Deep Cover

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Deep Cover

R

Released Apr 15, 1992

1h 48m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

78%

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

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.

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 31, 2007

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Variety Staff

Variety

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.

Oct 31, 2007

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

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

Oct 31, 2007

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

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...

Feb 28, 2023

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

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.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 25, 2022

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David Harris

Spectrum Culture

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.

Apr 20, 2022

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Jeremiah C.

This movie is either one that needed to be seen in the 90’s when we were all much more ignorant to how law enforcement worked, one that is viewed with the rosiest of glasses for 90’s nostalgia, or both. The plot logic is paper thin and almost reads like a parody film. Nothing anyone does makes much sense, and it’s hard not to see the writer’s fingerprints all over the plot progression. This writing doesn’t hold up well over the past 33 years, and the main reason I can’t forgive it is that movies from the same era are still fantastic even upon a first viewing. I could get into a a nuanced critique of things, but needless to say that aside from some of the cinematography and how cool a young Larry Fishbourne comes across, this movie is simply mediocre in all aspects of cinema.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/12/25

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Audience Member

Fantastic film. One of the best

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/10/25

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Les N

Did they really make movies like this? Dated. Badly. Like a TV show.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

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Daniel C. M

This movie was certainly a very unusual but welcoming surprise of a mix between a neo-noir and blaxploitation crime thriller. The acting here is top-notch and the direction and soundtrack are very worthy of praise also, though the main merit here definetely goes to it's great story and script, being very raw, visceral and sensitive in it's portray of such a massive problem, that manages to correctly tackle it's actual, undercover (pun-intended) roots, showing that even the ones that are supposed to protect us probably might as well be the cause of the problem; unlike most films in it's likeness that offer a innacurate, sanitized and quite honestly romanticized -- for both sides -- depiction of traficcking.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/10/25

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steve d

Damn solid movie overall. Worth checking out if you can't decide on in a movie one night.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/11/24

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sharifa d

still a good watch, decades later

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/16/24

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Bill Duke

Director

Laurence Fishburne

Russell Stevens Jr.

Jeff Goldblum

David Jason

Victoria Dillard

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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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