In Too Deep

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In Too Deep

R

1999

1h 44m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Drug lord Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J) rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as God on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps). Supporting him in the difficult task ahead is his girlfriend (Nia Long) and his tough-as-nails commander (Stanley Tucci). But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.

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Critics Consensus

This shallow police film doesn't establish any kind of rhythm.

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

06/18/2002

2/4

In its exploration of the moral dilemma of the undercover life, In Too Deep breaks no ground. But Epps is a leading man on the rise, and Cool J is something to see.

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Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

04/05/2002

2/4

Competent yet largely forgettable.

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Michael Thomson

BBC.com

01/01/2000

4/5

Good actors can always rise above the cliches surrounding them. Such is the case with Omar Epps and LL Cool J who deliver punchy, perceptive performances.

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Brandon Collins

Medium Popcorn

06/15/2020

3/5

It goes by very quickly, and it's different from the other undercover movies that you see of this caliber.

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Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

06/15/2020

3/5

A very engaging movie.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

08/10/2005

2/5

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Starchildarryl S

@Starchild Jan 11

I feel this movie is underrated. Denzel once said even the villian should be likeable. LL who st this point had not acted much deserves an award. He played a horrible horrible person, and yet made you feel for him and almost root for him. When he is betrayed, Despite all that he did, you almost felt sorry, almost take his side. Omar was great too but LL played a character that is hard to play and made it super believable

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Todd B

@RT92383055 04/01/2025

A love story ❤️ about a undercop trying to make a way through educating his style of policing to train the rookie force police 🚔. Will he survive in time, and what would he be willing to do to not break his cover. A hip-hop crime story, as well. Great soundtrack.

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Autumn M

@RT26919073 09/15/2024

In Too Deep is a story that modern audiences will undoubtedly be familiar with. An eager cop goes undercover, and gets more than he bargained with he tries to separate the two worlds of crime and the law. Most recently, the Departed gave us a deep dive into this familiar narrative. In Too Deep seems like an early sketch for this idea, with little character development and a dry story. However, it is great to see Omar Epps, Stanley Tucci and LL Cool J give this paper-thin story a good try. Okay, but definitely not essential viewing.

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Liam W

@RT34918627 06/06/2024

I great thriller that gives a good insight into a cop ‘In Too Deep’. I watched this at the time of release and it has aged well on my second viewing. We don’t have a huge amount of films like this, so take it for what it is, even if the premise does seem a little generic. Also, a noteworthy soundtrack, I bought the title track on vinyl at the time, which introduced me to the film.

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01/10/2020

Solid characters with a good plot point. Classic under cover cop movie.

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11/19/2017

Has difficulty presenting a fairly simple narrative. I do like the over-the-top sadistic "God" character though.

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Michael Rymer

Director

Omar Epps

Jeff Cole

LL Cool J

Dwayne Gittens

Nia Long

Myra

Stanley Tucci

Preston D'Ambrosio

Hill Harper

Breezy T.

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Synopsis

Drug lord Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J) rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as God on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps). Supporting him in the difficult task ahead is his girlfriend (Nia Long) and his tough-as-nails commander (Stanley Tucci). But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.

Director: Michael Rymer
Producer: Paul Aaron, Michael Henry Brown
Screenwriter: Michael Henry Brown, Paul Aaron
Distributor: Buena Vista International [us], Miramax Films, Film Effects Inc. [ca], Bac Films, L.A. Mad Dogs
Production Co: Miramax Films, Suntaur Entertainment Company, Dimension Films
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 25, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 18, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $14.0M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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