Deep Cover

interesting

Going into seeing this movie, I wasn't sure about what I was going to see. I was expecting something kind of good (because of Roger Ebert's review), but not great (because of some other reviews). But I was not expecting such a good film. Laurence Fishburne (Boyz in the Hood, What's Love Got To Do With It) stars as a cop who has avoided drugs and the crime life because of his father's involvement and death in it. Soon he is offered a job going undercover as a drug dealer. He accepts it. After a little while he gets himself deep into it. He forms partnerships with high ranked drug dealers, which includes Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Nine Monthes). Soon he becomes less of an undercover cop, but more of a drug dealer. He soon realizes that he is betraying his cause and joining up with them. This presents a problem for him, because he likes the power as a drug dealer and the money, but he also vowed he would never become like his dad. This is a very well done movie, with a great script. Laurence Fishburne is excellent in the lead role. Jeff Goldblum (who I have never seen in such a deep role) is also strong delivering a surprisingly good performance. A good, but violent film.

As grungy and hard-edged as this movie is, I still found a number of good things going for it that made the movie entertaining to watch. The story moves very fast, which tells you something. As someone who loves narration, I enjoyed Laurence Fishburne's deep-voiced first-person narrating. He was smooth in this gritty 1990s film noir filled with hard-boiled characters, rough language and some brutal scenes wrapped around a drug story. The early '90s produced some fine neo-noirs. However, as rough as that sounds, they don't overdo the violence. However, the dialog can make you wince at times. It also has the normal Liberal cheap shots against Republicans: this time George Bush Sr. (The major villain, a South American drug lord is pictured as a friend of Bush's. Puh-leeze. And, you also get the usual baloney of the U.S. Government and the DEA being bad guys. If that isn't enough, they also play the "race card" in here. Yet, I still liked this film. At least they also took a shot at phony Liberals, who Jeff Goldblum's character portrays. Goldblum's "David Jason" actually had the best lines in the film, however. He is shown as morally-bankrupt atheist. This movie is unusual in that the main character - Fishburne's "Russell Stevens" - goes from good guy to bad guy back to good guy! This is an intriguing, dark film.

I've been down with the theme song....er, uh theme rap since the '90s but only minutes ago finished watching the film (on HBO)for the first time and at the risk of sounding too "spiteful", found it more predictable and less believable than any of the ridiculously lame "blaxsploitation" films I saw in the '70s. I mean, drug-villains who seem astonished that they're being blown away because they aren't packing iron at a transaction which they fully anticipated ?! Corrupt attorney/narcotics kingpin (Goldblum)teary-eyed as he tells his wife that he's not respected after having his hands harshly slapped ?!!.... pleeez. The dialog and (semi-)action scenes put me in mind of what a provincial writer might imagine to be street-level and ethnic or perhaps just dilute for mainstream appeal. In any case,the film seems a real waste of story potential and of all the black talent attached to it (for street-cred, I suspect) But I wasn't disappointed enough to turn it off.

"Deep Cover" is all about a cop (Fishburn) who goes undercover as a narc and pretty much manages to help a little kid and rescue a babe while single handedly solving all of the West Coast drug trafficking problems. If this sounds like so much B.S., well, it is and "Deep Cover" is pretty much your garden variety Hollywood three star B.S. flick. On the short side the characters are all stereotypes from bygone days; the film's too melodramatic and silly in places; and the production was journeyman level stuff. Nonetheless, the "Deep Cover" did have an interesting noir moodiness with some philosophical narration by Fishburn and should make an enjoyable couch potato watch for those who are into gritty crime dramas. (B-)

Artfully presented and blunt in its social critique, there is something deliciously honest about the undercover cop film, this being an ideal example of no-bullshit brio, starring "Larry" Fishburne as a dour L.A. agent who goes undercover to take down a Colombian drug syndicate. When he was a boy, Fishburne witnessed his father gunned down in a bungled liquor store bust; as an adult, he abstains from alcohol and drugs, and wears an impassive mien to keep the world at a safe distance. He's rigid, uncompromising, resentful of authority—he's the perfect mole, as his boss says (a squirrelly, race-baiting Charles Martin Smith), "because he fits the profile of a criminal." Once under, the plot provocatively centers on the agonizing moral compromises Fishburne must make and his realization that right and wrong is relative to the power of the almighty dollar. Deeply cynical about the government's purported "War on Drugs"—at one point even implicating the president by name—the film sees it as just another white power structure profiting from, and fueling, a largely minority industry; honest cops and citizens pay the price for this malfeasance, an imbalance Fishburne eventually exploits with aplomb. But as much as it takes authoritarian corruption for granted, Deep Cover's attitude toward interracial sexual relations is at once fresh and unpretentious: As Jeff Goldblum's sleazy lawyer emerges from a black mistress's apartment quipping to Fishburne about the allure of exotic flesh, the film both confirms and renders ridiculous the sexual legend that, furtively, white men desire black women (and vice-versa). Instead of giggling around the issue, the film promotes this coupling as a reality, thereby reveling in the adolescent quest for exoticism and proving it a ridiculous affectation; in other words, "Get off your ass, white boy. It's no big deal." Deep Cover is also a showcase for Fishburne to prove his mettle as a leading man. He's consistently captivating, evincing the inner torment, sensitivity, and moral indecision so rare for protagonists in this sub-genre—this should have been the role that made him one of America's leading men. Only toward the end does this hot-wire ride start to become cluttered with self-conscious gravity—Fishburne's voice-over starts to ring false when he drops stilted religious analogies—but this is for the most part a smart, dark, socially conscious thriller with the persuasive feel of noir.

This was really a perfect movie for this genre of film. The understated quality acting of Lawrence Fishburne is superb. I really enjoyed seeing the main character's downward spiral. There is excellent character development through the plot which is not the usual cliché. The acting all around is very high caliber, and the tone and pace of the film (directing) is spot on. Highly recommended, highly watchable, one of my top ten favorite films. Films are always better when there is dramatic conflict, and seeing the main character torn apart slowly provides compelling cinema. More films should be made like this! (with less explosions / body counts etc...) As a frame of reference - I am a huge fan of the early James Bond (connery) films, and can't stand the new ones...

Hard-hitting and stylish, this film quickly moves beyond the usual notion of 'undercover drug work' into an altogether more practical & unpleasant understanding... The film is well-paced and, most appropriately for this year, introduces a female art-gallery owner as it develops a relationship subplot. As the story progresses, the film breaks boundaries further & demonstrates an exceptionally sharp sensibility -- but fairly much returns to the standards for the climactic scene. While not a Scorsese or Tarantino masterpiece, this film is very highly recommended.

Bill Duke has had a long and illustrious career as an actor (X-Men: The Last Stand, Action Jackson, Predator), a producer and writer, and as a director (Hoodlum, Deacons for Defence, The Killing Floor). In what could have been a routine blaxplotation film, he gives us a compelling story that was a thrill to watch. That is not to say that the penultimate chapter could not be predicted a mile away by anyone who is familiar with our government and the fact that they would sacrifice American citizens for the sake of some tin-horn dictator. However, the final chapter in this film gives us some satisfaction as we see those agency scumbags and two-bit congressmen getting their due. Laurence Fishburne was magnificent as a cop sent undercover to bust drug kingpins. He goes deeper and deeper and soon there is no way to tell the difference. Is there a spark of humanity left inside? One can only hope. Jeff Goldblum was equally good as his partner in crime. Clarence Williams III was the best I have seen him as a cop, who was Fishburne's conscience. Great film about undercover police work and the effect it can have on a cop.

Having witnessed his junkie father killed Russell Stevens grows up to become a policeman and make a difference. When he is offered an undercover job by Gerald Carver he accepts and begins to build a relationship with David Jason in order to get to the main dealers. However as he is forced to deal drugs and kill to keep his cover he finds the lines between cop and criminal being lost - is he a cop pretending to be a dealer or a dealer pretending to be a cop? Larry (as he was then) Fishburne's first lead role was a typically dark vehicle. The story is the usual one of cop losing himself when undercover, however it manages to be more than that for most of the time. Co-written by Tolkin, who wrote The Player, this naturally has a nice cynical edge to it when it looks at the US's hypocritical approach to drug control and the political links between the street hustlers and the political high rollers who court respectability. The story does eventually settle into a traditional setting but even then it works well as a thriller. The multi-talented Bill Duke directs well with a gritty feel and a few nice touches. However several things are a bit iffy. For most of the film Fishburne's narration/voice over is a bit like a cross between Apocalypse Now and Blade Runner - it comes across as a little too dark and heavy and also explains things like we can't figure it out ourselves. However once you get into the film it's not as big a deal. My main problem lies with the characters. Fishburne is excellent, a real model of underlying anger and violence, Goldblum is good but perhaps a little OTT on the yuppie/violence thing, but there's good support from Smith and Spin City's beautiful (and often underused - but not here) Victoria Dillard. However the two main white characters (Goldblum and Smith) are both smeared with racist insinuations - Smith appears to insult his black officers and doesn't care about the junkies, while Goldblum is fascinated about all things black and talks about them as wild beautiful beasts and loves having sex with "black'. These things aren't a major problem, but with basically only two white characters in it, it's a little worrying that both are given that edge. However these are minor complaints that get lost with a good thriller. Fishburne excels and Duke delivers a story that is a good thriller but also has a jaded, subversive edge.