Rent Sweeney! (1977)

Crime Conspiracy Thriller That Is Really Good - Sweeney! review by GI

A spin off of the iconic and gritty British TV series and whereas TV spin offs usually make pretty mediocre films this is an exception. Even if you are totally unfamiliar with the 1970s series, which changed the rules on TV cop drama, you can enjoy this film as its a sharp, intelligent crime thriller with a very detailed and convoluted plot. Rather than just an extended TV episode type story the writers cleverly inserted the main characters into a London based conspiracy thriller that has political intrigue (the basis of the plot is from the Profumo Affair), tough, realistic action including some sudden and shocking violence and a very accurate representation of the police of the time. An informant for Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad asks him to look into the death of his girlfriend. Officially she committed suicide but Jack soon begins to uncover a murder conspiracy that goes to the heart of the Government and Jack soon finds he is framed and hunted himself. Dennis Waterman reprises his role as Regan's sidekick, Carter and with a great support cast including Barry Foster, Ian Bannen, Diane Keen and Colin Welland this is a British crime film that ranks alongside The Long Good Friday (1980). It's an unsung gem so if you've never seen this then I highly recommend it (it's been recently restored for BluRay/DVD release). Sadly an attempt to resurrect the characters in 2012 with Ray Winstone as Regan was a dismal failure.