Sweeney 2

I will go with the majority opinion here. Sweeney 2 definitely beats Sweeney as the best film spin-off. No silly conspiracy stories, just good old fashioned blaggers and Regan and Carter doing what they do best. Not to say that Sweeney was a bad film, just it was too far removed from the series.

The story pits our favourite coppers against a gang of ex-pat blaggers who travel back to England from Malta every time they need more funds. As a highly professional, ruthless group, they are not easy to catch and Regan finds himself under the cosh, being pressured by his boss (Nigel Hawthorn) to get a result before the inquiry is taken away from them.

Sweeney 2 is more than just an extended Sweeney episode. It's considerably stronger in terms of both violence and bad language that even the ground-breaking series never approached. The fact that in the cinema it was certified 'AA' (now 15) but has always been an X/18 rated video shows that it hasn't mellowed over time.

Although the film drags badly in the middle, this is more than compensated for by the spectacular action scenes and a tense final 25 minutes. The scene where the blaggers crash a Ford Cortina through a shop window, and leaving a police car trailing in it's wake, is an absolute corker and one of the iconic images from the film (look at the video cover if you don't believe me).

Although Sweeney 2 is very much a film for fans of the series, I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good police yarn. There is definite nostalgia value of the scenes of '70's London and it's great playing 'spot the familiar TV actor' as the film included the likes of Ken Hutchinson, Brian Hall, Georgina Hale and Derrick O'Connor.

Before he was taking down on corruption charges, Judd had assigned DI Regan the case of a gang of bank robbers. With Judd out of the picture, the Flying Squad keep the case as a mark of respect – just as the robberies become more violent than ever, with the latest getaway leaving a trial of bodies in their wake. With precious few leads, Regan and his team get to work, all too aware that it is only a matter of time before the gang strike again.

In a way Life on Mars has helped and hindered The Sweeney for viewers looking back on it with little knowledge of it the first time around. I was far too young for the series when it was aired and never bothered with it when it was repeated later in our multichannel world. Life on Mars has affectionately referenced the world of The Sweeney and this has meant that, although I am now aware of the genre, I'm also less likely to take it as seriously as it was intended. However watching this film it is evident that The Sweeney didn't take itself too seriously either and it appears to be enjoying its 70's excess and tough non-PC characters just as much as Life on Mars did. The air of humour is obvious but it doesn't take away from the tough tone that the majority has to it.

Of course this is not to say that the film itself is much cop and personally I didn't think much of it once the fun retro novelty of the film had worn off. The plot is a bit too thin to stretch to the feature-length running time and the strain does show at many points. This also means that it moves too slowly at times and loses the sense of urgency that it has in its better moments. The cast offer little but the touch male of the period. Looking back it is odd to see Thaw, Waterman, Elliott, Hawthorne and others in this type of role but, within the context of this film, they do enough to carry it.

Like my fellow reviewer Theo already said though, at least it does seem to be common with the original tone of the series, for better or worse. The novelty value got me into it and the touches of humour and tough style were more or less sufficient to make it entertaining, but regardless it is what it is.

When British cinema of the 70s is discussed, "Sweeney 2" rarely gets a mention. Yet it illustrates the changing times as vividly as many better-known films. The blazing action of "Sweeney!" is replaced by a thoughtful film that, although more low-key, is perhaps a more accurate reflection of the television series.

Regan and Carter are on the trail of a gang of bank-robbers who, from their idyllic base on Malta, occasionally return to Britain (a country they believe to be "finished") to carry out violent and well-planned raids. The men lead a luxurious communal lifestyle with their wives and children yet it is one financed by thrusting sawn-off shotguns into the faces of terrified bank cashiers and taking hostages (one of whom, a young woman, is killed in the raid that opens the film). They seem to symbolise the souring of the 60s dream.

Other details are equally telling. A young schoolteacher tells George Carter that she "doesn't like policemen". No longer does the force command widespread public respect. Regan's boss (the excellent Denholm Elliott) is facing imprisonment on corruption charges, reflecting the corruption trials that so stained the image of the Metropolitan Police in the 70s.

On their abortive trip to Malta to try to interview the men, Regan and Carter are plainly jealous and angry when they witness the lifestyle of their targets - a far cry from their grimy world of bacon sandwiches from burger vans and knees-ups down the local. But by the end of "Sweeney 2" and a year before Margaret Thatcher won power in Britain, it is the defiantly working-class coppers who have the last laugh, joined by their girlfriends for a boozy celebration - while the wives of the bank robbers prove less reliable.

Euston Films had a track record of producing high-quality television and (in this case) film. "Sweeney 2" fully confirms this. There are good supporting performances from Nigel Hawthorne, Lewis Fiander and Derrick O'Connor plus an exciting score by Tony Hatch. The action scenes, although lesser in number than in the first film, are superbly handled by one of the TV show's action specialists, director Tom Clegg.

Recommended.

The second and final Sweeney movie has eventually been released in high definition and it was worth the wait. As someone who has only recently watched all of The Sweeney TV serious it was a surprise to hear that they released a number of movies.

The first film was very good if obviously a bit more bloody than the TV series. The question is whether the second lives up to the first?

The story? Well its a Sweeney story so it obviously involves bank robbers. The twist here is that this time its robbers who live abroad and come back to rob in London. So that is where Sexy Beast nicked their story from.

In this film there is a bit more sex and swearing including a few F bombs dropped which is surprising to say the least. The story however isn't as tight this time around, it takes longer to get going and there are a few sub plot parts which don't really add to the story, they feel like padding. If you are a Sweeney fan then its right up your street, the only other downside is that they seem to be guilty of recycling actors from the series which is a bit strange when you are expected to forget they played other characters in the Sweeney Universe. The finale in this one however is much better than the first film, which seemed to end on a weird scene. There is also something else a bit odd with both movies and that is the relationship between the two main characters, Regan is definitely Regan but George doesn't really behave the same way as he does in the series?

If you like the TV Sweeney you will love the Cinema Sweeney. These are great stand alone films regardless of whether you have seen the series, but I can see someone who hasn't seen the series binging on them after catching up with the movies. While Life On Mars was decent, this is better and the real reason LOM was popular in the first place.

In my review of the television series I mentioned that THE SWEENEY has its episodes split between " comedy " episodes and " violent " episodes and after seeing the two film versions of the show this theory certainly holds up . The first SWEENEY film was a gritty political thriller with a high body count while the second film features a lot of humerous moments like the big John appeal box , " Remember- rubber is recyclable " , " When I said you couldn`t organise a p*ss up at a brewary George I was wrong " and there`s a running gag involving driver Robert Soames . That`s not to say that this film should be classed as a black comedy , just that it contains darkly comic moments like the original series did .

As has been noted the plot which involves a quasi fascist bunch of bank robbers could have easily have been made as a one hour episode ( And the film seems to have the budget of a one hour television episode ) but at least - Unlike the film versions of LOST IN SPACE and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - this film resembles the television show it`s based upon