Detectives Regan & Carter investigate the suspected murder of a prostitute and find that there is major corruption, blackmail and murder bubbling under the surface.Sweeney! is a TV spin-off that further pushes the grit and grime that had been established in the hugely popular series. Boasting call girls, blood, automatic weapon carnage, more blood and lots of shouting, it does in short have most things fans of the series could want. It also serves as a interesting snap-shot of mid to late 70s London as various sequences operate in and around the old smoke. Yet in spite of its guts and gusto and nicely woven plot {incorporating the oil slant}, it ultimately sags too often and criminally under uses Dennis Waterman's Carter. This is really about John Thaw's Reagan. Fine for fans of the always excellent Thaw, but this was a dynamite duo, and somewhere along the way somebody made a poor decision to focus on one part of the team.The cast is filled out with notable British actors as the story unfolds. Barry Foster {Frenzy}, Ian Bannen {Too Late the Hero}, Colin Welland {Straw Dogs}, Brian Glover {Kes} and Diane Keen; who was a star of many a British TV production. It's pretty much one for fans only, because you get the feeling that newcomers, although sure to be impressed with its toughness, will wonder just what all the fuss was about back in the sweary Sweeney 70s. 6/10

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!"

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.

A no frills film in keeping with the series, the genre and the time.This is a film about edgy London police in an edgy London in the edgy 70's. You could of course substitute "edgy" for "dodgy" in the above sentence and it would still be true...For those of us around in the 70's it, like the series, is fantastically atmospheric. The hair, the clobber (look out for Regan's green anorak), the boozers, the motors, the women.The plot is far less important than the characters who are all superb, and a particular mention for the young (and very beautiful) Diane Keen, and to a lesser extent Linda Bellingham - whose nudity makes you look at those OXO adverts very differently (or it would if they were still on) The film also gives some extra scope to the relationship between Regan & Carter, and there are some edgy moments between the 2, starting with their morning-after-the-night-before and culminating in the dramatic ending and indeed the film's last words. One of the many things I liked about the Sweeney was its realism and how it didn't portray its main characters as heroes but showed their dark sides and their failures.I loved the TV Sweeney, for me John Thaw's (God rest his soul) Regan is one of, if not the, best TV characters of all time and this is an appropriate and very satisfying movie length "episode" Hollywood it ain't guv'nor, and for me thats what makes it the boll***s.