Deep Cover (1992)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Charles Martin Smith, Roger Guenveur Smith
Screenwriter: Michael Tolkin, Henry Bean
Producer: Pierre David, Henry Bean
Composer: Michel Colombier
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 10, 1999
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Pan & Scan - 1.33
- Letterboxed - 1.85
Additional Release Material:
- Trailers - 1.Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
- Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
- Biographies - 1.Cast & Crew
- Filmographies - 1.Cast & Crew
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
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.
It's an unsettling yet compelling blend, and probably one you don't want to think about too much.
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.
What emerges is a powerhouse thriller full of surprises, original touches, and rare political lucidity, including an impressive performance by Jeff Goldblum.
In addition to Fishburne, it gives us a first-rate soundtrack, a clutch of splendid cameos, fine, grainy direction from Duke, and much pointed stuff about the hypocrisy behind the USA's so-called war against drugs.
Laurence Fishburne haunts this movie with his deep set fiercely intense glaring eyes.
Deep Cover eventually degenerates into so much gratuitous violence that 'kill' sounds like the most-used verb in the screenplay's last stages.
Deep Cover was probably conceived as a quickie crime film, but thanks to Fishburne's and Goldblum's performances, it became much more.
A truly entertaining little crime thriller. Fishburne and Goldblum are great together.
Rather than ride the easy cynicism of the script, by Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean, Fishburne illuminates his character's moral struggle.
third-rate blaxploitation picture for the '90s, it aims to be street-tough and an admonishment against drugs. It manages to be neither.
Larry Fishburne is clearly a star of the future, but Deep Cover won't be the vehicle.
What sets Deep Cover apart is its sense of good and evil, the way it has the Fishburne character agonize over the moral decisions he has to make.


Top Critic