Rush (1991)
The Mob (1951)
The Moment: Broderick Crawford’s hard-nosed copper thinks he’s been made by another mobster… only for said mobster to reveal himself as a federal agent. What a relief!
Look Away When: Crawford’s face falls when his cover is blown. You’re fully expecting him to buy it, when salvation suddenly presents itself.
Eastern Promises (2007)
The Moment: Viggo Mortensen’s undercover agent is forced to have sex with a prostitute in order to prove that he’s not a homosexual to his narrow-minded mob boss. Uncomfortable viewing…
Look Away When: Said boss reveals that he’ll be sitting in on the encounter, just to make sure. Awkward, much?
Narc (2002)
The Moment: The warehouse interrogation, in which an increasingly unhinged Detective Oak proceeds to brutalise a pair of dealers with whom he has a history.
Look Away When: The tension reaches fever pitch when Tellis steps in and attempts to get Oak to do things by the book…
Street Kings (2008)
The Moment: Detective Ludlow poses as an arms dealer, before purposely goading a group of Korean gangsters into kicking the crap out of him and stealing his car. A car that just happens to contain a tracking device…
Look Away When: As soon as the beating starts, you’re not certain whether Ludlow will survive to see his plan come to fruition…
Hard Boiled (1992)
The Moment: Tony Leung’s character finds himself forced to shoot a police informant, despite being a copper himself. How is he going to square this one up with his conscience?
Look Away When: Leung goes for his gun and pulls the trigger. We needn’t have worried however, as this being a John Woo film, it’s quite easy to non-fatally shoot someone in the chest.
The Fast And The Furious (2001)
The Moment: Having just exposed his inexperience as a street racer, Officer O’Connor is already running the risk of having his cover blown, only for matters to rapidly deteriorate with the arrival of the police.
Look Away When: A squad car recognises O’Connor in the middle of he and Dominic’s attempt to escape…
No Way Out (1987)
The Moment: Farrell manages to intercept the photo ID that places Brice in the frame as “Yuri” in the nick of time, finally engineering his escape from the Pentagon.
Look Away When: It’s pretty much all adrenaline from the moment Pritchard does for Sam, paving the way for Farrell to frame him.
Miami Vice (2006)
The Moment: Crockett and Tubbs pose as a pair of drug dealers in order to set up a meet with a crime kingpin’s chief enforcer. Said meeting is fraught, to say the least…
Look Away When: As soon as the guns come out. It’s pretty nerve-wracking from there until the end of the scene.
The Godfather (1972)
The Moment: Michael meets with McCluskey and Sollozzo under the pretence of wanting to thrash out a peace treaty. Little do they know, he’s actually planning his first hit…
Look Away When: Michael makes his way to the bathroom. The behind-the-cistern fumbling is almost too much to take!
