Deep Cover
Deep Cover | |
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Directed by | Bill Duke |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Michael Tolkin |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Image Organization |
Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $8 million[1] |
Box office | $16.6 million |
Deep Cover is a 1992 American
Deep Cover was released in the United States on April 15, 1992, by
Plot
In 1972, Russell Stevens Jr. witnesses his drug-addicted, alcoholic father getting shot and killed while robbing a liquor store. Traumatized by his father's death, Stevens swears that he will never end up like him.
Nineteen years later, Stevens is a
One day, Stevens is arrested by the devoutly religious
Stevens develops a romance with Betty McCutcheon, the manager of an art dealership which is a front to launder Jason's drug money. When one of Stevens' dealers is murdered by a rival dealer, he is informed by Jason that if he doesn't retaliate, other street dealers will view it as a sign of weakness and in turn murder him. Stevens follows the rival dealer to a nightclub, corners him in a bathroom and kills him. Jason then partners with Stevens in his new business: distribution of a synthetic chemical variant of cocaine.
It is revealed that Barbossa is a
Gallegos comes to meet with Stevens and Jason, informing them that they have inherited Felix's debts to him. Later that day, Stevens meets with Carver to tell him about his meeting with Gallegos. Instead, Carver pulls a gun on Stevens and orders him to surrender his weapon and get in his car. Angrily, Stevens disarms Carver and forces him to admit that the
Stevens and Jason learn that Gallegos is going to kill them anyway, so they kill him first and steal a van storing over $100 million in cash. They then invite Guzmán to a shipyard and offer to return 80% of Gallegos' money if he agrees to invest the remaining 20% in their synthetic cocaine operation. Taft, who has been tailing Stevens, interrupts the deal and has his gun taken by Guzmán’s men. Since he is unable to arrest Guzmán because of his diplomatic immunity, Guzmán leaves.
Taft orders Stevens to surrender but is shot by Jason after attempting to brandish his backup weapon, forcing Stevens to reveal himself as a police officer as he tries to radio in for an ambulance to help Taft. Stevens tries to reason with Jason as the latter tries to convince him to just take the money and go rogue. Jason shoots Taft in the chest, killing him. Throwing all reason out of the window and seeing no other alternative, Stevens attempts to arrest Jason. When Jason shoots at him, a tearful Stevens returns fire and kills Jason in self-defense as the cops arrive.
Afterward, Carver coerces Stevens into testifying in favor of him and the DEA in return for not charging Betty with money laundering. He produces a videotape of the incriminating conversation with Guzmán at the shipyard during his testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee, ruining the State Department's intentions along with Guzmán and Carver's careers. Later, he contemplates what to do with the $11 million of Gallegos' money he secretly kept.
Cast
- Larry Fishburne[2]as DEA Agent Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull
- Cory Curtis as Young Russell Stevens Jr.
- Jeff Goldblum as David Jason
- Yvette Heyden as Nancy Jason
- Charles Martin Smith as DEA Agent Gerry Carver
- Victoria Dillard as Betty McCutcheon
- Gregory Sierra as Felix Barbossa
- David Weixelbaum as Chino
- Glynn Turman as Russell Stevens Sr.
- Arthur Mendoza as Anton Gallegos
- Clarence Williams III as Detective Taft
- Roger Guenveur Smith as Eddie
- James T. Morris as "Ivy"
- Alisa Christensen as Ivy's Driver
- Roberto Luis Santana as Dealer
- Kamala Lopez as Belinda Chacon
- Lira Angel as Bijoux
- Rene Assa as Hector Guzman
- Alex Colon as Molto
- Jaime Cardriche as "Shark"
- Sandra Gould as Mrs. G.
- Sydney Lassick as "Gopher"
- John Boyd West as "Cal Tech"
- Julio Oscar Mechoso as Detective Hernandez
- Paunita Nichols as Jacquiline
- Clifton Powell as Officer Leland
- Lionel Matthews as Officer Winston
Reception
Deep Cover was released on April 17, 1992 in 901 theaters, and grossed $3.4 million on its opening weekend.[3] It went on to make $16.6 million in North America.[4]
The majority of critics responded favorably towards Deep Cover. Film critic
However, not all critics liked the movie. In his review for The Washington Post, Desson Howe wrote, "With Boyz n the Hood, Fishburne broke through to the big time. Here, his acting career takes a step backwards". Despite this, of Jeff Goldblum he stated that "Oddly enough, Goldblum's so wildly out of place in this misbegotten movie, he becomes its greatest asset".[12] Richard Harrington, also of The Washington Post, gave a mixed review, saying: "While Fishburne is generally riveting -- his facial disguise is basically hardness layered onto strength -- and Goldblum is intriguing -- his wannabe urges are quite curious -- the film itself is only occasionally visceral. On the one hand, it's refreshing and commendable that a major film casts a black actor not only as a detective (rather than as a criminal), but in the lead role."[13]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% from 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "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."[14] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 67 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack,
Home media
The film was released on
See also
References
- ^ "AFI|Catalog".
- ^ Deep Cover is the last film in which Fishburne was credited as "Larry". See "Once Larry, Now Laurence" by David Denicolo, The New York Times, August 8, 1993
- ^ "No Easter Basket for Box Office: Movies: 'Basic Instinct' winds up in first place over the holiday weekend, but business so far this year is down about 9%". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
- ^ "Deep Cover". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (April 15, 1992). "Deep Cover". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (April 15, 1992). "Police Thriller With Layers of Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- The Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ Travers, Peter (December 8, 2000). "Deep Cover". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 30, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (April 24, 1992). "Deep Cover". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ Johnston, Sheila (January 22, 1993). "Rackets, stings, cons and scams". The Independent. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ Deep Cover is a smart, over-the-top ’90s classic|AV Club
- ^ Howe, Desson (April 17, 1992). "Deep Cover". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/deepcoverrharrington_a0ab28.htm ‘Deep Cover’, By Richard Harrington]
- ^ "Deep Cover". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ The Criterion Collection
External links
- Deep Cover at IMDb
- Deep Cover at AllMovie
- Deep Cover at Rotten Tomatoes
- Deep Cover at Box Office Mojo
- Official trailer
- Deep Cover: Who’ll Pay Reparations on My Soul? an essay by Michael B. Gillespie at the Criterion Collection