The Sweeney (2012 film) based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The Sweeney (2012 film) The Sweeney is a 2012 British action drama film, inspired by the 1970s "The Sweeney", the British television police drama of the same name, but set in contemporary London. Directed and written by Nick Love, and co-written by John Hodge, it is based on the characters created by Ian Kennedy Martin. It stars Ray Winstone as Jack Regan, Plan B (credited as Ben Drew) as George Carter, and Damian Lewis as Frank Haskins, with Allen Leech and Hayley Atwell. The story focuses on two members of the
The Sweeney was specifically written for John Thaw, who was by this time a friend of Ian Kennedy Martin, with whom he'd worked on the TV drama series "Redcap" in the 1960s. From the very beginning the show was seen as having series potential. After "Regan" scored highly in the ratings, work began on the development of the series proper. Ian Kennedy Martin's idea was for the series to be mainly studio-based, with more dialogue and less action, but producer Ted Childs disagreed, and in consequence Ian Kennedy Martin parted company with the project. Childs produced it on film, not videotape, so