but the rough English cops of The Flying Squad (which, oddly enough, gets Sweeney from the Cockney rhyme for Flying Squad, Sweeney Todd!). Detectives Jack Regan (John Thaw) and George Carter (John Waterman) are our main characters as Regan begins to investigate the "suicide" of a working girl as a favor for an underworld figure friend/informant. Naturally, he uncovers a high level conspiracy and becomes the next target. A theatrical spin-off of the popular THE SWEENEY television series, SWEENEY! is my first exposure to the characters and it is fantastic. Thaw is outstanding as the gruff detective and he and Waterman have a great rapport. The film is peppered with some great (and really violent for the period) action pieces and location filming. I also like the realistic portrayal of the relationship between cops and crooks.
