Sweeney 2

A year after the first film, Regan and Carter were back on the big screen for Sweeney 2, and this time the job is bank raids. Not the usual smash-and-grab either. A team of well-armed villains is flying in from the continent, hitting British banks, and flying out again before anyone can get a proper grip on them. The Flying Squad gets handed the mess.

It's a good shape for a film. The Squad's whole method depends on knowing the villains, drinking in their pubs, hearing which way the wind blows. A crew that arrives from abroad breaks all of that, so Regan has to work a case with none of his usual shortcuts available. The raids themselves are organised and heavily equipped, which means the response has to be too, and the film gives John Thaw and Dennis Waterman plenty of room to do the double act that made the series: Regan growling at everyone within reach, Carter doing the legwork and talking him down when it's needed.

Tom Clegg directed, with Troy Kennedy Martin and Ian Kennedy Martin sharing the writing. Denholm Elliott turns up as Jupp, and Ken Hutchison plays Hill opposite Anna Gaël as Mrs. Hill. Barry Stanton is Big John, with John Flanagan as Willard, David Casey as Goodyear, Derrick O'Connor as Llewellyn, and John Alkin as Detective Sergeant Tom Daniels.

Sweeney 2 knows exactly what people liked about the show and doesn't try to fix it. The pace is brisk, the villains are nasty rather than clever, and nobody wastes time agonising about procedure. There's something rather enjoyable about watching a 1978 British thriller trust its two leads this much. Thaw barely raises his voice and still owns every scene he's in.

Of the two films, the first aims higher. This one just wants to be a proper crime picture, and it manages it. Sometimes that's enough.