Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Predrag This movie has it all! Pace, action, sex and violence, but wrapped up in a plot that carries you along all the way. The good guy(Fishburne)is really screwed up and you end up really liking the bad guy (Goldblum). Real movie buffs will love the Hitchcockesque scene cuts and fans of beat music will not be disappointed. This is one of my favorite films - it's dark, both visually & theatrically, moody & (in my opinion) thought provoking. In no way does the film glamorize drug dealing or drug use, instead showing the consequences of both. I've always been a sucker for a film with a narrative & this has some very clever lines - it comes across as being more intelligent than the run of the mill drugs/cop/gangster film. It has it's moments of violence - but that's going to be par for the course on this type of film. It's grainy, dark feel adds to the overall "depressing" feeling & adds atmosphere. It has an almost "film noir" feel about - if that's possible for a color movie.Unlike many other films that have taken the undercover cop story and pursued it in a typical fashion, "Deep Cover" takes a tense, intimate approach. Director Bill Duke creates a quiet masterpiece casting Laurence Fishburne as a by-the-book cop assigned to infiltrate a major cocaine empire in Los Angeles. His connection inside is Jeff Goldblum (in probably his best performance ever), a supposed clean-shaven Jewish lawyer who secretly longs for the thrill of a gangster's life while trying to maintain a family at home. Duke does not glorify these drug dealers as Scarface-type millionaires who revel in money & mansions but rather paints them as quiet, suspicious businessmen who hold no true alliances to anyone while nesting in pool halls & boxing gyms. There is never a moment where any of these characters are seeking fame & fortune. Instead, they are looking for recognition of their power over both their friends & foes. Fishburne soon finds himself sucked into the dealer's life against his will, doing whatever he can to infiltrate the organization despite how far "deep" he's involved in it (as opposed to the cliché that the cop decides he likes being a drug dealer). The soundtrack is only a stereo mix, but it's a pretty good stereo mix, with lots of left/right detail and the Rap style music still works surprisingly well.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

Spikeopath Deep Cover is directed by Bill Duke and written by Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean. It stars Larry Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Charles Martin Smith, Victoria Dillard and Gregory Sierra. Music is by Michel Colombier and cinematography by Bojan Bazelli.Traumatised as a youngster by the death of his junkie father, Russell Stevens (Fishburne) becomes a police officer. Passing an interview with DEA Agent Gerald Carver (Smith), Stevens goes undercover to bust a major drug gang that has links to high places. But the closer he gets in with the targets, the deeper he gets involved - emotionally and psychologically.A splendid slice of gritty neo-noir, Deep Cover follows a classic film noir theme of a man descending into a world he really shouldn't be part of. This is a shifty and grungy Los Angeles, awash with blood money, single parents prepared to sell their kids, where kids in their early teens mule for the dealers and get killed in the process. A place of dimly lighted bars and pool halls, of dank streets and scrap yards, and of course of violence and misery.The look and tone of the picture is as intense as the characterisations on show. Duke (A Rage in Harlem) knows some tricks to imbue psychological distortion, canted angles, step-print framing, slow angled lensing, jump cuts and sweaty close ups. Bazelli photographs with a deliberate urban feel, making red prominent and black a lurking menace. While the musical accompaniments flit in between hip-hop thunder and jazzy blues lightning.Fishburne provides a narration that works exceptionally well, harking back to classic noirs of yesteryear. As this grim tale unfolds, his distressingly down-beat tone goes hand in hand with the narrative's sharp edges. The screenplay is always smart and cutting, mixing political hog-wash and social commentary with the harsh realities of lives dominated by drugs - the users - the sellers - the cartel, and the cop going deeper underground...Great performances from the leading players seal the deal here (Goldblum is not miscast he's the perfect opposite foil for Fishburne's broody fire), and while some clichés are within the play, the production as mounted, with the narrative devices of identification destruction (hello 2 masks) and that violence begets violence, marks this out as one the neo-noir crowd should note down as a must see. 8/10

lastliberal 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.

rjfilms 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...