THE SWEENEY was a superlative 1970s cop show (with a couple of decent spin off movies). Unfortunately it's also now this underwhelming re- make which has little to recommend it beyond the title. One again we're with Regan & Carter at the Flying Squad, this time trying to bring down a gang of hardened Eastern European criminals (Albanians or Serbians I think but it doesn't really matter) in contemporary London. Ray Winstone continues his long and inglorious career playing the same role, only by this point he's lazy and fat too; when he 'shags his bird' in the loos (this is not the sort of film likely to win feminist plaudits) it's hard to know what's less believable -- that he could pull her, or that he doesn't keel over from a heart attack immediately. Various Brit thesps turn up to fill one note roles, in a fit of misguided patriotism. There's not an ounce of the wit, realism or excitement of the original series. There are a couple of nice shots of London by night, but otherwise this is a crude, stupid and unbelievable cop film that never ought to have been made in the first place.
Review of The Sweeney
