Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

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

TheLittleSongbird I absolutely love The Sweeney, it is gritty, violent and very addictive not to mention compelling and I never miss it. Then again, I am a huge John Thaw fan, having loved him since Inspector Morse. Sweeney! is not quite as good as the show, which is a classic to me, but it is a worthy film. The plot is complicated with some holes and the violence level did get quite shocking at times, but the location shooting is superb, the music is great and the action pieces are a real joy. As is the dialogue, one of the main reasons why I love the Sweeney is because of its irresistibly quotable dialogue, and here there is some really juicy dialogue. Maybe I am biased but anything Regan said stood out a lot. The direction is good, but the acting was really good bringing to life some very intriguing characters. The late great John Thaw is outstanding as Regan, and Dennis Waterman is delightful as Carter. Their chemistry together is wholly believable as well, and I also enjoyed the performances of Colin Welland, Barry Foster(actually didn't mind his accent) and Diane Keen. Overall, a worthy film with flaws and not as good as the show, but it is very entertaining on the whole. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Theo Robertson Without doubt THE SWEENEY is one of the most popular and fondly remembered television shows Britain has ever produced and this was the first of two films made to tie in with the television series . It's certainly the more compelling of the two but where as the sequel did mirror the Thames Television series the original doesn't entirely One of the reasons for the show's success was its offbeat humour which features here in an early scene " What you mean Tiny Large ? " " He's a total animal . I remember we had him down the station and he wouldn't leave his cell so we sent in an alsatian . He broke its jaw and threw it out " " Dog Day Afternoon " What is noticeable right from the opening scene is that politics is involved and this film version of THE SWEENEY is very much a political thriller which sets in motion a shadowy conspiracy involving Special Branch trying to bump off DI Jack Regan who knows too much for his own good . It's a bit more grittier than the TV show if only that it shows a graphi scene of a constable getting shot in the head but the whole conspiracy is unlikely and feels false . And the final scene is somewhat confusing Having said that it's always good to see the underatted John Thaw playing the all drinking all smoking DI Regan during an era when TV cops were nasty but nice crimebusters . Certainly a film that reflects the strengths of the television show and one wonders if Nick Love's big screen version later this year will be a very pale imitation ?

Jack Yan ** Spoiler warning **I remember catching part of this late one evening on telly when I was much younger and recalled it being fairly good. Then the DVD came out and I was on to it quickly.Save your Nelsons, lads.What this film has going for it is the moody, grey 1970s cinematography giving it a dose of realism, the beauty of Diane Keen, and the groovy score, but there's little more. The sound on my DVD was awful. David Wickes' direction is not of his usual high standard and Ranald Graham seems to have inserted violence just because he could. Even Regan and Carter seem to lack their usual panache from the TV series, and I could have done without the thought of the former exposing himself to Carter and his neighbours in one scene. As to Barry Foster, his "American" accent seems to derive from somewhere between Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins and the entire cast of Mind Your Language. It was that bad.I have a problem with the script in general. Graham tries to politicize it, but one gets the feeling these elements are tacked on to the murders to make the film supposedly "intelligent". It fails on that score. If Graham had a one-hour format, he could have succeeded – his 'Blind Run' episode on The Professionals is a superior work.He creates so many loose ends that it is tidily summarized by a civil servant 10 minutes before the close. Regan asks one or two questions and the whole conspiracy is explained in about 60 sec, while reminding him that he's still bound by the Official Secrets Act.This is all done with the production budget of period television. Here's Regan in an old Ford Escort and Carter in a (then-) 10-year-old Vauxhall Viva. No prizes for guessing whether they'd wind up with a few dents.The dissatisfying ending, as an earlier reviewer stated, is played up for controversy but is ultimately weak – having parallels with other Graham scripts. It tries to leave things up in the air as though we have to guess how Regan might get himself out of his pickle. What pickle? Come to think of it, what conspiracy?It's one of those rare cases where the sequel is superior to the original. That could be, however, fond childhood memories coming through again.