Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievably brilliant
Review: Let me start off by saying - this movie isn't for everyone. It's the sickest s*** I ever saw, and I'm not just talking about the VERY graphic violence. Now, it's best I don't say anything further about this hallucinogenic masterpiece, because when I watched this film I had no idea what it was about or what to expect, and I think it's best that way. Let me just say this: The camera work, the actors, the way the story is carried out, everything about this movie is just.... Brilliant. If you think you can handle this movie, Please do yourself a favor and don't read any more reviews!!! It will only ruin it for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Just plain awful!
Review: Worst film I've seen in a long time...don't waste your money, this is just plain junk...bad camera angles and poor photography that trys to subsitute violence and sex for talent...the story unfolds in reverse...Who ever told this guy he could make movies, lied....
Rating:
Summary: SHOCKINGLY RAW!!!!
Review: O.K., let me just start by saying that i'm tired of seeing all these reviews here on Amazon! Blah, blah, blah, there is no need to show so much violence, blah, blah, blah, there is enough violence in the real world and we know it exists, blah, blah, blah. Listen, printed on the front of this dvd in big letters is WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC SEX AND VIOLENCE. So if you don't want to see this type of film then don't buy it and don't watch it. Instead, sit down with the family, a big bowl of popcorn and watch The Wizard Of Oz!!!
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Now for the people who actually like this type of film, this is one of the most brutal, gut wrenching films i've ever seen. Kudos to Gasper Noe on such a brillant masterpiece. Let me just say that I love Indie films and classic gore films(I have over 200 in my collection)so I am not a novice when it comes to this type of genre. Check out my other reviews on films such as Ilsa-She Wolf Of The SS, Boise Moi, Tim Roth's The War Zone, etc. I love Lucio Fulci, and of course the godfather of horror, Dario Argento. My point is that i'm pretty much jaded when it comes to shocking or disturbing material, and Irreversible is one that will stay with me for a long time.
I loved this film for many reasons but mainly because how much Noe makes you feel involved with the main characters. Since it's told in reverse you don't feel this way right away, but you will. I'm not going to get into the whole plot line because so many others have already done that for me. What i'm really here to say is that this is a very REAL movie. Like it all is really happing right before our eyes and we need to stick around to find out what happens. Noe's vision is surperb, and in his own way very artistic. I'm tellin' ya, see this film.
There are a couple things I would like to point out that some other reviewers failed to elaborate on. For those of you who saw Noe's previous film, I Stand Alone, I was wondering if anyone got the opening sequence of this film. The movie opens with two guys talking in a small apartment upstairs from the club where the murder takes place. Did anyone realize that it's the guy from I Stand Alone, and that he is still in character from that film? His is telling the other guy that he was locked up for having sex with his daughter. To me is was like leaving off of I Stand Alone and going right into Irreversible. Excellent touch!!!!
Also, in some of the other reviews, some made it sound like there was a sort of triumph to this film, or that justice was done. That is so untrue. There is no happy ending here, the good guys don't win. I mean sure, the guy who rapes Alex and beats Marcus to a bloody pulp with only half of his face left(there will be no open casket for him) does get arrested, but if you were into the characters as much as I was, you really wanted to see this pr*%k, at the least, get tortured to death or set on fire or something. So to me there was no justice.
Anyway, if you want to see a movie that will leave a lasting impression in your head then pick this one up. It may not be a happy impression, but a impression none-the-less. I am so tired of the senseless dribble that comes out of Hollywood these days. All these big corporate movies with big name stars that when the movie is over, you feel like you just wasted 2 hours of your life.
Is it just me or don't people notice that most of the films made these days are geared tward teenie-boppers, or movies that are PC? I'm glad to see that there are still directors out there that have the balls to make a film thats over the top, or geared to the adult viewer. Even if we have to get them from somewhere like France!!! NEVER FORGET 9/11/01!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: ...but there is no ending(or would that be beginning?)
Review: A fantastic foreign film that reminds me somewhat of Memento yet got none of the acclaim.My only complaint is that they leave you wondering what happens which is great and thought-provoking sometimes but for some reason got on my nerves this time.
Rating:
Summary: Raw and stunning
Review: IRREVERSIBLE starts off with erratic nervous energy and nearly unbearable violence, which unwinds (since the plot presents the story in reverse) to a meditative, mandala-like epiphany. Hard to say whether the story would have worked as well chronologically (I doubt it), but as it is, the film comments intelligently on revenge, masculinity/femininity, the sex-and-violence connection, and, most of all, the vanity of human wishes. The highlights of the film are two long and excrutiating scenes of brutal violence. But there are equally impressive quiet moments--such as the desperate and witty subway conversation on what makes for "good sex" and a tender, matter-of-fact love scene between the film's charismatic stars Vincent Cassel and Monica Belluci, who have never been better. Any warnings you have received about the ghastliness of the fight scene and rape scene that dominate the film should not be taken lightly. Still, the film has more to offer than shock effects and gore, and it is as serious a contemplation of the human condition as you are likely to see on film.
Rating: 
Summary: Be aware of technocal shortcomings
Review: I agree with most previous comments on the film.Title sequences and menus are very memorable, as is the soundtrack. As mentioned by some on Netflix, the technical transfer of this film renders a poor image on some systems. Much of the action takes place at night, and there is alot of interference. perhaps the worse I've seen. Not unwatchable, but it may handicap the movie. Consider renting first...
Rating:
Summary: Not For the Squeamish
Review: "Irreversible" is a very difficult film to watch. For starters, the jerky hand-held shooting of the first reel is a test of your stomach. It's as violent as it is dizzying. If you can survive this portion of the film, you'll be able to endure the rest. If you manage to do that, you'll witness a truly unique film experience. Told in reverse chronological order, its similarity to "Memento" stops there. Here it works extremely well -- definitely more than a gimmick. It works so well in fact that if "Irreversible" were told in standard order, the film would be very unsatifying. In addition to the opening, the film features a graphic rape scene that effectively shows its brutality. Overall, "Irreversible" is a great film for someone that wants to see something that is really different. However, it is so harrowing and brutal, that you probably will not want to see it a second time. You've been warned.
Rating: 
Summary: Irresponsible
Review: I'm a veteran of disturbing cinema and I was expecting a grueling experience -- heck, the dramatic opening credits nearly had me too intimidated to continue watching -- but ultimately the story itself was too simplistic to be truly disturbing, and I was left wondering what the aims were of the film's creator, Gaspar Noe. I'd also seen another of Noe's films (I Stand Alone) and I've now concluded that has nothing to say. He aspires to become merely a notorious director of shocking material. My guess is that his creative "method" involves simply conjuring up some suckerpunch scene (in the case of Irreversible, there are two) and throwing together sufficient character and plot to make the scene happen. It's revealing to me that the camera swirls and twists -- almost nauseatingly so -- throughout the whole of Irreversible, but remains static in only one scene (the excruciatingly long rape sequence), as though to suggest that this was the only scene that mattered, the only one worth framing properly. Noe is an exploitation filmmaker, but in a world where no one pays attention to shock filmmakers anymore (after all, Perry Farrell said that nothing was shocking fifteen years ago), Noe is forced to imbue his unpalatable material with moral outrage just to get people to pay attention to it. But there is no moral here. Rape is nonsensical. Revenge is nonsensical. The world is cruel. We all knew this going in. I'm reminded of what one critic said about Marilyn Manson: "There's nothing as lame or pitiful as contrived outrage, and no band around fails to shock with as much concerted effort as Marilyn Manson." Same goes for Gaspar Noe. If you want to see something really shocking, try Takashi Miike's Audition. Now there's a suckerpunch.
Rating:
Summary: utterly pointless
Review: The only thing this movie gets any credit for is the fact that it didn't try to soften up the hard stuff. I thought the murder at the beginning of the movie was quite well done, once you got past the infinitely drawn-out search through the club for 'Tenia'. Unfortunately, the story overall was boring, stupid and pointless. If you've read any summary of the movie, you already know the entire story - that's really how little there is to it. Whereas there was a very important reason for Memento to run the story in reverse, there was absolutely no justification for doing it in this movie. At one point, a character states that 'our future is already written', which is the only reason I can identify for someone getting the idea that it would be okay to run the movie backwards. Pretty weak. The camera is often spinning around, giving the viewer the sense that the director was trying to be artsy yet didn't know how to do it meaningfully. Scenes drag on, and on, and on to the point of being unbearably boring. If you have a strong curiosity for ultraviolence, you might get something out of this movie. If you are hoping for an interesting or clever story, this is a total waste of time. My advice is to rent it, and fast forward to the good stuff. You'll save yourself from about an hour and twenty minutes of boredom this way.
Rating:
Summary: Time destroys everything
Review: Gaspar Noe's much-anticipated follow-up to "I Stand Alone" caused much controversy when it premiered because of its brutally violent and sexually explicit content (apparently at Cannes, it caused many people to either pass out or throw up). It takes a lot to shock me these days (after all, I even found "I Stand Alone" pretty tame), but I found it extremely difficult to sit through some of the scenes in this movie. Yes, it *is* that disturbing. Yes, it *does* live up to the "hype." Don't watch this if you have a weak heart. Consider yourself warned. Having said that, this really is a fantastic movie. The story is simple, but its backward storytelling (a la "Memento", but without any overlaps) makes it complex and gripping. The unusual camera movements were a little headache/nausea-inducing at first, but they fit the frantic pace and emotional state of the movie extremely well, and they do eventually settle down towards the end (the beginning?). My biggest complaint is that once the two "money shot" scenes are over with, you're too emotionally spent that it's tough to concentrate on the later potion of the film (i.e. before the "tragedy") even though they do serve a purpose. I also loved the "In the Mood For Love"-esque cinematography and an excellent soundtrack by Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter.
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