Plot: A rookie cop is sent undercover to expose the drug world in LA… and soon learns he makes a better drug dealer than a lawman.
Junkie. Dealer. Killer. Cop. So goes the tagline for 1992’s crime thriller Deep Cover. When I was a kid, I saw the poster for this film and was instantly intrigued.
More than a crime or action movie, Deep Cover is a slick film that manages to carry a message and be hugely entertaining at the same time.
Fishburne plays the rookie cop, John Hull, who is sent undercover to expose the drug trade in LA, and he’s charismatic as hell as always. At first Hull is stunned by the violence and brutality of the world he enters, and cheapness of life, but he soon finds himself thriving in the merciless land.
Hull forms a bond/partnership with the morally dubious yuppie lawyer David Jason (a magnetic Jeff Goldblum), who takes him under his wing and introduces him to the bigtime narcotics trade that lives in the shadows.
Even though they’re in over their heads, the pair find the intoxicating allure of power and wealth too hard to resist. That puts them on a collision course with another dealer, the slimy Felix Barbosa (a fantastic Gregory Sierra), who wants their intended turf.
Hull is also dodged by a determined Detective (another memorable turn by Clarence Williams III), who isn’t about to let Hull forget his humanity.
In between the car chases and shootouts, Hull must also contend with his indifferent superior (the always great Charles Martin Smith), who is only after the juice the bust will bring him.
Deep Cover is a super smart action film with a lot on its mind. It does a very decent job of getting most of its message across amongst the bloodshed and screeching tyres. By the time the third act rolls around, Hull has everyone after him: his bosses, his rivals, and Barbosa. He must also contend with David, as he mentally unwinds as the heat is turned up on the duo.
Commando and Predator actor Bill Duke directed this gem and he did a brilliant job. New Jack City gets most of the accolades as the primo 90’s crime ghetto movie but I’ve always held Deep Cover in higher regard for the fact that it’s better made — both directed and performed –and that it stays with you longer after it’s over. It’s also tough and the violence is straight up, matter of fact and ugly.
The final coda is supremely grim and unresolved. Hull might never get the resolution he needs. Or deserves. But it’s a cold, hard world sometimes. That’s where Deep Cover lives.
