The Sweeney is based on the 1970s UK TV series of the same name. Jack Regan (Ray Winstone) is a hard edged detective in London’s elite Metropolitan police force unit, The Flying Squad—nicknamed The Sweeney due to the Cockney rhyming slang for “Flying Squad”, Sweeney Todd. The Sweeney is a tight-knit, tough bunch of cops who are as hard as the criminals they are trying to stop.

As the film opens, the Sweeney drive up to a warehouse where a robbery is taking place. They jump out of their cars holding baseball bats and other basic weapons and go after the crooks like it’s a back street rumble. While they ultimately stop the robbery, one of the men manages to get away.

While Regan’s boss DCI Frank Haskins (Damian Lewis) wants to support his team, Internal Affairs officer DCI Ivan Lewis (Steven Mackintosh) seems to have it out for Regan—and he isn’t even aware that Regan is sleeping with his wife, Nancy (Hayley Atwell)! Lewis is investigating the squad’s use of extreme tactics and Regan’s disobeying of order, and even tries to turn Regan’s young partner, DC George Carter (Ben Drew), against him by threatening to hurt his chances of getting a promotion. So with a master criminal is on the loose and a major bank heist in the works, Regan must take the law into his own hands.

I have never seen the original series so I can’t speak to how similar this film is in regards to plot, characters or tone, but I really enjoyed this The Sweeney. The film had an interesting plot and some well defined characters. While I really liked the hard, take-no-prisoners side to Jack Regan, I could have done without his romance with the woman 25 years his younger. It just didn’t seem very believable why she would even be attracted to him. (It’s like watching Modern Family, wondering how/why Jay is together with Gloria!) However, their relationship is not just added for sex scenes—it does further the plot, and helps round out Regan by showing his softer side. Although, there was one scene where you literally see his tongue entering her mouth that made me cringe.

The supporting characters are also fully developed and interesting. DC Nancy Lewis is tough, and can be just one of the guys, but she’s also a gentle woman who does deeply care about Jack. And Regan’s partner Carter is given an interesting backstory, and we learn his aspirations and motivations. The dynamic between Carter and Regan is great—you’ve got this old school, tough cop teamed up with the younger, slightly more by-the-books cop, and both have things they can learn from one another. The loyalty between them is remarkable—in fact, the camaraderie among the entire Sweeney team feels geniune, like this group has really been together for a long time.

The two villains are also interesting adversaries for Regan. First there’s the internal enemy of the IA guy out to get Jack. Steven Mackintosh plays this character brilliantly—he doesn’t feel over the top, just a guy doing his job who’s frustrated by this cop who refuses to play by the rules. And then there’s the true villain and master criminal Francis Allen (Paul Anderson) with whom Regan already has a history.

Besides the interesting plot and characters, The Sweeney is loaded with action. There are some amazing car chases—the filmmakers even employed the services of the team that records footage for Top Gear. There are also numerous shoot-outs and other action-filled stunts. From the bonus material, it sounds like this film was made on a very limited budget, but that certainly doesn’t show. The action sequences in this film could easily fit into any big Hollywood blockbuster.

The Sweeney is a fun, adrenaline-filled ride that’s definitely worth checking out. Plus the DVD is loaded with a lot of bonus features allowing you to see how the film was made.

What’s Included:

Film (1:52:44)

• Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic)
• Audio: English DD 5.1, English DD 2.0, English Descriptive Audio
• English SDH subtitles

Extras:

• Behind The Scenes Of The Sweeney (25:49)
  Director Nick Love talks about his fear of taking on a beloved property on a limited budget. He and the producers talk about the decision to use stunt coordinator Tony Lucken. Includes behind the scenes footage of the stunts, and interviews with the cast (Ronnie Fox, Michael Wildman, Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell, Steven Mackintosh, Damian Lewis and Allen Leech).
• Preparing The Sweeney (15:05)
  The creators talk about the five year process in getting the film made, rebooting the TV series and casting the film. Includes interviews with the main cast.
• Shooting In Trafalgar Square (15:18)
  Behind-the-scenes footage of and interviews with the cast and creators about the big shootout in Trafalgar Square scene.
• The New Regan And Carter (4:19)
  Actors Ray Winstone and Ben Drew, and director Nick Love talk about the two main characters of the film.
• On The Shooting Range (4:32)
  The cast bonds and learns how to properly hold and shoot their weapons.
• Top Gear and the Caravan Park (8:34)
  Look at how The Sweeney teamed up with Top Gear to utilize their experience at filming car chases.
• Animated Storyboard – Trafalgar Square (2:26)
  Look at the animatic storyboard used to plan out the Trafalgar Square shootout scene with commentary from director Nick Love.
• Animated Storyboard – The Caravan Park (1:57)
  Look at the animatic storyboard used to plan out the Caravan Park car chase scene with commentary from director Nick Love.
• Audio Commentary With Director And Producers (1:52:44)
  Director Nick Love and Producers Christopher Simon and Allan Niblo provide an interesting commentary throughout the film. They talk about the decision to do a modern day Sweeney versus a film set in the 70s, and give the viewer their insights on the filming process.

Final Thoughts:

The Sweeney is an action-packed thrill ride based on the 70’s UK TV series of the same name.

The video itself was quite crisp, though the film had a bit of muted tone to it. However, I’m not sure if that was due to the fact that I was watching a DVD when I’m used to only watching HD Blu-rays or if that is the film itself. The audio track was really good. While the dialog mostly came from the center channel, the side and surround channels are utilized for the soundtrack and to capture the action of gunshots and car chases.

The DVD is loaded with behind the scenes footage and an audio commentary. While it would have been nice to have a gag reel and some deleted scenes, the material included here is still quite satisfying.

With lots of impressive action sequences, an interesting plot and well-defined characters, this film is definitely worth checking out.