The Sweeney (2012)

When I went to Scotland five years ago The Sweeny had just been released in theaters and I saw ads for it on the sides of buses and in magazines. When the film received little or no theatrical distribution in the United States I never thought I'd see it, but more then a year ago I ran across a cheap DVD copy in a Hastings and picked it up, though only now am I getting around to watching it. Having seen the movie I now understand why it didn't receive a wide release here, as some of the filmmakers state in the audio commentary track, other then James Bond the British are not known for making action films. There are one or two good action segments here, but on the whole they are on a smaller scale then you would expect in a big budget American release.

The movie itself is based on a popular 1970's British cop show of the same name, and focus on  Detective Inspector Jack Regan (here played by Ray Winstone) and his partner and protégé Detective Constable George Carter (here played by musician Ben Drew). The two are part of a 'Flying Squad' an organized crime command who are working a case concerning a series of robberies, a suspicious death, and Serbian nationals. Regan is also under the close watch of an internal affairs officer (Steven Mackintosh) whose wife (Hayley Atwell) he happens to be having an affair with. The film has a few intriguing elements, including an informant who Regan pays off with stolen gold, and makes me curious about the TV version, but on the whole I had a hard time caring much about these characters and the case they were cracking. Watchable as a curiosity, but not much more then that. **