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This is the first big-screen version of the classic 1970s cop series since the highly efficient 1978 Sweeney 2 in which John Thaw and Dennis Waterman reprised their TV roles as the boozy, violent Flying Squad Inspector Jack Regan (very obviously a British "Dirty" Harry Callahan) and his dedicated sidekick George Carter. In Love's pretty ordinary updating, Ray Winstone's overweight, fascistic Regan makes Thaw's original look like Lord Peter Wimsey, while rapper Ben Drew (alias Plan B) is a pale copy of Waterman's Carter. The plotting is weak with paid-for informants replacing any kind of investigation. There is a spectacularly staged, if ultimately absurd gunfight and chase following a bank robbery in Trafalgar Square that is superior to anything I recall from the TV series or the other theatrical spin-offs.

CrimeThrillerAction and adventureRay WinstonePlan BDamian LewisPhilip French

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The hip-hop musician says being cast as George Carter alongside Ray Winstone as Jack Regan is a dream come true

The rapper Plan B is the new Dennis Waterman. And he's delighted. The Brit award-winning pop star said his casting in the role of George Carter for the film version of The Sweeney was a "dream come true".

Plan B, real name Ben Drew, will star opposite Ray Winstone, who takes on the role of Jack Regan, the character played by the late John Thaw in the original TV series.

Director Nick Love, known for The Football Factory and The Firm, plans to start shooting the film in the autumn.

The television series The Sweeney, written by Ian Kennedy-Martin, ran from 1975 to 1978 on ITV. It retains a cult following, with the hard-boiled masculinity and political incorrectness of Waterman and Thaw's rule-bending Flying Squad police officers inspiring affection among fans.

The...

For those not in the know, The Sweeney was a British police drama from the 1970′s, replacing the sometimes slightly twee and parochial style of earlier British police series such as Z-Cars and Dixon of Dock Green with something a good deal more gritty.

The original series dealt with the work of the Flying Squad branch of the Metropolitan Police (Sweeney Todd / Flying Squad – it’s a cockney rhyming slang thing) and featured Detective Inspector Regan and his assistant Detective Sergeant Carter. It was, for its time, a faced paced series with much more in the way of on-screen violence than the British television viewing public were accustomed to.

Although the original TV series did spawn a couple of theatrically released feature films (Sweeney! in 1977 and Sweeney 2 a year later), there have been rumours for a while of a fresh film version in the works. The Hollywood Reporter posted...

Actor Ray Winstone ("Sexy Beast") has now signed on to play the lead role of Officer 'Jack Regan' in a feature film remake of the 1975 UK TV series "The Sweeney".

The original police drama, lensed entirely on film by Thames Television's Euston Films, focused on two members of the 'Flying Squad', a branch of the Metropolitan Police specializing in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London.

The title derives from 'Sweeney Todd', which is Cockney rhyming slang for 'Flying Squad'.

The series previously spun-off the Mow films "Sweeney!" /"Sweeney 2".

Director Nick Love and series creator Ian Kennedy Martin, wrote the new screenplay, aiming for a production start by the end of the year.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Sweeney"...

Actor Daniel Craig ("Casino Royale") is being considered to play the lead role of Officer 'Jack Regan' in a feature film remake of the 1975 UK TV series "The Sweeney".

Ray Winstone ("Sexy Beast") has already been cast as Regan's sidekick 'George Carter'.

The original police drama, lensed entirely on film by Thames Television's Euston Films, focused on two members of the 'Flying Squad', a branch of the Metropolitan Police specializing in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London.

The title derives from 'Sweeney Todd', which is Cockney rhyming slang for 'Flying Squad'.

The series previously spun-off the films "Sweeney!" /"Sweeney 2".

Director Nick Love and series creator Ian Kennedy Martin, wrote the new screenplay, aiming for a production start by the end of the year.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Sweeney"...