The Sweeney (2013)

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

"The Sweeney" is a carefully nuanced psychological study about the challenges and stresses of modern police work. Understated and modest, it moves towards a delicately handled emotional conclusion where the various intelligent plot lines meet and mingle. Its subtle calm and intimate...BWHAHA HAHA ! Almost had you going there !Nah, the movie is just an excuse to watch cops going medieval on gangsters' asses. At this level, it certainly delivers : the viewer gets many a beautifully filmed gun fight, battle and car chase. Most of it is set against the background of a modern London pulsing with glamour, promise and menace - well done, again. The persons who did the casting deserve a large, a very large crate of pink champagne, since many of the actors look as if they were born in order to perform these roles.Sadly, the movie is cliché-ridden. Brilliant but rash policemen overseen by a more reticent boss and hounded by a mean-spirited bureaucrat from Internal Affairs ? The pattern exists at least since the 1960's. Moreover there is an argentinosaurus-sized hole where good sense is concerned. In Great-Britain, as in most democratic societies ruled by law, criminal prosecutions and trials tend to collapse when it becomes clear a) that evidence was obtained in a cavalier or illegal manner or b) that suspects or witnesses were mistreated. Apply these rules to the kick 'em beat 'em stomp 'em tactics of the police team involved and it's safe to say that much of their activities are futile at best, counter-productive at worst. As a result they might just as well spend their time breeding prize rabbits or writing a hagiography about Saint Jan Berchmans.

Being over a certain age, the original television series and film, is still fondly remembered.Thus, this re-make, whilst still maintaining many of the original attributes and features of the original, does rather struggle to reconcile 20th century policing methods with 21st century living.The casting choices were excellent, with Ray Winstone and Ben Drew carving out excellent characterizations of Jack Regan and George Carter respectively. It takes a couple of born and bred Londoners to pull this transformation off successfully and this pairing worked well for me.The plot may have had a few holes in it and didn't really stand up to too much scrutiny, however that can easily be said for the original production of both 'The Sweeney' and many other films from similar genres.All in all, this was a film which is commercially sound, lends itself well to the big screen and reminds me of a bygone age, when policemen were allowed to police and the villains all knew exactly what would happen to them if they got caught. Maybe life would be a whole lot better if we rolled back the clock a little!

What exactly did happen here then?The original TV series would turn in its grave with this 21st century remake. The 1970s Classic we all knew and loved has been disgraced here, and to tell you the truth I never really had high expectations for this film when I heard they were making it, but the finished article is so much worse than I could have imagined.Jack Regan originally played by John Thaw who portrayed the character as a no nonsense hard man but professional all the while, which is more than can be said for the Ray Winstone edition. I admired Winstone in Ripleys Game, and he fit the bill perfectly for that film but in this one he's made Regan an unprofessional thug of a police officer with more use of the F word than Gordon Ramsey ever did. His character is made even less believable by his much younger (and much prettier) love interest. Why she would be interested in a man like this is beyond me but there it is.Now George Carter, no surprise here that this portrayal would be a disaster too. What we have here is a complete chav who just got outta jail to become a respected law enforcer. OK! when does that ever happen in real life. He was totally unwatchable, totally irritating and so not the right actor for the part AGAIN.The whole film makes no sense at all, I doubt the writer or director ever bothered to watch the original series but if they did they must have though it was dull or something. Bad direction, lack of typical Cockney humour, plot and likable Cockney characters.Totally shocking. Don't buy it, don't even watch it online.

My attention switched off half way through the film and I started doing other things. John Thaw was impossible to replace (even though I love Ray Winstone), and Carter just came across as completely dim and uninteresting. Although I love Ray Winstone I found the romantic interest a bit disturbing and completely unbelievable. I watched the whole film but as my attention kept wandering I have no idea what the conclusion of the film was and can't face watching even the second half again! I am a complete Sweeney fan and have watched the old series and films on a number of occasions but I can't say this lived up to the name. Obviously lots of money was spent on the film but it just came across as set pieces and as someone who has spent a lot of time in London, very unbelievable.