Jim Street (Colin Farrell) is an L.A.P.D. officer whose recent demotion to a desk job leaves him desperate for a second chance to don the elite S.W.A.T. uniform. That break comes when team commander Hondo (Samuel L. Jackson) is assigned to recruit and train five top-notch officers for a new Special Weapons and Tactics unit (S.W.A.T.). After weeks of rigorous physical training, the new team is quickly thrown into action when a notorious drug lord (Olivier Martinez), offers a $100 million reward to anyone who can free him from police custody. While accompanying the drug lord out of Los Angeles into the hands of the Feds, the S.W.A.T. team is pursued by a ruthless and well-armed band of reward seekers.