Deep Cover represents a sort of shot at redemption for star Bryce Dallas Howard. After starring in 2024’s abysmal spy comedy Argylle, she takes the lead in the Tom Kingsley-directed action comedy. And in a positive swing, Deep Cover is a much bigger success.
Deep Cover Plot
Howard plays Kat, a struggling actor working in London as an improv teacher. She is recruited by the local police to go undercover for small-time sting operations. Needing a team — scene partners, if you will — she brings in two of her students, Marlon (Orlando Bloom) and Hugh (Nick Mohammed).
But in their first sting, the trio “yes, ands” their way to a much deeper part of the London criminal underworld. Their handler, played by Sean Bean, insists they keep up the ruse in an effort to take down some of the city’s biggest players.
Deep Cover Review
The basic idea behind Deep Cover is a clever one. For an undercover agent to be successful, they have to be quick-thinking and able to adapt to any situation, no matter how absurd or extreme it becomes. To a certain, though still wildly different, extent, that’s exactly the job of an improv performer. In a performance, good improv can be some of the funniest bits you’ll ever see, and bad improv is cringe-inducing. Going undercover, good or bad improv can literally be the difference between life and death.
While Deep Cover is quite funny, it veers away pretty quickly from the improv setup. The trio feel more like any other group of inexperienced agents rather than true improv performers. It ultimately amounts to barely more than a nitpick, but if that’s the whole hook of the story, it should stick a little firmer.
The comedy and performances are really what carry Deep Cover. The story is paper-thin, often feeling like a first-draft script. There’s at least some decent character introduction for Kat, Marlon, and Hugh. We understand why each would initially be drawn to improv and later into working the stings. But that’s about where the character work ends.
Every other character is as generic as they come. Paddy Considine as Mid-Level Crime Boss. Ian McShane as Higher Crime Boss. Sonoya Mizuno as Criminal Sidekick. But everyone hams it up, to great overall benefit. As thinly written as everyone is, the dedicated performances still allow the characters to work.
And that’s necessary, as the plot is ridiculous and doesn’t always make logical sense. It sort of zips along from Point A to B to C, and so on, rarely giving any scene room to breathe. It’s a fine line to walk, as one or two bigger slip-ups could derail the entire thing. But it doesn’t often matter, as the jokes keep things moving and keep you engaged. But in the few moments where the jokes fall flat, you begin to realize how ridiculous this whole thing is. Thankfully those moments are few and far between and never last too long.
Whether an intended homage or not, fans of Guy Ritchie will certainly see some similarities between his work and what Kingsley and screenwriters Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly, Ben Ashenden, and Alexander Owen put on screen here. Deep Cover is a much more sanitized look at the London criminal underworld; let’s call it Ritchie-lite. But it has some of the same quippy, one-liner dialogue Ritchie is often fond of using.
As good as everyone is, it’s Bloom who clearly carries the movie. His Marlon character is a method actor through and through, (arguably too) often fully committing to whatever twisted characterization he’s come up with for his gangster persona. Bloom is an absolute riot, hoarding all the funniest lines for himself.
And that’s not to shortchange anyone else. Howard is the heart of the story, keeping it (relatively) grounded while getting her share of laughs. Mohammed is a combination of the two, though it felt like there was more to mine from Hugh’s personal story. You probably aren’t expecting a ton of character development in a movie like this, but Hugh is the one where it felt like there would have been room to include just a bit more.
Is Deep Cover worth watching?
Deep Cover is more entertaining than truly good. But it’s consistently funny, with Orlando Bloom being a particular highlight. It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s plenty of fun.
Deep Cover premieres worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on June 12.
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