Even the most ardent of Samuel L. Jackson fans would struggle to make their way through his entire back catalogue, with the prolific actor having starred in well over 150 movies throughout his career at this point. The 72 year-old simply loves to work and will sign on to almost anything that comes across his desk, which inevitably means that the consistency of his filmography is all over the place.
He’s been in all-time classics like Goodfellas, Jurassic Park and Pulp Fiction, lent support in several of the highest-grossing movies ever made thanks to his recurring role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he’s also a regular presence in the realm of bargain basement VOD thrillers. Indeed, Jackson has starred in countless mediocre action films over the last four decades, and one of his more forgotten efforts is proving to be surprisingly popular on Netflix since being added to the library.
S.W.A.T. is based on the popular 1975 TV show of the same name, and the formulaic blockbuster was about as early 2000s as you could possibly hope to see. Director Clark Johnson made his feature debut on the project after cutting his teeth in law enforcement television with the likes of NYPD Blue and The Shield, while the script was co-written by David Ayer, with Fast and Furious stalwarts Neil H. Mortiz and Chris Morgan also involved.
Colin Farrell may have taken the lead role as Jim Street, but Samuel L. Jackson gave the best performance out of the cast as Hondo. S.W.A.T. isn’t a great movie by any means, but it is a reasonably diverting one, and after earning $207 million at the box office back in 2003, it now finds itself gaining a second life as the tenth most popular title on Netflix today.
