Shadowlocked:
For the longest time it seemed that the movie adaptation of Ian Kennedy-Martin's quintessential gritty 70s police show, which followed the down-at-heel sleuthing and kicking of ultrahard northern cop Jack Regan (John Thaw) and long-suffering London sidekick George Carter (Dennis Waterman) over four seasons and two movies, might stay in development hell. But you can't keep a bolshy copper down, and thank God The Sweeney has turned to the 'predictable' choice for its reboot/remake, as there is no actor in the UK better-fitted to play Regan than Ray Winstone.
FTG Writes: In modern day London there are villains that need to be handled in a special manner. When it’s a nasty sort of armed crime, the London Metropolitan Police send in the Flying Squad also known as The Sweeney, to take care of the situation. Detective Inspector Jack Regan, played by Ray Winstone (Snow White and the Huntsman, Elfie Hopkins, Hugo), and his right hand man Detective Constable George Carter, played by Ben Drew (Ill Manors, Turnout, 4.3.2.1), dish out a different kind of law to those who run violent crimes across the city. Using guns, baseball bats, and surprise tactics, the team thwarts crimes with the help of information provided by snitches for a little cut of the “evidence” that is collected. A tip comes in from an informant that a high class personal bank is the target for a heist, but Regan and Carter are forced to step away from the possible future crime scene in order to investigate an odd jewellery store robbery involving the death of a single woman amongst the shoppers. On top of that an investigation from Internal Affairs into the shrewd practices of The Sweeney is underway despite the protests made by Regan’s superior, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Haskins, played by Damian Lewis (Homeland, Your Highness, The Escapist), that he runs a clean department.
Although a competent adaptation of the British TV series, this police drama lacks that extra spark of imagination necessary to set it apart from all the others.
Full review by Chris Pandolfi.
"The Sweeney is based on a British television series from the 70’s with the same name. The film follows the exploits of London police officers in the Flying Squad, a special arm of London’s Guillermo Troncoso of Geekenstein.com
