Deep Cover (1992)

Deep Cover is a gripping, often raw, action thriller that opens with a small boy watching his drug-addicted father get shot dead in front of him during a holdup; his inheritance: a few blood-soaked dollar bills. He vows to have a different fate and grows up to be a squeaky-clean cop (Larry Fishburne) who goes undercover to bust a big-time narcotics ring. With the unwitting help of a slick dealer (Jeff Goldblum), he gets close to the crooks — only to find that to catch them, he himself must cross the thin blue line. Although weighed down by slow pacing and myriad plot twists, this otherwise standard genre film is distinguished by superb performances. Fishburne (Boyz N the Hood) is mesmerizingly charismatic as the idealist-turned-cynic, and Goldblum (The Fly) is at turns funny and frightening as the nebbish who would be kingpin. And thanks to the fast-forward button, even those who can't stomach the graphic, often sadistic, violence can appreciate these actors on video. B+

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