Jamesfilmfan905 Sweeney was made in 1977 where television shows of that decade in the 70s where being made into big screen adaptations e.g man about the house , George and Mildred they are two examples of what where good shows which failed massively to capture the essence of what made them so popular to view every week in the thatcherised Britain of the 70s . Anyway Sweeney is one of those rare spin-off movies which actually works simply because it delivers the 3 elements that made the series so popular drama , action , excitement , for an interesting 90 minutes in which when an informants girlfriend is murdered he asks Reagan to investigate and he ends up finding himself knee deep in corruption and murder when various connections of a political cabinet leader Elliot mcqueen played by Barry foster start being murdered and Reagan must rely on his wits to evade deadly hit-men and corrupt police officials when he is suspended from the force and is on his own without his skipper George carter played by the excellent if somewhat underused Dennis waterman who insists to jack he cant get involved . What it boils down to is Sweeney is one of the best big screen adaptations of any show sprawned from the 70s cause it delivers the various concoction of elements which made the show a joy to view every- week as mentioned in the paragraph above . Certified x for Violence and brief nudity

ShadeGrenade Amongst the many British sitcoms of the '70's to be turned into movies were a couple of dramas - 'Doomwatch', 'Man At The Top', 'Callan', and, of course, 'The Sweeney'. Ian Kennedy-Martin's hit I.T.V. show starred John Thaw as D.I. Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as Sergeant George Carter, and ran from 1975-78. It set new standards for television violence, language and nudity. It unsurprisingly made an effortless transition to the big screen in the decade of 'Get Carter' and 'Villain'.Ranald Graham, one of the show's best writers, penned a gritty political conspiracy thriller, turning 'Sweeney!' almost into a British version of 'The Domino Principle' and 'The Parallax View'. An unknown multi-national corporation is out to wreck an oil conference in London; firstly, they murder a prostitute ( Lynda Bellingham ), leaving her nude body in the hotel room of Energy Secretary Charles Baker ( the brilliant Ian Bannen ) M.P. When her boyfriend, used car dealer Ronnie Brent ( Joe Melia ) calls on the Flying Squad to investigate, he and his staff are viciously slaughtered in a machine-gun attack. Then the villains turn their attentions to Regan himself. After being captured, he has whisky poured down his throat, and is put behind the wheel of a car. It crashes, and his superiors suspend him. But Regan is determined to go on.As one might expect, the violence levels are higher than those of the series. The murder of the Bellingham character is executed with such cold, clinical precision as to be shocking ( as is the sight of a policeman shot in the head ), while the massacre in the used car lot evokes Peckinpah. The sight of Diane Keen ( then best known for her role in 'The Cuckoo Waltz' sitcom ) topless in bed must have raised eyebrows. Michael Coles is particularly menacing as the smiling assassin 'Johnson'. As 'Regan', Thaw is, as ever, marvellous. Another man would quietly let the matter drop, but he chips away until the conspiracy unravels. Waterman, likewise, is great, although, he is missing for long stretches, while Thaw teams up with Keen. The reviewer who said the movie was good only for a few laughs because of the outdated fashions has missed the point. The notion that big business would sanction criminal acts to protect its interests strikes me as frighteningly believable. David Wickes does a good job in keeping the action moving, achieving some superb location filming in London.A few quibbles - where was Haskins ( Garfield Morgan )? Why did they not use Harry South's smashing theme tune? And why was an American actor not hired to play the pivotal role of 'Elliot McQueen', Baker's crooked P.R. man? Barry Foster ( of 'Van Der Valk' fame ) struggles but sounds about as American as Fidel Castro.'Sweeney!' opened to ecstatic reviews ( 'The best British crime thriller in years!' raved one ) and won a clutch of awards. A year later, 'Sweeney 2' appeared, but although written by Troy Kennedy-Martin ( brother of Ian ) it was not a patch on the first.If you have never seen the series, this movie should serve as a useful introduction.

Duckmaster Ahh, to revisit the halcyon days of 1970's London policing! Anyone watching this film will probably be aware of the infamous TV series, so introductions are not needed. Free from the restrictions of television guidelines and budgets, the makers of Sweeney! show us what a sleazy and violent world 1976 London can be. D.I. Reagan promises an old friend he will investigate further the death of a high class escort (yes, the oxo mum herself going topless) and slowly uncovers a high level conspiracy involving a naive politician and his crooked press relations man, who wants to lower oil prices for a year and make the oil companies billions in the process. With me so far? It matters not, forget the plot and enjoy the fistfights, shootings and the wonderful teamwork of John thaw and Dennis waterman. Altogether now..."You're nicked, son!"

Oct "Sweeney!" was one of the innumerable TV spin-offs which kept the British film business perilously afloat in the 1970s. For once this low-budget work did not spring from a sitcom but from Britain's best ever cop show, which made "Starsky and Hutch" look like "Sesame Street" with its relentless violence and raucous backchat. ("Sweeney Todd", it should be explained , is London rhyming slang for the Flying Squad, an elite detective unit of the Metropolitan Police.) Jack Regan and his sidekick George Carter here find themselves out of their depth with a bigger budget and canvas than on the boob tube: they get "webbed up"in an international conspiracy to lower, or raise, or something, oil prices. A suave Energy Minister is too fond of the high-class "brasses" furnished by his American PR agent. He is blackmailed, with multiple-murderous consequences and mucho ketchup.In some ways this is very much a 1970s period piece: flared trousers, two-tone grey telephones and no computers, police who drink and smoke heroically, ugly lowlifes, hideous pubs, tyre abuse, shootouts in junkyards and an overall grey, downbeat atmosphere which is a far cry from the Swinging London of Hollywood England in the previous decade. "Sweeney" was conceived at the moment of maximum crisis when OPEC was holding the industrialised nations to ransom, inflation was the highest for 60 years and trade unionists and militant socialists seemed poised to seize power in Blighty. True, a red double-decker bus figures during one chase, but the film makes concessions to mid-Atlanticism neither in casting, nor by moderating the constant Cockney badinage ("leave it aht!", "you wot?", "shut it!", "dull it isn't" (mocking a Met recruitment slogan)) nor by glamourising its high-life scenes. Also carried over from the series is the endless friction between different law enforcers: Regan clashes not only with his superior but with the security services and Special Branch, the Met's anti-subversion arm. Typically, he cocks up the operation to snatch the PRO and bring him to justice. Regan is no superhero.Contrary to what others have posted, I find Foster's accent and manner all too convincing, and his performance incisive. The theme of politicians being corrupted by their spin doctors remains fresh. Ian Bannen as the blackmailed MP looks and has a role not unlike Robert Vaughn's. Thaw and Waterman are the same crumpled reprobates as on the small screen, but the plot makes too little of their partnership; Regan is suspended and lone-wolfing it for much of the running time.No doubt the best of "The Sweeney" was on TV, but this is a fair-value distillation and introduction. It makes the mockney gangster movies of Mr Madonna and his posse look pathetic. "Up yours, sunshine!"