Sweeney! (1977)

I love this movie so much

A different way of telling a story

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

As a recent fan of the series the movie came with the box set I purchased. Of course it is different to the series, Haskins being the main omission and the focus is definitely on John Thaw's excellent Jack Regan character. This feels different to the series, the violence level is upped, the stakes are raised and the action is more intense. Particularly one part when Thaw just manages to save a high class hooker and himself from being assassinated and they go on the run through the streets while shooting and mayhem ensues, including a graphic scene of a copper being shot in the head! I did find the violence level shocking but I liked it - I get the feeling they really went for it and the result was exiting. Its a great slice of 70s hard boiled cop action check it out.

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

I suppose anyone born in the late 60s or before is going to look fondly on this, and I'm no exception. I don't know about you but watching this (and the series of course) makes me think that there is just something missing in today's police related stuff on TV. It comes across as too sanitized, too clean, as though every 'officer' is reduced to some kind of professional stereotype (the good guy, the bad guy, the guy trying to escape his typecasting as Mark Fowler etc etc).'Sweeney' comes across as REAL. Of course it's cannon fodder for all those comments about trim phones, flares, kipper ties etc, but let's face it folks, at least the 70s had an IDENTITY. What is there now? What differentiates a 15 year old episode of 'The Bill' from one made in 2005? Not much I reckon.That's why this is good - real people with real personalities, foibles, quirks etc behaving human beings. I remember once that Regan was asked why he was still an inspector - 'I don't play golf' was the response. How true is that in the wider world! Enough rambling - the film itself. To me the acting is uniformally excellent; Foster doesn't come across as negatively pragmatic or oleaginous till mid way through the film, and the way his plan unfolds slowly as your distaste for him increases is carefully handled. By the end, you're rooting for him to get his come uppance. Also, the way Regan is hemmed in by those in authority as the film progresses is nicely claustrophobic, particularly when a suspended Regan meets Carter in a pub and is advised to 'get yourself some Alka Seltzer.' There are many quotable one liners here, deftly delivered by key protagonists. 'Alright Tinkerbell, you're nicked' is up there with 'in a thin glass' IMHO. Of course, they needed a 'big' plot to fill 90 minutes, and comparisons with Watergate and the general economic malaise endemic in Britain in the mid 70s are obvious. But put all that to one side folks - if you liked the series, you will like this, especially if, like me, you can remember a time when watching something on TV was an event to look forward to.

** Spoiler warning **I remember catching part of this late one evening on telly when I was much younger and recalled it being fairly good. Then the DVD came out and I was on to it quickly.Save your Nelsons, lads.What this film has going for it is the moody, grey 1970s cinematography giving it a dose of realism, the beauty of Diane Keen, and the groovy score, but there's little more. The sound on my DVD was awful. David Wickes' direction is not of his usual high standard and Ranald Graham seems to have inserted violence just because he could. Even Regan and Carter seem to lack their usual panache from the TV series, and I could have done without the thought of the former exposing himself to Carter and his neighbours in one scene. As to Barry Foster, his "American" accent seems to derive from somewhere between Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins and the entire cast of Mind Your Language. It was that bad.I have a problem with the script in general. Graham tries to politicize it, but one gets the feeling these elements are tacked on to the murders to make the film supposedly "intelligent". It fails on that score. If Graham had a one-hour format, he could have succeeded – his 'Blind Run' episode on The Professionals is a superior work.He creates so many loose ends that it is tidily summarized by a civil servant 10 minutes before the close. Regan asks one or two questions and the whole conspiracy is explained in about 60 sec, while reminding him that he's still bound by the Official Secrets Act.This is all done with the production budget of period television. Here's Regan in an old Ford Escort and Carter in a (then-) 10-year-old Vauxhall Viva. No prizes for guessing whether they'd wind up with a few dents.The dissatisfying ending, as an earlier reviewer stated, is played up for controversy but is ultimately weak – having parallels with other Graham scripts. It tries to leave things up in the air as though we have to guess how Regan might get himself out of his pickle. What pickle? Come to think of it, what conspiracy?It's one of those rare cases where the sequel is superior to the original. That could be, however, fond childhood memories coming through again.