Undescribable Perfection

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I absolutely love The Sweeney, it is gritty, violent and very addictive not to mention compelling and I never miss it. Then again, I am a huge John Thaw fan, having loved him since Inspector Morse. Sweeney! is not quite as good as the show, which is a classic to me, but it is a worthy film. The plot is complicated with some holes and the violence level did get quite shocking at times, but the location shooting is superb, the music is great and the action pieces are a real joy. As is the dialogue, one of the main reasons why I love the Sweeney is because of its irresistibly quotable dialogue, and here there is some really juicy dialogue. Maybe I am biased but anything Regan said stood out a lot. The direction is good, but the acting was really good bringing to life some very intriguing characters. The late great John Thaw is outstanding as Regan, and Dennis Waterman is delightful as Carter. Their chemistry together is wholly believable as well, and I also enjoyed the performances of Colin Welland, Barry Foster(actually didn't mind his accent) and Diane Keen. Overall, a worthy film with flaws and not as good as the show, but it is very entertaining on the whole. 8/10 Bethany Cox

People have often speculated about George's behaviour in the last scene of this film, and wondered why he reacted as he did. I watched this again recently and noticed that after McQueen breaks free of his arresting officers, as he runs onto the bridge he shouts 'Johnson' as if he is almost inviting the smiling assassin to take him out. Johnson and his mob duly oblige. It's almost as if he knew it was going to happen. It's possible also that they would have killed McQueen even had he not escaped, since the chap who stripped Lynda Bellingham at the start was also present, pretending to be a road sweeper. Why? Were the going to murder McQueen, or try and free him? Who knows.I've often found the end of this film confusing, and George's reaction is a surprise. Why would anyone be so upset about the death of someone as wicked and nasty as McQueen? Also, with reference to the aforementioned LB, surely even someone as ditsy as Janice Wyatt would have smelt a bit of a rat being coaxed into a hotel room and made to record specific references to Charles Baker and 'going to sleep' before being murdered by lethal injection. What was she told they needed that for? I think it's a bit far fetched to expect anyone to actually do this with no explanation, and none is never offered on screen. I agree with another posting however that the murder scene is surprisingly effective, and Janice certainly looks dead pretty quickly after being given a forced overdose. On the DVD Lynda Bellingham states that she was actually injected with distilled water, and had they caught a vein she might well have gone the same way as her character.

Without doubt THE SWEENEY is one of the most popular and fondly remembered television shows Britain has ever produced and this was the first of two films made to tie in with the television series . It's certainly the more compelling of the two but where as the sequel did mirror the Thames Television series the original doesn't entirely One of the reasons for the show's success was its offbeat humour which features here in an early scene " What you mean Tiny Large ? " " He's a total animal . I remember we had him down the station and he wouldn't leave his cell so we sent in an alsatian . He broke its jaw and threw it out " " Dog Day Afternoon " What is noticeable right from the opening scene is that politics is involved and this film version of THE SWEENEY is very much a political thriller which sets in motion a shadowy conspiracy involving Special Branch trying to bump off DI Jack Regan who knows too much for his own good . It's a bit more grittier than the TV show if only that it shows a graphi scene of a constable getting shot in the head but the whole conspiracy is unlikely and feels false . And the final scene is somewhat confusing Having said that it's always good to see the underatted John Thaw playing the all drinking all smoking DI Regan during an era when TV cops were nasty but nice crimebusters . Certainly a film that reflects the strengths of the television show and one wonders if Nick Love's big screen version later this year will be a very pale imitation ?

but the rough English cops of The Flying Squad (which, oddly enough, gets Sweeney from the Cockney rhyme for Flying Squad, Sweeney Todd!). Detectives Jack Regan (John Thaw) and George Carter (John Waterman) are our main characters as Regan begins to investigate the "suicide" of a working girl as a favor for an underworld figure friend/informant. Naturally, he uncovers a high level conspiracy and becomes the next target. A theatrical spin-off of the popular THE SWEENEY television series, SWEENEY! is my first exposure to the characters and it is fantastic. Thaw is outstanding as the gruff detective and he and Waterman have a great rapport. The film is peppered with some great (and really violent for the period) action pieces and location filming. I also like the realistic portrayal of the relationship between cops and crooks.