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

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

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!"

I suppose anyone born in the late 60s or before is going to look fondly on this, and I'm no exception. I don't know about you but watching this (and the series of course) makes me think that there is just something missing in today's police related stuff on TV. It comes across as too sanitized, too clean, as though every 'officer' is reduced to some kind of professional stereotype (the good guy, the bad guy, the guy trying to escape his typecasting as Mark Fowler etc etc).'Sweeney' comes across as REAL. Of course it's cannon fodder for all those comments about trim phones, flares, kipper ties etc, but let's face it folks, at least the 70s had an IDENTITY. What is there now? What differentiates a 15 year old episode of 'The Bill' from one made in 2005? Not much I reckon.That's why this is good - real people with real personalities, foibles, quirks etc behaving human beings. I remember once that Regan was asked why he was still an inspector - 'I don't play golf' was the response. How true is that in the wider world! Enough rambling - the film itself. To me the acting is uniformally excellent; Foster doesn't come across as negatively pragmatic or oleaginous till mid way through the film, and the way his plan unfolds slowly as your distaste for him increases is carefully handled. By the end, you're rooting for him to get his come uppance. Also, the way Regan is hemmed in by those in authority as the film progresses is nicely claustrophobic, particularly when a suspended Regan meets Carter in a pub and is advised to 'get yourself some Alka Seltzer.' There are many quotable one liners here, deftly delivered by key protagonists. 'Alright Tinkerbell, you're nicked' is up there with 'in a thin glass' IMHO. Of course, they needed a 'big' plot to fill 90 minutes, and comparisons with Watergate and the general economic malaise endemic in Britain in the mid 70s are obvious. But put all that to one side folks - if you liked the series, you will like this, especially if, like me, you can remember a time when watching something on TV was an event to look forward to.