**Possible Spoilers** Strong performances by Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum dominate this story of a cop who goes undercover as a drug dealer, in order to `Do some good,' in `Deep Cover,' directed by Bill Duke. When he is ten years old, Russell Stevens Jr. witnesses the killing of his drug addicted father, who is shot as he attempts to rob a liquor store, while his son waits in the car. Twenty years later, Russell (Fishburne) is a cop, making good on the promise he made to himself the day he watched his father die; he wasn't going to end up like that. And he was going to make a difference. When Gerald Carver (Charles Martin Smith), an agent with the DEA, approaches him with the offer of an assignment to go under cover as a drug dealer, to help them dismantle the South American pipeline supplying most of the West Coast, and ultimately bring those individuals responsible to justice, Russell accepts; but only after coming to terms with his initial misgivings about taking on such a role. He'll be in so deep, he'll actually have to become another person; he'll be living the life full time, and it may take a year or more to accomplish what they set out to do. He takes the name John Hull, and goes in. This is a decent action film with a pretty good story, but there isn't much here that hasn't been done before; what sets this one apart from many others like it, however, are the two stars. Fishburne, especially (still billed here as `Larry'), takes a fairly routine character and gives him substance. He has such a commanding screen presence that it makes everything that goes down seem credible; he seemingly has the innate ability to know his character from the inside out, and what a difference that can make, especially to a movie like this. Goldblum, as well, takes his character of attorney David Jason to the limit. He lends a smarmy edginess to him, as he gradually takes his initial cool resolve to the brink of reason, then on past to the point of no return. Smith is not nearly as effective as the Princeton educated agent with clean hands, who drives Russell to depths from which he may never return, but Fishburne is such a good actor that it lifts Smith's performance to a higher level, too. Clarence Williams III, as Taft, the cop with the penchant for scripture, is believable enough, but there is something disquieting about watching him; he never blinks, which can be distracting at times. The supporting cast includes Victoria Dillard (Betty), Sydney Lassick (Gopher), Gregory Sierra (Felix), Roger Guenveur Smith (Eddie), Rene Assa (Guzman), and Arthur Mendoza (Gallegos). Duke gives a brisk pace to the film, and maintains it throughout, but keeps it all rather routine and unimaginative. `Deep Cover' then, is a reasonably satisfying movie, due mainly to the aforementioned performances, which really make it seem more substantial than it is. I rate this one 6/10.
Review of Deep Cover
