Sweeney!

A no frills film in keeping with the series, the genre and the time.

This is a film about edgy London police in an edgy London in the edgy 70's. You could of course substitute "edgy" for "dodgy" in the above sentence and it would still be true...

For those of us around in the 70's it, like the series, is fantastically atmospheric. The hair, the clobber (look out for Regan's green anorak), the boozers, the motors, the women.

The plot is far less important than the characters who are all superb, and a particular mention for the young (and very beautiful) Diane Keen, and to a lesser extent Linda Bellingham - whose nudity makes you look at those OXO adverts very differently (or it would if they were still on) The film also gives some extra scope to the relationship between Regan & Carter, and there are some edgy moments between the 2, starting with their morning-after-the-night-before and culminating in the dramatic ending and indeed the film's last words. One of the many things I liked about the Sweeney was its realism and how it didn't portray its main characters as heroes but showed their dark sides and their failures.

I loved the TV Sweeney, for me John Thaw's (God rest his soul) Regan is one of, if not the, best TV characters of all time and this is an appropriate and very satisfying movie length "episode" Hollywood it ain't guv'nor, and for me thats what makes it the boll***s.

When one of his informants is murdered, Detective Inspector Jack Regan is drawn into a deadly political game. He is soon a marked man and, after being framed, is suspended from duty. This doesn't stop him searching for the murderers and the truth.

A full-length movie spin-off of the popular TV show The Sweeney (1974-78). The movie includes the two main characters of the show, DI Jack Regan (played by John Thaw) and DS George Carter (Dennis Waterman) as well as a few other characters.

The result is a great mix of police investigation, intriguing conspiracy at the highest level and enthralling action scenes. The dynamic between Regan and Carter also provides some great lighter moments.

Not perfect - the plot does feel a bit holey at times and the ending is a bit odd - but it's still very intriguing and entertaining.

Detectives Regan & Carter investigate the suspected murder of a prostitute and find that there is major corruption, blackmail and murder bubbling under the surface.

Sweeney! is a TV spin-off that further pushes the grit and grime that had been established in the hugely popular series. Boasting call girls, blood, automatic weapon carnage, more blood and lots of shouting, it does in short have most things fans of the series could want. It also serves as a interesting snap-shot of mid to late 70s London as various sequences operate in and around the old smoke. Yet in spite of its guts and gusto and nicely woven plot {incorporating the oil slant}, it ultimately sags too often and criminally under uses Dennis Waterman's Carter. This is really about John Thaw's Reagan. Fine for fans of the always excellent Thaw, but this was a dynamite duo, and somewhere along the way somebody made a poor decision to focus on one part of the team.

The cast is filled out with notable British actors as the story unfolds. Barry Foster {Frenzy}, Ian Bannen {Too Late the Hero}, Colin Welland {Straw Dogs}, Brian Glover {Kes} and Diane Keen; who was a star of many a British TV production. It's pretty much one for fans only, because you get the feeling that newcomers, although sure to be impressed with its toughness, will wonder just what all the fuss was about back in the sweary Sweeney 70s. 6/10

This ropey old seventies schlock turns up as a late nighter ever so often. In an attempt to open up the series for the 'big' (snigger) screen, the makers involved Regan and Carter in a 'big' plot involving government MP's and big business, namely oil barons who will stop at nothing, even dodgy hitmen, to achieve their sinister aims. The result is uncomfortable and frequently risible viewing. The film making is curiously sloppy. Regan and Carter start the film off with a bang by plunging headfirst into self parody by waking up late and drunk with air hostesses draped all over their couch (not that they live together, they're not like THAT). These men are macho, right? They abuse their positions by diverting police vehicles to give their girlfriends lifts to work and have no qualms about drink driving, so SHUT IT! After rolling around the pavements with bear guts and clothes awry, they arrive at Scotland Yard just in time for a bit of far fetched gratuitous violence against a bunch of blaggers (armed robbers, for our cousins across the pond).

The funniest performance comes from Barry Foster who, replete with outrageously bogus American accent, plays a blackmailing personal secretary to a government minister who is also into extortion, prostituition and murder. You know, the usual CV. He spends the entire film trying to keep a low profile with his involvement in OPEC dealings in high places by drawing as little attention to himself as possible. He achieves this by sending out two of the most hilariously conspicuous hitmen you've ever seen who run around London with a submachine and bombs wearing a series of very obvious disguises, not least the highly risky impersonation of police officers. A text book discreet hit? How about machine gunning three villains to death in broad daylight in a scrap yard. One of the villains, who suspects a conspiracy behind his girlfriends murder, we are led to believe was not even slightly suspicious of two maniacal police officers holding a machine gun in a plastic bag making unlikely enquiries. You could excuse this heavy handed slaughter as an attempt to make the murders look like a gangland execution. Trouble is, they maintain the same gobsmacking "hello-BANG!-here we are" strategy for the rest of the film. Later on one of the hitmen poses as a window cleaner to plant a bomb in the office of a newspaper reporter. He is seen very obviously handling a suspicious package practically under the nose of actor Colin Weiland (the hitmen are coming! The hitmen are coming!) and then takes out the detonator box while still walking across an office filled with secretaries. Yup, call in the professionals. Not surprisingly he is nearly busted. Later, in another subtle attempt not to draw attention to themselves, the hitmen load a submachine gun on the fire escape of a hotel in broad daylight and then fill a room with lead. In the ensuing chase to kill Regan and actress Dianne Keen (curiously miscast as a call girl) they then shoot dead a bobby on the beat so as not to create a stir in the tv and press. Unsurprisingly, with help like this Barry Foster is doomed to a sticky end which Carter blames his boss Regan for, in a would-be controversial freeze frame ending. LEAVE IT OUT George, those hitman almost shot you to death in a fracas outside your apartment block...so SHUT IT!

The budget on this film seems no higher than the series and affords a few cheesy and tacky kipper tie laughs if you're in the mood for some nostalgia. If not, then I'LL give you a RIGHT SPANKING!

'' Sweeney'', made in 1977 is a spinoff from the hugely popular and acclaimed drama which ran from ( 1975-1978), and starred John Thaw, Dennis waterman as two gruff and world weary policeman in the fast paced world of 1970s London in the department of the Police known as ' the flying squad'.

It was customary at the time for British Sitcoms if they were popular to get the big screen treatment. The sweeney was one of the few dramas which got the opportunity the film takes a different creative approach than the series and is more on the level of James Bond and the Professionals than anything else.

The plot: after a call girl played by the late Linda Bellingham is found dead in a hotel room after an supposed overdose, an old associate of Jack Regan's asks him to investigate the circumstances of her death his investigation leads him into a murky world of corruption and unpleasantness against an almost unstoppable criminal organisation with more than its fair share of double dealings.

The film Isn't as quite as good as the series but it's professional and competent piece of work in the quality of storytelling which isn't a routine cops and robbers story but the slant of political intrigue is a nice breath of fresh air.

The performances are decent the film is a showcase for the late John Thaw as Regan who is brilliant in the film, Dennis waterman is left on the sidelines in this film and doesn't have a lot of screentime with Thaw but otherwise turns in a fine performance. Barry Foster from the tv series ' Vander Faulk' is a credible villain if a bit over the top and pantomime at times his American accent isn't very good but otherwise he does alright.

Diane Keen from the BBC one sitcom: ' the cuckoo waltz', starring with another pre famed action hunk named Lewis Collins from the professionals is a good counter argument to thaw's gruff streetwise performer as a local lady of the night caught up in political intrigue.

Garfield Morgan who played John and Dennis' superintendent ' Frank Haskins', was absent from the film because he asked for a bigger salary than the producers could accommodate him for so his role was taken by Morris perry who was quite lacklustre but a satisfactory replacement.

Overall: ' Sweeney Is a decent spinoff of the popular 1970s drama, whilst not quite as good it benefits from intricate storytelling, a tour de force performance by John Thaw as Jack Regan which keeps the film balanced and script is a sharp and witty as ever.

Highly recommended if you're a fan of the series.