Despite the negative criticism leveled at "In Too Deep" for the notoriety of its violence, this superficial but entertaining urban police thriller is considerably less gory and graphic than "Belly," last year's stylishly overwrought narcotics yarn. Anybody who remembers classic undercover cop capers, like "Serpico," "Rush," "Deep Cover," "New Jack City," "Donnie Brasco," or even a "Wiseguy" or "Miami Vice" TV episode, should find "In Too Deep" ranks as a tolerably exciting but hopelessly derivative variation on a well-worn theme. Although Australian director Michael "Angel Heart" Rymer and "Dead Presidents" writer Michael Henry Brown and "The Octagon" scribe Paul Aaron stick to the formula, they have provided enough new material so that "In Too Deep" doesn't overdose on clichés.
"In Too Deep" chronicles the predicament that undercover Cincinnati cop Jeff Cole (Omar Epps of "The Mod Squad") confronts when he must prove he is not the heat but a home boy to a suspicious, big-time coke dealer. Worse, after he infiltrates the organization, Coe must never let the camaraderie that develops between the hoodlums and him interfere with his goal of busting him. Rymer and his scenarists dilute some of the suspense by unfolding the story in flashbacks as our hero lectures a class of Chicago rookies about the dangers of undercover work. Obviously, Cole will survive the ordeal intact no matter how treacherous the obstacles, because we see him after the fact rapping to rookies! Anti-climactic and predictable as "In Too Deep" remains, Rymer and his writers cobble together a serviceable actioneer with layers of atmosphere.
Cole is fresh out of the police academy when he volunteers to go undercover for Captain Preston Boyd (Stanley Tucci of "Big Night"). Initially, Boyd is leery, but he lets Cole make a buy, and nothing terrible happens. The next time out things go haywire when Cole tries to bust two Latino coke dealers. Their imposing, steely-eyed mother grabs his crotch where the latest surveillance technology is nestled to hang the dealers. Cole dismisses this close shave and pleads for bigger game: Dwayne Gittens. A refugee from New Jersey who has settled in Cincinnati, Gittens (L.L. Cool J) runs 80 per cent of the coke in town and calls himself 'God." According to Boyd, nobody has ever gotten close enough to Gittens to nail him. Posing as a drug dealer from Akron, Coe pursues Gittens, but he nearly dies when a duo of renegade dealers working for Gittens try to take him out.
As J. Reid, Coe defends himself and caps one of the dealers, and then turns himself in to Boyd. Promptly taking Coe off the case, Boyd packs him off to a safe house in the sticks. While Cole cools his heels, Boyd signs him up for photography classes at a nearby university. Coe meets Myra (Nia Long of "Love Jones") during a photo modeling session and the sparks fly. After a rip-roaring, gangsta-busting opening, "In Too Deep" shifts gears from an inner city shoot'em up to a chick flick in the country. Antsy as Coe is to bust 'God,' he goes over Boyd's head and cuts a deal with the D.E.A. Before you can say 'reload,' Coe shows up back in Cincinnati. 'God' is overjoyed to see him and apologizes for the slip-up. Jeff Cole grows so obsessed with arresting 'God' that he crosses the line between good and evil and his undercover gangsta persona overshadows who he really is. Eventually, the transformation becomes complete. When he tries to see Myra, she vows to have nothing to do with him.
Although "In Too Deep" imitates many earlier undercover cop movies, several things differentiate it. Happily, the producers selected a city other than New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, or San Francisco as the setting for their film. The Cincinnati police uniforms with their white kepis make the cops look like AFJROTC cadets. Even though he doesn't say much as Coe's superior, Stanley Tucci delivers his lines with none of the usual loud-mouthed antics of the stereotypical police captain. Tucci's voice is so crisp and commanding that you hang on his every word that way you might with Anthony Hopkins. The filmmakers know when to turn up the hip-hop music and when to turn it off, especially during the obligatory romance between Coe and Myra where the music lightens up to reflect the intimacy of the situation. Finally, Rymer and company conclude the action with a less-than-gratuitous gunfight that leaves the villain standing so that he can be convicted and sentenced to two life terms in prison. Typically, the villains die a horrible death in these movies.
Omar Epps has more to do as an undercover cop in "In Too Deep" than he had in "The Mod Squad." At times, when he dons an obvious wig, he resembles a young Yaphet Kotto. Nevertheless, he creates a sympathetic cop, and he doesn't perform any fake heroics or stunts that an ordinary man couldn't match. Epps convincingly captures the dilemma that his psychologically warped out detective succumbs to when his bad guy persona gains control of him. Meanwhile, rapper L.L. Cool J forges a memorable villain in Dwayne 'God' Gittens. ." "In Too Deep" qualifies as an above-average entry in the drug bust genre, though it pales by comparison with "New Jack City," "Donnie Brasco," or "Serpico." Sloppy scripting sometimes mars the overall sense of believability. After Cole busts the Latino drug dealers, he waltzes out of his house amid a swarm of cops, and a friend of the family spots him. Later, she tells one of 'God's' henchmen, and Coe has to prove himself again. The measure of Cole's success is reflected in 'God's' decision to ignore this cry of warning. Fluid, kinetic helming by Michael Rymer keeps the action moving ahead at a swift clip that rarely slackens off, except in the romantic moments. The villains aren't cupcakes, and the hero's plight is no picnic. If you enjoy slam-bang cop thrillers, "In Too Deep" makes the grade.
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