THE SWEENEY is an action film update of the 1970s British TV series (which starred John Thaw as detective Jack Regan before Thaw would go on to play his most famous role, Inspector Morse).  Detective jack Regan (Ray Winstone) and his team including George Carter (Ben Drew), and Nancy Lewis (Hayley Atwell) are out to stop criminals even it means using less than proper methods (old bare knuckle methods) to achieve the ends.  Internal Affairs cop Lewis (Damian Lewis) is out to shut Regan down even when he is unaware his wife Nancy is having an affair with Regan.  Regan and his squad are out to stop a jewel robbery team after a young woman is killed by one of the robbers.  The trail leads them to an old arms dealer/ robber named Allen who has connections to Serbs and Russians.  

THE SWEENEY is a predictable and engaging cop action film, but it plays out its welcome by the time the climax rolls around with one too many cliché and lazy writing trick from Writer/ Director Nick Love.  I love the direction of Nick Love who can direct the hell out of any scene including the shoot out in Trafalgar Square.  Another plus is the magnificent score from Lorne Balfe.  I just think it would have been a much more interesting film if they killed off George Carter in the middle of the film instead of one of the other members of the Flying Squad (aka the Sweeney).  I found myself guessing a couple of the plot points minutes before said they happened or the cops figured it out for themselves.   I do love the way the movie is photographed.  I just wish Nick Love crafted a better script for the talented cast.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with director Nick Love and the producers

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE SWEENEY

PREPARING THE SWEENEY- how the project came together, the casting, and how they decided to change it from the proper and low key Sweeney of the real world.

SHOOTING IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE- a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the shoot out in Trafalgar Square and the challenges they had (like getting approval to shoot there and the limited time they had)

THE NEW REGAN AND CARTER- This featurette has quick interviews with Ray Winstone and Ben Drew. It was Ben Drew’s idea to give carter a back story.

ON THE SHOOTING RANGE- behind the scenes as the actors and nick Love train at a shooting range

TOP GEAR AND THE CARAVAN PARK- behind-the-scenes with the Top Gear crew and the film crew as they film the climatic car chase

Also included are two animated storyboards for Trafalgar Square and the Caravan Park (the first storyboard they used to help get permission to shoot in Trafalgar Square while the final scene changed due to time and budget).

FINAL ANALYSIS: THE SWEENEY has great action, cinematography, and a good music score.  The script could have been better and relied less on cliché and predictable twists.    The extras paint an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of making this updated version of the 1970s British TV series as a movie.

This DVD review is (c)4-11-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com