Deep Cover

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Deep Cover

R,

1992,

1h 48m,

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

87%

31 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

David Jason (Jeff Goldblum) is the biggest drug dealer in Los Angeles, and Russell Stevens (Larry Fishburne) is an undercover cop who wants to bring him down. Posing as a dealer, Stevens begins to earn the trust of the L.A. drug underworld, eventually making his way to Jason himself. But along the way he has to take his cover to depths he never thought he would have to see, including selling drugs and going to great lengths to eliminate potential competitors for Jason's drug cartel.

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Critics Consensus

Deep Cover rises above standard-issue crime thriller fare thanks to a smartly cynical script and powerhouse performances from its unorthodox but well-matched leads.

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Oct 31, 2007

3.5/5

Smart and stylish, it also has scenes of crackling violence and dramaturgy that oftentimes strains to work but, on the whole, Deep Cover is engaging, thoughtful and inventive.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Oct 31, 2007

Convoluted and mostly unconvincing as a portrait of the drug underworld, Deep Cover [based on a story by Michael Tolkin] still carries some resonance due to its vivid portrait of societal decay and a heavyweight performance by Larry Fishburne.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Oct 31, 2007

What emerges is a powerhouse thriller full of surprises, original touches, and rare political lucidity, including an impressive performance by Jeff Goldblum.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Feb 28, 2023

Deep Cover is a hidden piece of noir revived in the 1990s the blends in with the rap soundtrack from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog...

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Apr 25, 2022

4/5

A savage but sage unraveling of best intentions into a no-win situation. It's a thriller of sharp edges and ideas that borrows the patois and patina of noir, in which violent ends are not romanticized but simply just rationalized to diminished returns.

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Apr 20, 2022

This is not a simple story of a cop breaking bad. Instead, its a look at a Black man questioning his own place in the hierarchy of law enforcement and within America itself.

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Feb 10, 2019

This movie should have done a lot more of action sequence rather than too much talking.

Rey W

Dec 4, 2018

Laurence Fishburne, in his first starring role, plays a rebellious cop who goes undercover, deep under cover, to infiltrate and destroy a drug syndicate operating in southern California. His DEA superior (played smarmily by Charles Martin Smith) encourages him to violate the law as he insinuates himself higher and higher up the food chain. His first break is winning the respect and then loyalty of a slimy lawyer (played with gusto by Jeff Goldblum) who hopes to make it big by selling designer drugs to the cartel. As a team, they become extremely profitable selling crack cocaine but remain under the thumb of an evil middleman (Gregory Sierra). Things get increasingly out-of-control and violent. Fishburne narrates the story in voiceover, giving a film noir flavour to the proceedings that could have starred Mitchum or Dick Powell in an earlier age. Except this movie takes place squarely in a black community suffering from a drug epidemic, an epidemic funded by people from outside the community (Latin America) who are supported by high level American officials (George H. W. Bush is referenced!). Fortunately, black heroes are on hand, not just Fishburne's undercover agent (who struggles mightily with the moral ambiguity of his role) but an ordinary cop (Clarence Williams III) who prays for the dealers as well as the victims. Director Bill Duke keeps things moving at a good clip to a rap/hip-hop soundtrack with some interesting experimental touches (jump cuts like a record being scratched). It doesn't all hang together perfectly but this is a far-better-than-average thriller.

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Bill Duke

Director

Laurence Fishburne

Russell Stevens Jr.

Jeff Goldblum

David Jason

Victoria Dillard

Betty

Charles Martin Smith

Carver

Gregory Sierra

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Synopsis

David Jason (Jeff Goldblum) is the biggest drug dealer in Los Angeles, and Russell Stevens (Larry Fishburne) is an undercover cop who wants to bring him down. Posing as a dealer, Stevens begins to earn the trust of the L.A. drug underworld, eventually making his way to Jason himself. But along the way he has to take his cover to depths he never thought he would have to see, including selling drugs and going to great lengths to eliminate potential competitors for Jason's drug cartel.

Director: Bill Duke
Producer: Pierre David, Henry Bean
Screenwriter: Michael Tolkin, Henry Bean
Production Co: Image Organization, New Line Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 15, 1992, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.6M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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