We, in South Miami, are lucky. We get to see certain movies that are not available anywhere else in Florida. One such movie is “The Sweeney” which is playing exclusively at the AMC Sunset Place starting March 1.
If you thought that America was the only country that turned its old television shows into movies, think again. “The Sweeney” is based on an old show that played in the United Kingdom and now it is being brought to the big screen in the US thanks to Entertainment One. The Sweeney Flying Squad is a special unit within the London police force. Its members fight crime in unique ways and they always gets results. A jewelry store robbery and execution befuddles the crew as never before. At the same time, they are being carefully watched by Internal Affairs and one member of them team has something to hide from them.
The motto of the Sweeney Flying Squad is, act like a criminal to catch a criminal. You don’t see too many policemen who come out of their cars wielding a baseball bat ready to beat crooks into submission, but these guys do just that. You end up respecting and liking these men and women right from the start, especially their leader, Jack Regan (Ray Winstone). He’s far from being the perfect cop, but the flaws he possesses just makes him more human. An interesting side note is that Winstone appeared on the original television series when he first started as an actor.
“The Sweeney” can actually be compared to “Heat”, the cop drama starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Particularly familiar will be the bank robbery scene. Without giving away too many spoilers, the similar scene in this movie takes place over the streets of London and in many confined spaces. Those changes make this version on this scene even more intense and maybe even better than the one in “Heat”. Don’t conclude that “The Sweeney” is a high octane action movie. It has more than its share of slow moments. There is a lack of character development or subplots. While you do get wrapped up in the mystery that unravels, sometimes you just want them to “get to it” rather than linger on something that is not driving the movie forward.
Even if you live in the Broward or Palm Beach County area, it could be worth the trip down south to the AMC Sunset Place to see “The Sweeney”. There are some nice restaurants and shopping venues in the area and you could make a day of it. The movie is also available On Demand. It is Rated R for violence and language throughout and some sexual content.
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