S.W.A.T. (2017)

[Director Justin] Lin’s aesthetic palette may be admirably fresh for broadcast, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of characterization, S.W.A.T. can’t help but feel as stale as the show it’s ostensibly modernizing. [3 Nov 2017, p.56]

With its characters at once thin and broad; its L.A. backdrop; and its mix of existential philosophizing, social commentary and corny representations of hot-button issues, “S.W.A.T.” also recalls and has some of the appeal of Jack Webb’s classic "Dragnet," but with a more progressive outlook and a sprinkling of sex scenes.

S.W.A.T. had a chance to do something different, maybe even provocative. So far, the same old-same old.

It’s a pretty pedestrian procedural.

Give them credit for trying a different take on cop shows, but S.W.A.T. simply falls flat in every conceivable way.

S.W.A.T, on the other hand, is nothing but action figures, and when the characters do speak, they sound so moronic you may as well watch the show with the sound off.

S.W.A.T. is the most vapid, rah-rah ridiculous kind of cop show imaginable—a superhero fantasy that takes place in a Los Angeles populated by mustache-twirling villains and gorgeous, perfect-in-spite-of-their-flaws cops.

Of course every character is a cardboard cutout of a human being. The job of the show is to solve difficult problems in an easily understood way for the masses who are otherwise cooking dinner or checking their email. Complexity and shades of gray just get in the way. It's hard for the fellas to take care of business if you muck up the lines between good and bad.

Heavy-handed in both its law enforcement and dialogue.

Although it tries to carve out its own space, the series can’t really make itself something more than a standard cop show. It's a lesser rehash of the 1970s TV series and 2003 film, despite an exceedingly appealing star.