The SWAT team portrayal in this film
Let me first just say I couldn't get past the first 30 minutes of this film due to the SWAT team. I thought the premise of a SWAT team going in and protecting somebody whilst they investigated the place sounded like a good idea, since I love the whole "survival" aspect of it all.
However, after 15 minutes I was starting to dislike the film. The SWAT team immediately crumbled, and were portrayed so unprofessionally. I'm quite adept at knowledge of special forces since it's long been a hobby of mine (I'm no expert though), and some of the tactics they used annoyed me so much. It shouldn't have, but it did. Here's a small list:
#1 - The SWAT team went in with a Stinger Battering Ram (compressed air piston ram). This is for initial door breaching at the beginning of an operation. It is then disgarded. This SWAT team took one inside with them, and then used it against an internal door. Not only is this unnecessary for another reason (explained next), but it's cumbersome and the whole idea of going into the building in the first place was to secure it and protect the civilian investigator.
#2 - Shotguns. You might've noticed that a couple of the SWAT members had shotguns. This is correct. One would use it as a primary weapon, and another would have one as well. These are used for internal breaches of doors to blow off hinges. This is why I disliked seeing the SWAT team go inside the building with the Battering Ram in the first place.
#3 - 4th SWAT member holding a massive camera. Why? All the SWAT members had cameras attached to their helmets. There was literally NO POINT in taking a huge camera into the building. None at all. It also made the film look cheap, and it looked a lot more authentic on the helmet cameras any way.
4# - Shot placement. SWAT and other Special Forces are taught, I should say drilled, to use the "double tap". This is a quick double-trigger pull on the weapon to ensure a takedown. Not only that, but they're trained to aim in the killshot area of torso-head at all times. There was a small portion of the film where one of the SWAT members sprayed like an OAP with an automatic, even hitting the walls either side of the possessed civilian.
5# - Quickdraw. In the same scene as above, when the SWAT member locks his gun up (why throw this in by the way?) by autofiring all his rounds, he then *beep* himself and starts saying his gun has jammed. Whether you're afraid or not, a Special Forces members first reaction to this would to holster his primary and quick draw his sidearm. Simple procedure, and surprisingly quick. But no, he locks himself in a bathroom then blows his brains out.
6# - Room clearing. It's standard that when a room is breached, 2 members wait at either side of the door, 1 kicks (or breaches with shotgun) it open, and another stands just behind him. Within a second of the door being breached, the members on the left and right enter, securing the far right and left corners, then the breacher and one behind enter and secure the two corners to the immediate left and right.
That is where I stopped. I'm sorry, but the SWAT team in this film really annoyed me to the point of turning the film off. I simply don't understand why writers can't write this stuff properly. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same. You see a SWAT, Special Forces, Marines or whatever scripted into a film and you expect them to be professional i.e. act cool under pressure, do room clearances in the right manner, use military lingo etc etc. It hardly ever does, especially in survival-horrors. The only thing they got right were the index fingers being flat on the rifle body and not always on the trigger.
I hope I'm not the only one to think this? I know it's just a small portion of the film, but I'm sure there's more people out there that wish films would just one day portray these forces in the correct light. I would love to see it scripted correctly, possibly even under the guidance of real special force members, and have them still die in the film any way. I don't want them ripping *beep* up then walking out high-fiving, but I want them to give one hell of a fight before they go.
Sorry for the long post, and it's probably not of an interest to anyone else here, and it'll get a few "you're waaaaaay over thinking it" but I was just wondering if anyone else thought the same. I also just wanted to get it out, lol.