The Sweeney

Year: 2012
Genre: Cop thriller
Director: Nick Love


Plot: The film focuses on The Sweeney, a group of armed elite cops tasked to fight crime with any means necessary.


The gist: I hadn't seen the 70s UK TV show that this film is based on, but watching this does remind me of The Shield, a US cop show a lot like this one, except those cops were mostly dirty.

The plot involves Jack Regan, head of the squad who tries to solve a robbery-murder, only to get into trouble with Internal Affairs over his methods. When someone in his squad gets killed, Regan gets suspended, and he has to break a few rules to bust the case.

I like the gritty approach that director Nick Love applied for this film. These guys are tough cops and make no excuses for their actions, and Love has no problems showing what they have to do to catch the bad guys. He also spends some time painting the guys in a normal light, showing that they're regular folk who enjoy what they do, but at the end of the day, they're just people trying to make ends meet.


The good: Ray Winstone is tailor made for the lead role, there are very few guys who can cuss and kick ass like him. Ben Drew deserves plenty of credit as Carter, Regan's second in command, who shows lots of guts when he has to. The action sequences, which include long shootouts and a couple of car chases, are well filmed. They're made to look gritty and not flashy, which works for the film.

The bad: A better representation of the team would have been nice. The other members should have gotten more time for character development. The plot itself isn't much, it's just another case for the team, the kind of case that barely qualifies as a reason to make a movie with.


Verdict: A solid cop thriller, despite the flaws, and it's rare to see one set in London. (3.5/5)