.A.T. cops, during his movement from Point A to Point B, does a little roll. Nonsense. The objective when moving from one point to the other is to get there! It’s hard to shoot a moving target, you have to eliminate predictability, and mobility equals survivability. Don’t do a roll.
You can see that it’s what’s called a failure to eject. So the round extracts, the brass extracts, but it didn’t eject. He keeps squeezing the trigger. Trained gun owners are not gonna do that. The sound and feel of that malfunction is very, very unique. So if you continue to try to fire a gun with a failure to eject, you’re gonna squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, forever. Nothing’s gonna happen. Ever. It’s not a catastrophic malfunction, but it’s a very, very easy one to clear!
So there was another thing that really drove me crazy with the scene. First off, the bullet holes looked ridiculous, big rips in the paper and everything. They looked nothing like bullet holes in paper. And then you wouldn’t have an R.O. [Ranger Officer] put his finger in the hole and announce, “This guy’s the winner! This guy didn’t meet up to the standard!”Whatever, like that. It’s just very unrealistic. They would have been right there checking the targets themselves.
I would rate this clip a 1 [out of 10]. Action movies, you have to suspend reality. When an action movie is, let’s say, highlighting police or military, I think you have to be more careful with realism. This one here was riddled with buffoonery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
P0PD8mW-lVw
Implications of S.W.A.T.’s Unrealistic Training Scene on the Movie’s Overall Credibility
The Unrealistic Nature Likely Affects the Entire Film
While S.W.A.T. draws inspiration from an actual law enforcement unit, the issues highlighted by McNamara suggest that the unrealistic elements may permeate the film. Critics have offered varying feedback, with some asserting that certain action sequences felt authentic, whereas many fundamental scenes struggled to resonate with realism. As a result, the film continues to serve as one of Jackson’s lesser-known roles, overshadowed by its mixed critical reception and its roots as a remake of a classic TV series.
Following its release, S.W.A.T. spawned two direct-to-video sequels: S.W.A.T.: Firefight in 2011 and S.W.A.T.: Under Siege in 2017, featuring different casts. Additionally, the film established the foundation for the CBS series S.W.A.T., which premiered in 2017 and continues to explore the adventures of elite law enforcement officers.
Source: Insider/YouTube
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