Amazon's New Crimedy "Deep Cover" Aims High But Misses the Mark

For the past few years, audiences have grown to expect a lot from Amazon Prime Video. Their original content from television to animation to feature films has captured the attention of millions around the globe, solidifying their place in the entertainment industry. This week saw the release of their latest film, Deep Cover, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, and Paddy Considine. But despite having a lot of potential, this will definitely not be going down in history as one of the studio's stronger works.

Tom Kingsley's Deep Cover is a film that follows three improv actors after they are hired for their biggest gig yet: conducting sting operations for the British police. What started as a simple mission to find the origin of counterfeit cigarettes quickly turns into something so big, they can't possible "yes, and" their way out of it. The movie has a lot of passable comedic moments, especially from Orlando Bloom's character, and overall the ensemble has a solid, entertaining dynamic. Bryce Dallas Howard often gets called a "nepo baby" but she is arguably one of the more talented actors today who have been inherited that label. She does have a real knack for acting, regardless of her father, Ron Howard's success. Howard has a number of great performances under her belt ranging from film to television, and her appearance in Deep Cover truly is one of the movie's stronger elements, but even she isn't enough to save it from being tedious.

Deep Cover had a decent amount of potential but overall can't help but feel bland, something that Amazon originals have struggled with in the past. The whole time I was watching I couldn't help but wish for them to take things further. At surface level, Deep Cover is a film about three failed actors who get mixed up in a big, messy drug deal, and I just wish more risks were taken. I wanted to see more action, more antics, more edginess, but the whole thing feels exceedingly corporatized. If this was produced by A24 or Neon, I'd probably be giving a very different review about a very different movie.

The film made a very brief appearance at this year's Tribeca Film Festival in New York City to mostly positive reviews from audiences. But the presence of an Amazon film at Tribeca can't possibly help but feel like a corporate shoehorn. It's a festival mostly consisting of independent cinema by unknown talent, so Deep Cover was bound to feel out of place.

I can't help but feel kind of silly for examining this film the same way I've been with all the other projects at Tribeca this year. We're not talking about some high-brow arthouse film here, this is an Amazon original action movie. And to Deep Cover's credit, there is plenty of room in the industry for movies like this, maybe it would have been better received if I had just seen this on streaming like intentioned and not at a festival like Tribeca.

So yes, Deep Cover isn't a movie you're going to show off to impress your pretentious classmates in film school. But if you're looking for a decent laugh that doesn't require you to think too much, you could certainly do a lot worse. Let's just hope that going forward, Amazon Prime video gets the message that people want films that appeal to the brain, not just to the eyes.