Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

jimbo-53-186511 Raymond Avila (Andy Garcia) works for the Internal Affairs Department with his partner Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf). Dennis Peck (Richard Gere) is a police officer who peaks Avila and Wallace's interest when they discover that the lifestyle & money that he has acquired does not seem consistent with those of a regular police officer. Avila and Wallace begin investigating Peck, but Peck is more dangerous than they both envisaged and both Avila and Wallace soon find themselves on a dangerous collision course with Peck.I'm really not sure what director Mike Figgis was doing here, but for the most part Internal Affairs was neither thrilling nor particularly dramatic. I understand that certain films will have a slow-burn approach (which I presume is the approach used by Figgis), but nothing particularly interesting happens. Figgis seems to be content with characters chatting to each other including a couple of rather flat exchanges between Gere and Garcia but that's about all he can seem to muster. Avila and Wallace are supposed to be investigating Peck but it never really feels like much of an investigation to me and for that reason the story unfolds without much tension or intensity. The main problem with this film is that there is no excitement, no spark, and no memorable scenes or dialogue and as a result of all of these things I found the story boring and uninteresting.Oddly though this sort of changed at about the 80 minute mark - the film suddenly kicks into life and it almost felt like Figgis' had suddenly woke up and thought 'S**t I'm supposed to be making a crime thriller here'. There was some intensity in the last 30 minutes which at least made the race to the finish line that little bit more bearable.The cast were another problem here with both Garcia and Gere being in sleep mode here - although strangely enough they both seemed to wake up at about the 80 minute mark as well. Gere is OK throughout the film, but Garcia has never been an actor that I've been able to take to. He only seems to be able to do either quiet and restrained OR all out yelling and overacting - there is a middle ground in between that Garcia never seems to be able to find. The ending is predictable and the story throws up no real surprises along the way.There's nothing really wrong with the script, but this film really needed a director at the helm who understands the genre. Figgis is out of his depth here and pretty much wastes all of the potential on offer by having nearly all of the cast standing round doing nothing. With a more competent director this probably would have been watchable, but as it is it's a bit of a yawner.

patriciagray This was one of the best, underrated movies. It is appalling to me that this movie scored only three starts. It is a study in the psychology of power, sex, and money. One of the best scenes is the one in which Raymond Avila goes haywire because of love.One definitely sees the hot-Latin temperament.I love the contrast between Dennis Peck sitting with his daughter for tea or with his wife in the bathtub and, then, being absolutely cold-blooded. Finally, with the sexy Richard Gere and Andy Garcia (oh, and Baldwin is not so bad, either), how could it not be the best ever movie for "not-so-proper" English ladies?

capncruller I really enjoyed this movie, mainly due to the great performances. It seems that a lot of gritty cop dramas were being made in the 90's, with great acting and mature story lines. Now all we get are superhero movies, but I digress.Richard Gere plays the ultimate bad ass and alpha male cop on the streets (before Denzel did it), woman love him and men respect his gangster.Andy Garcia plays the internal affairs agent who is trying to take Gere down. Garcia is the type of guy who likes to play it cool. He loses his cool though after things get personal. Great movie

Tweekums 'Internal Affairs' has two protagonists; Dennis Peck, an LA street cop who is highly regarded and has opted to stay on the streets rather than climb the promotion ladder and Raymond Avilla and cop who has just joined the Internal Affairs Division. Avilla's first case involves Peck's partner Van Stretch, a man accused of planting drugs on a suspect... and an old friend of Avilla's. After a run in with Peck, Avilla has a feeling that he may be dirty too, the more he hears the more convinced he is but he will need far more evidence if he is to go up against the force's poster boy. With plenty of evidence against Stretch he offers him a deal if he will name other dirty cops. He says no but later tells his wife he is going to take the deal; a mistake since she was with Peck at the time. Peck arranges for Stretch to be killed; there is still no evidence against him though. As the investigation continues Peck starts to goad Avilla, insinuating that he has slept with his wife... a suggestion that gets just the reaction Peck wanted. The closer the investigation gets to Peck the more dangerous it gets for Avilla and his partner as Peck is owed favours by a lot of people.This was a fine thriller; Richard Gere did a fine job playing against type as the corrupt cop Peck; the more we got to know the character the more evil he seemed; playing opposite him Andy Garcia is as good playing honest cop Avilla; a character who could self destruct if he continues to let Peck get under his skin. Other notable performances come from Laurie Metcalf, who plays Avilla's partner Amy Wallace and William Baldwin as Van Stretch. Director Mike Figgis did a fine job keeping things tense throughout the film; I also liked how some questions remained unanswered; notably whether or not a key character would survive after being seriously wounded. I'd certainly recommend this film to fans of Gere and Garcia as well as to anybody who likes a decent crime thriller.