Gangsta cop

First of all I'll start by saying that "In Too Deep" is a watered down version of "Deep Cover", but that's not really a bad thing.

The movie looks, sounds and is acted in a very well put together way. The characters are even memorable, even LL COOL J's "God", is really effective. He's a family man, but a notorious and mean gangster all at once.

The look at what going undercover can do to one's mental well being is a really sharp and involving look. Stanley Tucci, excellent, Nia Long, let her have her own movie,PLEASE!!, Omar Epps as "J. Reid", very impressive. And look for Pam Grier, NAS, and a few others.

A really good African American crime thriller, with heart.

Starting out his undercover career with small scale drug busts, Jef Cole is soon enlisted to go after the main dealer, known locally as God. When he gets in too deep and kills a dealer who moves up on him, Jeff is sent away to a remote spot to recover. When a chance meeting with a FBI agent reveals that no other officer has got close to God since then, Jeff offers to go back under – but can he avoid going native?

I taped this simply because of the cast and I must admit I didn't expect much from it. I knew from the plot summary that it was going to be a version of Deep Cover, but with more rappers! However I did actually quite enjoy it. The plot, while not original, is actually pretty good fun to watch. The only thing that slowed it down was the seemingly pointless addition of the romance subplot which took the wind out of the film without adding anything to it. The main plot though is quite energetic and exciting – the question of whether Jeff will go `in too deep' or not is pretty moot simply due to the nature of the film but it is still good.

Although in many films, rappers stand out as giving poor cameos etc, here they all do well. In fact the soundtrack is a good mix of hip hop all used to good effect. The opening credits are stylishly shot and the director does a pretty good job of mixing a gritty street feel with some stylish flourishes. The film feels very polished and professional rather the sort of cheap rubbish that many predominately-rapper cast films have been in the past few years.

Speaking of cast, Epps does a good job as a leading man, he is a solid black actor who could be somewhere between Washington and Snipes in terms of abilities and genre. LL Cool J does a good job, enjoying himself playing a bad guy. He is actually quite a good actor simply because he picks projects that don't stretch his abilities. Long is a beautiful woman but is wasted in a pointless role here – she is worthy of more. Support cast includes a long line of rappers & cameos etc who do reasonable jobs – Sticky Fingaz is perfect in this type of role (albeit perpetuating a stereotype) and other faces include Pam Grier, Nas, Dupri and Mya.

Overall this is a surprisingly enjoyable film that is criminally underwatched. While not original it is solidly good fun and well made with the cast giving enjoyable performances.

Plot (7 out of 10): An OK plot about J. Reid developing as an undercover cop. No major investigation facts or any plot twists. It's straightfoward and simple, but a nice story.

Acting (7 out of 10): Acting is good, even though everyone is pretty much as plain as it is.

Entertainment (8 out of 10): It's good entertainment. No major action scenes or unbelieveable shots. Everything is just like a real book about a guy that wants to make a difference. You're in tension on any other scene, vowing for Reid.

Soundtrack (5 out of 10): No major scores.

Special Effects (10 out of 10): Max rating, since everything tha's shown feels real. Makeup is good and no CGI is seen. Keep in mind that this movie uses little special effects.

Movie's main characteristic: Character-driven.

Final Score: 7.4 (7).

Summary: In Too Deep is a solid crime drama about an undercover cop struggling with his personal life plus his own mind. Being in too deep in the scheme makes him start to forget who he really is, although even that is not strongly developed. The movie runs for a short time and shows us what we need to know without dragging too much.

IN TOO DEEP is a movie that packs a good punch, violence wise. This film may shock you if you are not a seasoned movie vet(like myself). Aside from the violence and bad language, IN TOO DEEP gives us a nice look at what undercover police work might look like. This film is well acted by the whole cast(especially LL COOL J) and includes a "hip" sound track that adds to the films look and feel. The point of the film is about an undercover cop that tries to work his way into a drug king pin's dealing business in order to bring him down. This is a well done movie and I recommend it to those who like action and rap. I give it one thumb up. Rated R for STRONG VIOLENCE, A SCENE OF TORTURE, STRONG LANGUAGE, A SCENE OF SEXUALITY, AND BRIEF NUDITY.

First, I liked the script and it benefitted because of the casting too. LL Cool J gives a good performance as "God" a ruthless crime lord as well as Omar Epps in a very different role but still manages to keep that street charisma that he has. Nia Long's character Myra was perfect to draw the line between his police work and his personal life. this also starts Stanley Tucci, Pam Grier, Hassan Johnson and Veronica Webb.

one of my all-time favorites...

9.5/10