Chances are many of you have never heard of the old TV show, The Sweeney. And you’re in good company. I never really heard of it either. But fear not, this incarnation of The Sweeney kicks the ancient TV show into high gear and 2012.
Starring Ray Winstone and Ben Drew amongst others, it tells the story of The Sweeney, or The Flying Squad, or basically some seriously hard edged armed detectives and cops. While the story here is one of two separate halves, I won’t delve into it too much for fear of dropping a spoiler, but theres a few twists here and a decent story as well as some fantastic shoot outs.
The relationship between the characters is primarily surrounding Jack Regan (Ray Winstone), George Carter (Ben Drew) and Nancy (Hayley Atwell) and the rest of the cast take a bit of a back burner. Not in a bad way either, because the dynamic between the 3 main leads is incredibly powerful coupled with excellent chemistry. And let it be said, Ray Winstone is seriously, seriously bad ass. His performance here is entirely believable and if the guy was any more intense, he’d explode . At times you wonder is he a cop at all. Ben Drew, on the other hand is simply phenomenal here. Like all the cast, he is thoroughly believable and likeable, but its has cheeky chappy charm is second to none.
Believability is a big thing in The Sweeney. The cast are totally convincing, but how’s the rest of it? Well, the action set pieces, which predominately are shoot outs mixed in with a few car chases, are also of a high calibre.To nitpick, some of the car chases, particularly at the end lack pace and speed. As I said, thats to nitpick. But there’s no gimmicks here. No slow motion, no crazy triple summersaults firing off rounds. It’s nothing but gritty and realistic. The Trafalgar Square set piece in particular is a joy to watch.
The Sweeney’s biggest fault is its roots. And while its far removed from the TV show, its guilty by association of an ancient TV which may turn many people off. Forget that. This is a gripping piece of entertainment, with a decent cast. It’s gritty, it’s realistic, its bloody brilliant. This is one of the surprise movies of the year. Check it out, before your nicked! Oh…and you’ll want to buy a Ford Focus ST too!
