The Sweeney (2012)

A hardened detective in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan police. Based on the '70s UK TV show.

Director:

Nick Love

Writers:

John Hodge, Nick Love (screenplay),

Stars:

Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Winstone	...	DI Jack Regan
Ben Drew	...	DC George Carter
Hayley Atwell	...	DC Nancy Lewis
Steven Mackintosh	...	DCI Ivan Lewis
Paul Anderson	...	Francis Allen
Alan Ford	...	Harry
Damian Lewis	...	DCI Frank Haskins
Caroline Chikezie	...	DC Kara Clarke
Allen Leech	...	DC Simon Ellis
Ronnie Fox	...	Johnny Wextru
Michael Wildman	...	Evelyn Simmonds
Steven Waddington	...	DC Nathan Miller
Kevin Michaels	...	Makin Trebolt
Kara Tointon	...	Megan Barrel
Tayo Walker-Allen	...	Neil

Storyline

Jack Reagan is a slobbish,old style cop whose unsubtle methods usually get results,to the annoyance of internal affairs officer Lewis,who would be even more annoyed if he knew that Reagan was having an affair with his young wife,policewoman Nancy. After Reagan disobeys orders and a shoot-out in central London following a bank hold-up ends in carnage he is stripped of office and briefly imprisoned. However,thanks to the loyalty of his young protege George Carter and a little string pulling from his superior Frank Haskins Reagan is released to bring down the villains in a gun battle at Gravesend marina,ensuring the continued existence of his department - the Sweeney.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | criminal | flying squad | bank | partner | 

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Taglines:

Act like a criminal to catch a criminal

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language throughout and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eidiki omada Sweeney

Filming Locations:

Royal College Of Surgeons, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$20,321 (USA) (1 March 2013)

Gross:

$26,345 (USA) (8 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vertigo Films, Embargo Films, Exponential Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The finale of the film is set in the seaside town of Gravesend. But actually Gravsend is home to the training centre for the Metropolitan Police's firearms teams. The villains choose to make their escape through the only town in England that is normally brimming with armed police.

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Goofs

When Jack is on the phone in the car, he is holding the phone upside down.

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Connections

References Miami Vice (2006)
dialogue quoted in non-spoofing way

User Reviews

Would Have Made a Decent TV Special

The style of the movie largely relies on sweeping glass and steel shots of London, while they're beautifully done and almost futuristic, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was the opening scenes of The Apprentice they're so disjointed from the film itself.

The Sweeney are The Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan Police, tasked with cracking down on violent crime and armed robberies. They're loud, cocky, and vicious and, if the cases we're shown are anything to go by, very, very bad at their job.

Regan (Winston) is head man and a law unto himself, his sidekick Carter (Drew) and the rest of his special ops team are housed in a swish crow's nest of Scotland Yard with all mod cons. While Winston and Drew have an unmistakable chemistry on screen they really didn't have much to work with. Drew delivers his lines painfully slow, as if inebriated but you have to give it to the guy, he's not bad when it comes to fisticuffs. The gung ho ways and abysmal record of their squad attracts the attention of Internal Affairs, who are just waiting for a reason to shut them down. The wait isn't very long.

England's capital is largely deserted for the duration, which again beggars belief. There's a monumental hot pursuit and shoot out on an almost empty Trafalgar Square with just enough passers by to be pushed violently to the ground by both the fleeing criminals and the cops themselves, by the third time, it was comically so. It would appear that The Sweeney have been trained at the Storm Trooper Shooting Range as London town is shot up in relentless gunfire but not one bullet reaches its target. Think Hot Fuzz not Miami Vice.

The plot is convoluted, the cases needlessly complicated and for the life of me I couldn't get excited about a Serbian Georgie Burgess as the bad guy. While Nick Love is renowned for his cockney gangster offerings, unfortunately this time round he didn't think to bring either a decent story or a coherent script to the table.

The Sweeney is somewhat enjoyable but it borders on parody far too often. It's outdated and overplayed with enough product placement have an accompanying catalog. It would have made a decent TV special but for a big screen outing it's a meh from me.