CRIME DRAMA; 1hr 52min
STARRING: Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell
Trouble and strife: Atwell and Winstone
The men and women of the London Metropolitan Police Flying Squad, aka the Sweeney, work hard and play harder, busting lawbreakers and hitting the turps to celebrate, hoo-rah. Their success rate is impressive but their methods are out there to say the least, with baseball bats and pickaxe handles standard issue, consequent lawsuits right and left and Internal Affairs sniffing around. Detective Inspector Jack Regan (Winstone) runs the show with his young-gun partner, George Carter (Drew). Regan is a charging grizzly who, when not bashing out rough justice, has a hot thing going with a married fellow officer (Atwell)…
At 55, Winstone could still pull off this meaty bravado with his knowing eyes propped half open. Director and co-writer Nick Love stays true to the grit of the 1970s British TV series, spinning the squealing wheels through operatic action into an ethical limbo that sees Regan at his lowest ebb and Winstone devouring the drama with wounded ferocity. He’s a grizzly well worth watching, no matter which side of the fence he’s on.
