Before Suits, Gabriel Macht Almost Saved the SWAT Franchise

Suits turned Gabriel Macht into a TV star, but S.W.A.T: Firefight nearly made him the hero of a film franchise - if only it had been a better movie.

Audiences know Gabriel Macht as tenacious lawyer Harvey Specter on Suits. The series deservedly garnered the actor plenty of attention, because his performance combined with the sharp writing of Aaron Korsh to elevate Harvey beyond any other TV lawyer. Over nine seasons of Suits, viewers saw countless layers to him while he never stopped commanding a room. What viewers probably don't know is that just before Suits, Macht could've similarly catapulted the S.W.A.T. franchise.

In 2003, Columbia Pictures and Original Film adapted the 1970s TV show S.W.A.T. into a blockbuster motion picture starring Colin Farrell and a pre-MCU Samuel L. Jackson. It remains an incredibly underrated movie; it didn't reinvent the wheel, but it was a whole lot of fun and made better by the talents of the cast. So it seemed like a good idea when in 2011, Original Film came back with S.W.A.T.: Firefight, starring Macht as the new team leader. The sequel had every chance to succeed -- which makes it incredibly frustrating that it didn't.

SWAT Firefight Had an Underrated Cast

While its predecessor boasted A-list stars, S.W.A.T. Firefight wasn't lagging behind in its casting -- it was full of recognizable names, even if they weren't as well-known as Michelle Rodriguez or future NCIS franchise star LL Cool J. Macht had already starred or co-starred in several high-profile films, including Whiteout, The Spirit and alongside Farrell in The Recruit. And to work opposite him, the producers landed movies' most iconic villain: Robert Patrick, who terrified a generation as the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. That matchup created the core of a good movie. Every hero needs an equally imposing villain, and Patrick had the gravity that Olivier Martinez's original villain Alex Montel had lacked. On top of that, Patrick and Macht's acting styles complemented each other; both can be intense, but Patrick could show that intensity in Hatch's aggressive behavior, while Macht was great at having Cutler hold that in and having it quietly build up inside the character.

However, the supporting cast didn't get nearly enough to go on. The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito ably fulfilled an underwritten role as the rigid Inspector Hollander while Nicholas Gonzalez, who'd later play The Good Doctor fan-favorite Neil Melendez, was boxed into the part of "skeptical team member who criticizes the hero." The 2003 S.W.A.T. film gave every character personality -- even director Clark Johnson's brief cameo as another cop and Larry Poindexter's smarmy Captain Ted Fuller. There were no small roles in that movie. But Firefight didn't flesh out anyone beyond Cutler and Hatch... and even that might've been acceptable if the movie had gotten out of Macht and Patrick's way.

In 2003, S.W.A.T. was full of fantastic action sequences from the beginning, including a nail-biting opening based on the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout. However, it also played to its actors. Audiences saw how Jeremy Renner's Brian Gamble believably went from hero to villain, and supporting cast like the underappreciated Josh Charles had little scenes to give at least hints of what made their characters tick. (There was even an entire song on the soundtrack specifically called "Samuel Jackson" by Hot Action Cop.) Perhaps because Johnson is himself an actor, S.W.A.T. felt like the actors were essential to that movie. S.W.A.T.: Firefight had wonderful actors, but put the gunfights and explosions first.

SWAT Firefight's Script Killed the Film - And the Franchise

There's something to be said for a good popcorn film, and something to be said for just watching two great actors share the screen. Gabriel Macht had the talent to develop Paul Cutler into more than a generic hero -- the first act quickly established his screen presence and ability to ground an action scene, as Cutler was thrown into a hostage situation involving Hatch and Hatch's ex-girlfriend. Even with all the yelling and the frenetic camera work, Macht gave the audience someone to focus on. From that scene forward, his portrayal gave Cutler actual depth... but the screenplay didn't. It forced him into an obligatory romantic relationship with the local psychiatrist (played by Carly Pope, who'd later recur as Louis Litt's girlfriend Tara on Suits) and that was the bulk of his character development. Macht gave much more than the screenplay did, so when his proactive acting was matched up with a great writer in Aaron Korsh, audiences saw exactly how talented he is.

Robert Patrick fared a little better, since the role of Walter Hatch was clearly intended as a scenery-chewing villain, and Patrick had already done so numerous times in his career (see: Double Dragon and the John Cena movie The Marine). He sunk his teeth into that role and was as ruthless and irredeemable as he was supposed to be. Watching his gregarious villain play off Macht's more tempered hero was incredibly fun and had an unpredictable energy. But their chemistry got lost in constant action beats. The original S.W.A.T. film worked because there was a clearly established backstory and a genuine rapport between Jim Street and Gamble -- and the crux of the movie drilled down to that and let the actors shine. In S.W.A.T.: Firefight, the action consumed any meaningful character interaction or emotional stakes. The resolution was only about winning or losing... and as action movies go, it still wasn't that exciting.

But Gabriel Macht can't be faulted for that. He made Paul Cutler into a hero worth following. There could have been a memorable, entertaining series of S.W.A.T. films with Cutler restarting his career in Detroit. But because the script thought action films only needed action, S.W.A.T.: Firefight underutilized two great actors. Instead, audiences got an even less coherent movie in S.W.A.T: Under Siege -- and the franchise only found itself when S.W.A.T. moved back to TV. If the writers had been as sharp as Macht and given him more scenes to carve into, it could've also succeeded on the big screen, too.