The Sweeper (1996 Video) User Reviews

Star Chamber on steroids...

[fmarkland32 · 6/10 · 11 January 2007]

C. Thomas Howell stars as Mark Goddard, a cop who witnessed his father Dale (The always welcome Jeff Fahey) murdered by mobsters, however as the lone wolf survivor, it's a psychological problem that carries over into his police career, after killing his ninth suspect, Goddard is asked to join a vigilante squad that wipe out the scum of the earth, however when Goddard suspects the squad had a hand in his father's murder, it's one-man-army time with C. Thomas Howell! The Sweeper, believe it or not is far more well made than you would expect. You go in expecting an overall terrible movie but come out somewhat surprised with the overall over the top approach the director treats the material with. The Sweeper comes from the kitchen-sink mentality in the way its action sequences are conducted. In other words this is a throw-back to the 80's, where action punctuated everything. However what is most shocking is that The Sweeper actually stays consistently entertaining even in its character development sequences and C.Thomas Howell makes for a decent action hero, although his haircut is pretty bad. Overall movies like The Sweeper succeed in delivering what you mainly expect and although the movie has ludicrous moments, The Sweeper works as an adequate action vehicle for C. Thomas Howell. Also for the bargain bin, this far exceeds any expectations.

* *1/2 out of 4-(Pretty good)

Great balls of fire........

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 8 August 2012]

Here we have a movie that carries on screen explosions to new lofty levels. Chase scenes with exploding propane tanks and gasoline trucks, create almost continuous mayhem. So what's not to like about "The Sweeper"? Quite a bit actually, starting with a most unlikable performance by C. Thomas Howell. Long boring diatribes about things as mundane as breakfast cereals permeate this disjointed, loosely connected mess of a film. In addition, continuity problems distract, such as where broad daylight suddenly turns into the blackest night. I say this, the stunts are definitely worth checking out, so simply fast forward between fire balls, and avoid the in between. - MERK

Typical action fare from PM Entertainment

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 11 October 2017]

THE SWEEPER is another solidly enjoyable action flick from PM Entertainment, made at the height of their powers when they were churning out one action-packed bit of spectacle after another. This one has a great opening car chase involving supporting actor Jeff Fahey, before the plot moves on to maverick cop C. Thomas Howell (virtually unrecognisable behind long hair and a beard) and his efforts to get revenge on the gangsters behind his father's death. The plot is nothing special here, but there are a couple of familiar faces in the supporting cast (Ed Lauter, Fulton Perry) and the action comes thick and fast, with all of the hand-to-hand combat, shoot-outs, vehicle chases, explosions, and big, slow motion crashes that PM used to shoot so well.

Movies for Guys who like Movies

[caspian1978 · 23 June 2004]

The title of the movie doesn't do justice for what the movie is about. If I had it my way, I would have called this movie "Fire and Explosions!" Half the movie has something or other blowing up and catching on fire. Almost a hundred people are shot and killed by either C. Thomas Howell or one of the other hit-men. The acting and direction are good. Surprisingly, for a straight to video release, the movie has excellent production value equal to many Hollywood movies. This is one of C. Thomas Howell better film as he holds most of the movie together. The only problem I had with the movie was its story. Like one of Howell's victims that gets shot up with a number of bullets, this story had a lot of holes in it. A typical story for many action movies you see late at night on Cinemax, The Sweeper is one of th better films to watch. A movie for your typical guy who likes explosions, fire, bullets flying and nudity, The Sweeper is terrific.

Just Another Day in L.A. Traffic

[PretentiousFilmCritic · 2/10 · 13 April 2018]

Fifteen years ago, a gang brutally murders a family in connection with the mob. Unfortunately, Mark (C. Thomas Howell) survives the incident and becomes a violent police officer. Later, Justice Incorporated manipulates Mark into becoming a vigilante to find the criminals associated with his family's murder.

The action sequences within this movie are outrageous, pointless, and clumsy, but I'm gobsmacked by the hilarity of these adrenaline-fueled action set pieces. It has to be seen to be believed. For instance (spoilers), a man bursts into flames and sprints at Mark. To avoid the burning man, Mark jumps out of a three story-building window and rebounds through the roof of a white van. He escapes in the nick of time before the burning man falls into the explosive white van. Truly awe-inspiring!

After the action scenes, there's nothing to recommend. Mark is obnoxious and unlikeable. For instance, a partner asks him a simple question and he screams at her face. His behavior continues throughout the movie. The narrative is disjointed with nonstop structure problems from the beginning and many questions go unanswered, but at least he's safe with his family.

Action force

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 19 March 2006]

"The Sweeper" was shown recently on Showtime. Not having seen it before, we decided to take a chance that paid off well. That said, the film is by no mean a great one, but the director, Joseph Merhi, did wonders as far as filming some of the most amazing sequences of the genre.

The story is nothing new. A secret organization recruits young cop, Mark, to join their forces. He has been selected after killing bad guys in the line of duty. Deep down inside, he is always looking to revenge the death of his parents.

The opening scene of "The Sweeper" offers a car and motorcycle chase down a pier in Los Angeles that keeps us wondering how was it achieved. The next thrilling sequence involves the grown up Mark, now an undercover cop, pursuing a mugger who has stabbed one of his partners into a nearby building. How was Mr. Merhi and his crew able to shoot that chase on the roof of a high rise in downtown L.A, is beyond comprehension. The whole thing feels real.

The same goes for another car chase on a busy highway in which gas tanks are sent into the road and then ignited by the bad guy Mark is pursuing when he fires at them. The last montage involves a small plane that lands on the highway and Mark manages to hold to a wheel.

As an action movie, "The Sweeper", offers a lot to the viewer that sticks with it to the end. Joseph Merhi did the impossible to bring these images to the screen.

check your brain at the door this is an above average "blow s*&t up" movie

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 18 July 2004]

Having a past that involves his whole family getting killed and his wife leaving him (granted MANY years apart),an undercover cop is recruited by a secretive vigilante organization, after he proves to be a loose cannon.These are the times that I'm glad to have premium cable channels, as this film has no right to be this good. C. Thomas Howell is NOT a movie actor I particularly like. The writers were responsible for such crap-fests as "Direct Hit", "T-Force", and the Anna Nichole Smith travesty "Skyscraper". The I wouldn't give any of the Director previous movies the time of day. Long story short if I passed it upon a video store self, I'd keep walking, but one restless night when there was nothing else on TV & so I watched it. Was really surprised to find a pretty damn good action movie. Even Mr. Howell is pretty good in it.

My Grade: B+

Where I saw it: Showtime too

Eye Candy: Kristen Dalton as Rachel shows breasts in a shower/sex combo scene

Now this is an action movie!

[BroadswordCallinDannyBoy · 8/10 · 30 August 2005]

I was quite skeptical when I picked this up off of the shelf at the video store. This film (about which I have heard nothing before) was probably a direct-to-video release from a no name movie director and producer with a lead actor who isn't that well know. I have seen my share of cheesy low budget action movies before and they can be quite entertaining for how dumb they are. Take some Steven Seagal movies recently: they are embarrassingly bad but if you want to watch a crappy movie and get a laugh they are great.

I approached this movie with that very attitude only to be totally surprised by the all out action scenes and some remarkably awesome car chases. From the intro to the final scene this movie just rolls along with shootouts, chases, and of course, obligatory B-movie sex. What's more is that the action is better than most big-budget, star-laden productions, because the action here is just action, not so much obvious choreography, but s**t blowing up! Cars flipping over! One pistol in each hand and too much ammo! Guys flying back with bloody squibs bursting! Of course the action was, in fact, choreographed, but that factor is much less in your face then say... a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. Bad Boys 2 had a $130 million budget, 2 big stars, other known actors, a big director, and probably Hollywoods current most powerful, money-loaded producer (who has, in fact, made some good films), but that all didn't stop Bad Boys 2 from being a glamorous over done mess. An example from the other end of the spectrum would be Alone in the Dark. That film didn't have an astronomical budget ($20 million) but it was still to glammy and the effects seemed to be there just to show them off. And, in the end, the film was generally hated and now owns a very special spot on the IMDb bottom 100.

The Sweeper is not like that in anyway and, as far as mainstream action films go, it is more like Ronin. Though I must say Ronin is better than The Sweeper, as the story aspect in it is much better. Here the story is pretty much an excuse for all action, but if you want to watch an action film, will you really complain? Entertainment doesn't have to be story perfect. And both Ronin and The Sweeper spare the viewer the "big and overdone" aspect that Jerry Bruckheimer and his good friend Michael Bay love to specialize in. Also, ironically, Ronin didn't fare that well at the US box office despite having respectable actors and good director, because people just want fun and glam too much. I guess truly good action films are like heavy metal: everyone knows they exist, but other forms of the same thing dominate the charts. And both have their own loyal audience. 8/10

Rated R: violence and profanity

Merhi delivers again!

[HaemovoreRex · 7/10 · 2 August 2009]

The very sadly missed PM Entertainment......Without a doubt, they consistently delivered some of the best and most OTT action sequences ever filmed and for proof one need look no further than this testosterone oozing, car exploding, crazy stunt filled effort starring C Thomas Howell as a bad ass cop with a proclivity to kill the bad guys. Yes, you did indeed read that last part correctly, C Thomas Howell does indeed (against all odds!) make for a great action star in this typically exhilarating action offering brought to us by the consistently superb Joseph Merhi.

Howell's no nonsense approach to law enforcement stems from a childhood trauma wherein he witnessed his entire family murdered and was himself left for dead by a sadistic team of hit men. Back to the present and now a highly loose cannon, our hero's habitual excessive use of force finds him in constant hot water from his superiors and has inevitably cost him his marriage. Matters take a strange turn one day however when he is initiated into a clandestine organisation calling themselves Justice Incorporated, a sanctioned group of law enforcers who operate a zero tolerance policy above the usual constraints of the law system. Yes, it's shades of the Dirty Harry outing, Magnum Force here. All seems to be going well for a while with the bad guys getting their just deserts.......that is until our hero discovers that the organisation sanctioned the execution of his family years previously...... Revenge is now on the cards.

Well, if you can overlook the highly derivative storyline and a particularly rushed conclusion then you'll find much to enjoy in this little gem, not least of all the absolutely incredible action sequences and stunt work on display throughout. Most notable is the introduction which features an absolutely crazy car chase down a pier in which literally scores of people are getting run over left right and center(!!!!) Truly an incredibly staged scene. Also of amazing note include a truly scary looking roof top dive wherein our hero simultaneously manages to hang a bad guy(!) and a particularly explosive and thrilling freeway chase that would surely make even Michael Bay jealous. Add to this a whole load of bloody shoot outs and fights and a sadly somewhat out of place but nonetheless exciting grand finale with our hero dangling perilously off of a bi-plane(!) (with the stuntman scarily close to the propeller throughout!) and you have a wondrously entertaining one hundred or so minutes.

Simply tremendous stuff......it's such a true shame that PM Entertainment are no longer making films these days.

What can I say? AWESOME!!

[dex-12 · 23 April 2000]

Why is it that a lot of low-budget, direct-to-video action movies are more fun that big-budget theatrical films? Take all the action in "The Rock," pump it with 2 trillion CCs of adrenaline, cast one of the boys from Spielberg's "E.T.," toss in a prologue with Jeff Fahey, and you've got "The Sweeper," a hard-charging crime drama with an action sequence occuring nearly every seven minutes. With everything from foot chases to violent shootouts, explosive car chases to a fight on a bi-plane, "The Sweeper" has got more action than most Hollywood films claiming to be action movies. Granted, it's not necessarily a well-written film (then again, there's hardly a film that is), but when it's got as much action and excitement as this film has, darn it - you just don't care. C. Thomas Howell is good, and you're bound to be fighting to catch your breath by the time the credits start rolling. Enjoy!

Surprisingly good B action movie

[Duellist · 7/10 · 30 April 2007]

I'm not going to re-hash what others have said about the storyline in this movie, so, I'll comment on the other aspects. As a B-movie, the action scenes are rather well directed. They are easy to follow, with lots of bullets and explosions. The stunt work is very good, with lots of good surprises. The movie has 2 fairly good car chases, the first with the exploding gas cylinders, the last ending with a biplane. The acting in the movie is nothing to write home about, but really, this isn't the Royal Shakespeare Company, it's a manly action movie.

Bullets? Yup. Bad words? Yup. Bare breasts? Yup. Booms? Yup. What else could you ask for?

Entertaining despite the slim plot.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 6/10 · 8 November 2007]

The Story: Mark Goddard is a police officer with a history of killing suspects. After scoring his 9th kill, Mark is recruited into Justice Incorporated, a top-secret police fraternity dedicated to killing criminals. When Mark discovers that JI is responsible for the death of his family, he decides to get his revenge.

The Sweeper is another of the films created by PM Entertainment, a prolific studio of direct-to-video action films. It is directed by Joseph Merhi, who directed "The Glass Jungle", "Repo Jake" & Riot. It is also produced by Richard Pepin, director of a whole slew of sci-fi / action hybrids such as Cyber Tracker, Cybertracker 2, T-Force, The Silencers & Dark Breed. The Sweeper exists only to throw up a series of exciting action set-pieces, with a chase across roof-tops, a car chase with exploding air-tanks, various massive shootouts with high bodycounts & a climactic fight aboard a bi-plane. The plot is on the slim side, concerning a secret police organization with the purpose of killing criminals & the standard revenge plot. C. Thomas Howell plays his part of the conflicted hero quite well.

We wholeheartedly recommend The Sweeper!

[tarbosh22000 · 10/10 · 3 May 2012]

Ever since he was a young boy, there was no question that Mark Goddard (Howell) would become a good cop like his father Dale (Fahey). When bad guys gun down his whole family, it traumatizes him, but he grows up to become a police officer anyway - but naturally his unfortunate past has given him a chip on his shoulder and a proclivity towards violence. Sure, the recipients of said violence are criminal scum, and this allows him entry into a super-secret fraternity of criminal-killers called J.I. or "Justice Incorporated". If you have nine kills to your credit, you are allowed entry. Even though the naturally suspicious Goddard is wary, he reluctantly joins because the leader, Molls (Lauter) is persuasive, his associate Rachel (Dalton) is seductive, and he gets to go on off-the-books missions and kill as many bad guys as he wants and still get paid. But the awesomeness of this setup quickly wears thin as Molls hides a sinister secret. All Goddard wants to do is see his son, and reconnect with his estranged wife Melissa (Gunn)...but will he get the chance before all his incredibly dangerous doings get to him first? This is an excellent movie. God bless PM, they've done it again. This ranks right up there with Zero Tolerance (1994) and Last Man Standing (1996) with the best of the PM's. C. Thomas Howell is great as the troubled cop on the edge, and while other actors in this situation would have relied on simply having a goatee, sunglasses, necklaces and a leather vest, not to mention an awesome House of Pain baseball cap (all of which he has because he's a badass, duh), Howell actually adds a lot of care and subtlety to his role. You can see his rage issues and suspicions without him saying anything. It really is CTH at his best. Very under-appreciated.

Speaking of things that are under-appreciated, this movie is packed with killer and hugely enjoyable stunts and action setpieces in the true PM tradition. It takes tons of work and skill to pull these things off, but they go by in such a flash, people tend not to think about all the talent, artistry and labor that goes into them. You've got to admit, PM brings it, and brings it hard, and you CAN'T not love it.

There's plenty of familiar faces on show as well, besides the aforementioned CTH, Dalton, Gunn and Lauter, there's also John Ryan of American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1993) fame as the head of the "Concrete Lion" gang, PM mainstay Kathrin Middleton, the legendary Felton Perry, and lastly Max Slade, who famously was one of the 3 Ninjas (1992). Of the supporting cast, we saved the best for last: Jeff Fahey. Perhaps the only flaw in this movie is that we would have liked to see more Fahey. His role is small. But it's important and fits the plot, we understand.

PM understands that stunts aren't worth jack if you don't have characters that you care about that are in danger. Thanks to some above average acting and writing, they can now marry that to their top-notch stuntwork. PM puts in actual effort and it pays off in dividends.

We wholeheartedly recommend The Sweeper!

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Formulaic But Entertaining Police Saga

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 9 April 2014]

C. Thomas Howell plays a combustible, trigger-happy, Los Angeles cop in the "Lethal Weapon" mode in Joseph Merhi's formulaic but above-average crime thriller "The Sweeper" with Ed Lauter. Merhi's fast-moving, 101-minute epic evokes memories of the "Dirty Harry" sequel "Magnum Force." In other words, when the legal system fails to serve the public, a secret organization called Justice Incorporated steps in to resolve the situation with extreme prejudice. The action opens with an exciting prologue that traces our protagonist's back story. Mark Goddard's father was a police sergeant (Jeff Fahkey), and he was a good cop until a hit squad strike at his home and killed him. One of the killers terrorizes Mark rather than kill him. Indeed, the assailant thrusts a revolver into Mark's hands and urges him to shoot him in the head, but Mark cannot bring himself to commit murder. Years later, our hero works for the LAPD like his dad. The mystery about who killed his parents haunts our hero's every waking minute. Goddard's team has been getting sloppy. One of them is stabbed by a suspect who preys on ATM users. Our fearless but pugnacious hero chases the knife-wielding maniac atop a high building where they battle it out. Eventually, Mark loops a length of cable around the assailant's neck and plunges with him into the air some twenty feet or more above the ground. Of course, the guy dies by strangulation. Later, when he arrests a child pornographer, Mark loses his cool when the suspect gives him the benefit of his smart lip, and a public brawl ensues. Mark is the bane of the force and his boss alerts Internal Affairs about him because he is fed up with Mark. The action scenes are competently done, and the performances are strong, with C. Thomas Howell showing his tougher side. One of the best scenes has our hero pursuing an assailant down the highway with the villain knocking huge metal chemical bottles off a flatbed truck and shooting slugs in them so they explode in front of our tenacious hero as he swerves behind him. Our hero manages to field one bottle on the hood of his car, smash the villain from the behind so that the bottle bounces through the back window of his car, and then he shoots the bottle and blows the bad guy to kingdom come!