I did enjoy the first film, but as an avid fan of the show I will say the show is better than both movies put together. There are many problems with Sweeney 2, but the cast, good moments of dialogue and decent direction do make it watchable. Personally I don't think it is as bad as people think it is, but it does have major problems and definitely inferior to the show and the first film. The first problem is that the film is dated, the location shooting is nice but the photography is not as skillful or as evocative and the picture quality is very grainy. Secondly, the plot is very muddled and disjointed and it does feel like an extended episode from the show, and does have issues of pacing, when it drags, it not only drags badly but really badly. I loved the concept, but there is a lot of time in the middle half when there are a lot of pointless and dragged out scenes. Thirdly, the violence, the show and first film do have a lot of violence but the violence here is quite extreme, I do remember the first time I saw this there was a death towards the end that I was really disturbed by. However, what makes the film watchable is some amusing dialogue, not a surprise really as one of the main reasons why I love the show and liked the first film was that the dialogue was quotable and iconic, the superb music and the performances and chemistry of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman, who are solid as rocks in their roles as Regan and Carter. The supporting performances are also pretty good, but Thaw and Waterman are definitely the best of the lot. The direction is also pretty decent, perhaps not as efficient as it could have been but it was solid enough. Overall, disappointing, but it wasn't bad. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Sweeney 2
