Rent Sweeney 2 (1978)

Actually A Gritty Crime Film. Worth Your Time - Sweeney 2 review by GI

This second spin off film from the TV series is more of an extended episode really but it has real panache and what may not be readily evident is that it is a very accurate portrayal of the British police of the late 70s. It's also a gritty, violent crime film that utilises actual events to create a realistic London based police thriller. The role of Commander Jupp played by Denholm Elliott is based on a real Flying Squad commander (Kenneth Drury) jailed for corruption. The story here has Jupp about to be convicted for corruption giving Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) one last job, to hunt down a team of armed bank robbers. Jupp's motives in doing this are at first unclear but as this is a more convoluted plot than an initial viewing might suggest he does have one. Regan and his team including Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) begin their investigation and soon realise that the robbers are ruthless and ready to kill their own to avoid capture. This leads to some fast paced action scenes and car chases that are very well executed. Wrapped up in this story is a focus on the lonely lives of Regan and Carter and their need for affection from outside the police, this is sensitively done with comedy and sadness. The language and methods of the police are portrayed very accurately and what I've come to love about this film are the couple of little sub plots that are mixed in the main story including a very funny bomb incident in a hotel. As British crime films go this is worthy of a re-evaluation, it's a tough, enthralling drama with two iconic characters and the move to the cinema screen enabled the makers to push the realism further making for a very satisfying film.