Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Mathijs Kees The movie is below average in my opinion. Not very bad, but there is nothing new in this movie. There is nothing we haven't seen before, it's all clichées. It doesn't contribute anyting to movie history.

robertguttman It's just as well that British policemen aren't permitted to carry firearms if this is how they would carry on if they did. "The Sweeney" is about the London Metropolitan Police's elite armed "Flying Squad". In Cockney parlance, "Flying Squad" rhymes with "Sweeney Todd", which is why they call themselves "The Sweeney". They are somewhat analogous to the SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) teams deployed by U.S. police forces, except that the only tactic the Sweeney appears to employ is simply to rush in and shoot everybody in sight. "The Sweeney" is a remake of a popular British television series of the same name from the 1970s. The original starred John Thaw as DI Jack Regan, the head of the London Metropolitan Police's special, armed "Flying Squad". That was before Thaw moved to Oxford, mellowed and morphed into "Inspector Morse". This time around the role of Jack Regan has devolved upon tough-guy actor Ray Winstone. Winstone portrays Regan as the sort of policeman who believes that doors are not made to be knocked on, but to be knocked down, and preferably with his head. Not surprisingly, DI Regan is having difficulty with his superior, who is annoyed with the amount of collateral damage (i.e., dead citizens) that The Sweeney have been leaving in their wake. He is also somewhat miffed at the fact that Regan has been cohabiting with his wife, but that is only by the way. The fact that the villains are even more violent than The Sweeney does not seem to mitigate the situation for Regan. The villains in question are actually armed with assault rifles, for which they carry a seemingly unlimited amount of ammunition, as they blast their way through Piccadilly Circus in the midst of the rush hour. It's all very un-British. There's not a lot of clever, cerebral detective work in evidence here, as is usually the case in British crime dramas. In "The Sweeney", detective work seems to consist mainly of arresting known "slags", dragging them into the back room of the police station and beating confessions out of them. Not once do any of these policemen say anything polite, such as, "we were hoping you might assist us with our inquiries". Nor do any of The Sweeney ever offer a suspect a cup of tea during questioning. The language spoken in the film also takes some getting used to. Those who do not speak "London" fluently might require subtitles. Between the slang and the heavy cockney accents, it's sort of like reading Chaucer in the original Middle English; if one concentrates, one will probably be able to understand about half of what is said. However, those who like lots of destructive car chases and violent shootings will not be disappointed.

Myriam Nys "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.

mrscerullo 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.