Too much of everything

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I liked this one. A lot. I wanted to know what happened next. I like Andy Garcia. He plays a cop. Richard Gere also plays a cop. It's a good cop, bad cop tale. Nancy Travis is in it, playing Garcia's wife. And she's pretty good. Not a lot of screen time for her, really. Garcia plays an internal affairs investigator at LAPD who becomes obsessed with nailing a corrupt cop, played by Gere. Garcia's partner is a lesbian, played by Laurie Metcalf, who is pretty great in this one. Nancy Travis' character is jealous of Metcalf's character, and Garcia is jealous of Gere. There's a lot of sexual jealousy informing everything. William Baldwin is also in this one and he's pretty good in it. The performances are all pretty good. I recommend this one. It's a great story, and in my opinion Richard Gere and Andy Garcia are both really fun to watch. Richard Gere is a slimy bad guy, with an almost satanic dimension. Garcia - Garcia's the good guy but his motives are unclear. He's a complex character. I recommend you check this one out.

Audiences are used to seeing Richard Gere as the likable, womanising, good looking pretty boy on screen. Look no further than such movies as An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and Pretty Woman (1990) and these are the few movies that Richard Gere has built his career on. Internal Affairs is a totally different movie for him in which he does a 180 and portrays a very unlikeable villain.Richard Gere is Officer Dennis Peck, a morally corrupt patrol officer who is not above roughing up suspects, planting evidence, intimidating others, using other police officers as pawns in his own games, and a womaniser who often cheats on his wife. Despite his immoral and selfish behaviour he is seen by other officers as a role model of the Los Angeles Police Department and is also a very caring father. Andy Garcia is Raymond Avila, a newly transferred detective who has been assigned to Internal Affairs Division. Raymond Avila has been assigned to work with fellow Internal Affairs Detective Amy Wallace played by Laurie Metcalf. Initially, Detectives Avila and Wallace assigned to investigate Officer Van Stretch (William Baldwin) for several misconduct allegations including excessive force, substance abuse problems, and racist behaviour. A further investigation reveals Van Stretch has been behaving erratically and is abusive towards his wife Penny (Faye Grant) as well as raising suspicions in his financial statements. Avila also finds an ally in fellow police officer Dorian Fletcher (Michael Beach) who has expressed questions about Peck's behaviour and conduct. When Peck makes insinuations about making sexual advances towards Raymond's wife Kathleen (Nancy Travis), Raymond punches Peck to the ground. This also arouses further suspicions that Peck is having an affair with Kathleen which results in a further mind games between Peck and Raymond and a confrontation between Raymond and Kathleen occurs in a crowded restaurant. As the net closes in, the game continues with Dennis Peck throwing his weight around and going so far as to committing murder, including putting other police officer's lives in danger and other people he has been secretly dealing with. Raymond Avila is determined to nail Dennis Peck once and for all.I thought this was Richard Gere's best role as the corrupt police officer Dennis Peck. Peck is not just any kind of villain, but a sleazy, smooth talking, womanising, manipulating, deceitful and a very unlikeable person you will love to hate. And he does this while hiding behind his police uniform and charming charisma. Peck is a villain that the audiences want to see get his comeuppance. You can add Richard Gere to a long list of actors who are normally well known to play good guys that rarely play the villain. You have Brad Pitt in Kalifornia (1993), Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire (1994) and Collateral (2004), Bruce Willis in The Jackal (1997), John Travolta in Broken Arrow (1996) and Swordfish (2001), Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast (2001), Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001), Matt Damon in The Departed (2006), and Robert Redford in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Andy Garcia was top notch as the clean cut but intense Raymond Avila, a newly transferred Internal Affairs detective very eager to make a great impression. Laurie Metcalf who is known for her comedic roles including TV show Roseanne was great as Raymond's partner Amy Wallace. William Baldwin who later establishes himself in the early 90's as leading man material in Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991) and Sliver (1993) did a good job as the damaged police officer Van Stretch who is also Peck's partner. Other supporting cast members including Nancy Travis as Raymond's wife Kathleen and Michael Beach as Officer Dorian Fletcher round out the cast.Internal Affairs is a quality thriller that builds very slowly and then traps the viewer in a psychological maze of cat and mouse which doesn't let up until the very end of the movie. Internal Affairs is quite an underrated thriller than is still very enjoyable years later.8/10.

"Internal Affairs" is a solid cop thriller with a great cast; not only the two leads, but also with notable performances from Nancy Travis and Laurie Metcalf. It's a wicked game of psychological warfare as I.A. detective Andy Garcia goes up against corrupt LAPD cop Richard Gere. But Gere isn't the usual bribe-taking sort of dirty. No-ho-ho, he's the kind of villainous monster that plays mind-games, manipulates and torments his enemies. And he's got that face that just knows how to sway between smarmy and vindictive prick with ease. It's not the larger-than-life performance of, say, Denzel Washington in "Training Day", but it is the kind you see in your nightmares. The wolf in sheep's clothing you don't see coming. You just want to punch the teeth out of this guy. It's a sick and twisted brand of villainy that allows Gere to steal the show. Good movie. Slow burn, but not boring.7/10

No doubt it has a nice story. But some points were killing that story along with our patience to follow it ! It has 2 of the worst actors; one in a supporting role (William Baldwin), and one as the movie's antagonist (Richard Gere). Both did badly. As for (Baldwin); I saw dummies that do better acting than his, seriously this dude doesn't have a chance as an actor. And as for (Gere); then learn his technique to do an evil character here "laugh whenever someone hits you", and that's about it !! In fact the capacities of (Gere) are few and low. His eyes can't do much in anything. I just regard him for handling a role of a baddie, NOTHING ELSE !The music is provoking to unbearable extent sometimes. Originally that unbroken hissing was different, reminding me of Michael Mann's dealing with the soundtracks in any of his thrillers as a modern element. But given the fact that it's used to spread a suspicious and dreadful feel, I believe it was overused, boring and awful. Some points looked odd for oddity; the way how (Laurie Metcalf) performed (Andy Garcia)'s partner ??? What is that ?! And why ?! The famous extremely confusing matter of throwing the panties of (Nancy Travis) on her by her husband in the restaurant ?! Why (Gere) had to seduce the rich man, who hired him earlier to murder his parents, to kill his cheating wife ??? And when it comes to that scene, and the line of "That's my foot", then it's the head of weirdness indeed ! Let alone why (Garcia)'s partner had to be a lesbian ??! Just to seem impossible, for (Garcia)'s wife, that she might have an affair with him ??! Now how lame ! Why (Gere)'s wife suddenly had to confess about her husband ? Lame again yet more dangerously ! (Garcia)'s performance ranged between never blinking gazes and shouting in Spanish ! His nightmare was too long with free nudity. Strange that director (Mike Figgis) seems concerned about characterization, the lead's psychological status, and whatever he sees of ugly nightmares or swift daydreams.. all of that while forgetting being real serious or using solider script; recall the concocted and hasty third act to have a good example !The last scene is pretty much declaring the lousy joke that this nice story ended up as. Firstly, when we're in the third act; it must be about the good lead's girl. Secondly, from where did Garcia show up ? Thirdly, Gere wasn't ready to die before laughing his heart out (despite how many bullets blew up his chest !). And finally, why that hissing didn't want to STOP ?!!!Although showcasing the police corruption this way, at the end of the 1980s, was kind of bold, the movie loses its power when it falls in exaggeration (see how many people Gere killed!), turning lastly into the Hollywood commodity. But it's where the commercial points (being sexy, happy-ended,..) were being hindered by the dark atmosphere. And the dark atmosphere was being hindered by the commercial points !(Figgis) wanted to make a satiric Hollywood thriller, however the casting, the writing, plus his own heavy touches were all in the way; which led to weak satire and silly thriller. This movie, exactly like its evil cop, enjoyed pushing the buttons till ruining it all !