''The Sweeney'' is a 2012 British

action drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, inspired by the 1970s ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Insp ...

'', the

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

police drama of the same name, but set in contemporary

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Written and directed by Nick Love, from a story by Love and John Hodge, it is based on the characters created by

Ian Kennedy Martin Ian Kennedy Martin (born 23 May 1936) is a British television scriptwriter who created the action drama series ''The Sweeney'' (1975–1978). Career He began his television career in the 1960s, first as a script editor on the military police d ...

. It stars

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

as Jack Regan,

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B Ent ...

(credited as Ben Drew) as George Carter, and

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...

as Frank Haskins, with

Allen Leech Allen Leech (born 18 May 1981) is an Irish actor best known for his role as Tom Branson on the historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and as Paul Prenter in the 2018 biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. He made his professional acting debut with a ...

and

Hayley Atwell Hayley Elizabeth Atwell (born 5 April 1982) is a British and American actress. Born and raised in London, Atwell studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and made her stage debut in a 2005 production of James Kerr's translation ...

. The story focuses on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial

armed robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the per ...

, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime. The title is derived from ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

'', which is

Cockney rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

for "Flying Squad". The film was released on 12 September 2012.

Plot

Flying Squad officers D.I Jack Regan (

) and D.C George Carter ( Ben Drew) arrive at the scene of a warehouse robbery; four armed men are attempting to steal gold bars. After both capture the robbers, Regan takes some of the gold bars to give to his

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

Harry ( Alan Ford). D.C.I Ivan Lewis (

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

) from

The Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

Professional Standards Department (''similar to the U.S police Internal Affairs'') begins scrutinising Regan's activities, unaware of Regan's affair with Lewis' estranged wife, fellow Flying Squad officer Nancy Lewis (

). Regan receives information about a planned robbery on a

Private Bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...

, but ceases surveillance when an armed robbery at an insignificant jewellers places £200,000 of jewellery in the hands of a dangerous criminal, and leaves one civilian dead. Regan suspects long-time adversary Francis Allen ( Paul Anderson) is responsible, but cannot disprove Allen was out of the country. After evidence links violent

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

criminal Makin Trebolt (Kevin Michaels) to the crime, Regan grudgingly releases Allen. When the Private Bank is robbed the Flying Squad arrives in time to confront the heavily armed robbers, defying their boss D.C.I Frank Haskins (

). After a long chase and shootout the robbers escape, with Makin deliberately shooting Nancy dead in front of an incapacitated Regan. A grieving Inspector Lewis uses the shootout as justification to suspend the entire Flying Squad. Determined, Regan obtains a fake badge and illegal weapon and interrogates a local thug, who unexpectedly confesses that Allen paid him to fake his alibi. Before he can share this information with Carter, Regan is arrested and jailed. Working separately, Carter tracks down and interrogates a robber wounded in the shootout, who reveals Makin plans to escape via a boat named Pegasus. Shortly after the armed Carter is arrested at gunpoint, only for Haskins to intervene, hoping to save Carter's career. Despite this, Haskins is unwilling to listen to Carter until Carter spots the name "Pegasus" in the Flying Squad's notes: the name of Allen's boat. Finally connecting Allen and the crimes, Haskins arranges for Regan's release. Regan and Carter head to the docks to intercept Makin and Allen, who manage to escape via car; they eventually pursue the pair to a caravan park where both vehicles crash. Carter exits the vehicle and tries to fire on the pair as they attempt to flee, only to be struck by their vehicle. Makin points his weapon at the wounded Carter, but Regan fatally shoots Makin and then points the gun point blank at a heavily injured Allen, saying "you're nicked," before lowering it. Some time later, Regan returns to the now reactivated Flying Squad offices, reinstated. He and the rest of the Squad leave on a case, with

Detective Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is u ...

Lewis watching DI Carter and DC Regan as they go.

Cast

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Jack Regan John Vincent Regan (12 September 1912 – 11 August 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who represented Collingwood in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1930s and 1940s. Playing career Recruited from Northcote, Regan str ...

* Ben Drew as Detective Constable George Carter *

as Detective Constable Nancy Lewis *

Ivan Lewis * Paul Anderson as Francis Allen * Alan Ford as Harry *

as Detective Chief Inspector Frank Haskins *

as Detective Constable Simon Ellis *

Steven Waddington Steven Waddington (born 30 December 1967) is an English film and television actor. He is best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Early life Waddington was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

as Detective Constable Nathan Miller * Caroline Chikezie as Detective Constable Kara Clarke *

Kara Tointon Kara Louise Tointon (born 5 August 1983) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Dawn Swann in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. In 2010, she won the BBC competition series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', and in 2015, she appeared ...

as Megan Barret * Nick Nevern as Freddie * Ed Skrein as David *

Allan Corduner Allan Corduner (; born 2 April 1950) is a British actor. Born in Stockholm to a German mother and a Russo-Finnish father, Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in London. After earning a BA (Hons) in English and Drama at Bristol Univer ...

as a doctor

Production

Development

A film version of the television series was first announced in 2008. The film was to be produced by DNA Films, and to be written and directed by Nick Love. Love was asked to write the film alongside

, the creator of the original series. Filming was originally planned for Spring 2009, with

's name confirmed for the role of Jack Regan, and

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

and

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

being suggested as possibilities for the lead role of George Carter.

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001), '' The Two Towers'' (2002), ...

and Tom Hardy were other names linked to the remake. At the time, it was not revealed whether the film would be set in the 1970s, or remade for the present day. Sponsor Fox Searchlight withdrew support just a few weeks before filming was due to start, and the project soon looked to be on hold, until July 2010, when the budget on the project was announced to be £3 million.

Casting

In April 2011, the participation of Winstone was confirmed, for the role of Jack Regan. One of Winstone's earliest roles had been in the TV series of the same name as an unnamed youth. Ben Drew, alias rapper

, took the role of George Carter. It was confirmed by the film's director, Nick Love, that the budget was around £3 million. The film was completed in mid-2012, and released on 12 September 2012. The final amount spent on the production was actually less than £2 million, coming in more than £1 million under budget.

Filming

BBC's ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'' filmed a car chase for the production in Series 18, Episode 3. The car chase scenes filmed with ''Top Gear'' were filmed on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is deriv ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the R ...

and

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

and the presenters and production team from ''Top Gear'' assisted with planning and filming.

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme '' Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and J ...

and

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

were reported to have driven but their names do not appear in the film credits. In the episode only Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson are shown.

Release

Box office

On the weekend of release, ''The Sweeney'' topped the UK

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

, taking over £1.5 million and replacing ''

Dredd ''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the '' 2000 AD'' comic strip '' Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezq ...

'' at the top of the chart.

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has a 45% score based on 64 reviews, with an average rating of 5.05/10. The site's consensus states: "Ray Winstone exudes tough-guy bravado, but this cop thriller otherwise feels thoroughly generic." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "Marred by an overbearing musical score and an undercooked plot (by the director, Nick Love, and John Hodge), “The Sweeney” nevertheless looks a lot classier than its characters. Simon Dennis's photography is glossy and crisp, and a lengthy foot chase — making excellent use of the National Gallery — is inventively choreographed."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

reports a 48 out of 100 rating based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney 2012 films 2010s English-language films 2010s Serbian-language films 2012 crime action films 2012 action thriller films 2012 crime thriller films British action thriller films British crime action films British crime thriller films Films directed by Nick Love Films based on television series Films set in London Films shot in Kent Films shot in London Films with screenplays by John Hodge Entertainment One films Vertigo Films films Films scored by Lorne Balfe Films about the Serbian Mafia 2012 multilingual films British multilingual films 2010s British films