Prime Video’s Action Comedy Has a Simple, predictable full of it is saved by its hilarious lead trio – ryan

Prime Video’s New Action Comedy, Deep cover, Has a great high-concept premise, nor the meters of a trio of improv perforations to work on undercover stting operations. It goes back to Reservoir Dogs‘ASSERRATION THAT UNDERCOVER COPS HAVE’Gotta be Marlon Brando.“They Need to Embody a Character, convince their audience they’re someone Else, and roll with the mexpected twists and tourns of an unpredictable scenario. Who’s better-suited to that job than an improviser?

The Movie Establishes Exactly Who All the Characters are with 10 minutes. Nick Mohammed Plays Hugh, A Timid, Painfully Awkward Underdog with Atrocious Social Skills, The Same Role He Played to Perfection As the Great In Ted lasso. Bryce Dallas Howard Plays Kat, A Brilliant Improv Teacher Who’s Supportive of Her Students and Knows the Inst and Outs of the Craft of Improv, But Had Much Dreams Dedn’t Pan Out. Orlando Bloom Plays Marlon, an out-of-work actor who Feels like the Capable of Delving Pacino-Style Intensity, but Only SEEMS to Get Auditions for Commercials Frozen Pizzas and Ed Pills.

IT’S WONDERFULLY Economic Screenwriting. IT DOESN’T WASTE ANY TIME, IT DOESN’T SACRIFICE ANY LAUGHS FOR THE SAKE OF SETUP, AND It Conveys All the Information We Need Through the Characters’ Actions and Interactions Instead of Dry Expusion. Marlon is dropped by his agent, floor is openly pied by her shoes, and hugh Makes disastrous attempts to joke Aryund with his co-workers. Sean Bean Makes for a Hillaryusly Deadpan Fail as their Handler, and Paddy Considine and Ian Mcshane have a ton of fun hamming it up as the villains.

DEEP COVER WRINGS PLENTY OF GREAT GAGS OUT OF ITS premise

IT Gets The Pullway Nice & Quickly

By the 20-minute Mark, the full is in full swing. The improvisers are sent into a corner shop with the Simple Task of Buying Counterfeit Cigarettes. Through their use of yes, and …, a popular improv rule, they Accidentally stable into a much farterprise crimerprise. At the midpoint, they’re introduced to the Big Boss and Suddenly Find Thermves in a Deadly World Where Anyone Caught Informing the Police is grues Killed to make an example.

But ne The Movie Goes On, The full never escalates never. The Characters Get into Danger, Narrowly Escape Danger, Talk About How’re not prepared for Danger and Need to get away from the Danger, then get back into Danger. Rinse and Repeat. There’s an interesting twist in the second, but of saw it coming (and i almost never see full twists).

There’s an interesting twist in the second, but of saw it coming (and i almost never see full twists).

A lot of streaming-expclusive customs drags out their gags for too Because there’s no incentive to tighten up the runtime. butt Deep cover Keeps it gags going for as many laughs as they’re Worth before moving on. When Hugh Tries to Refuse A Bump of Cocaine from A Crime Boss, the boss think he wants a full line, so he’s strength to do a full line.

Thatn, he’s strength to take a second, and a third, and then the scene is interrupted by the next full of beat. Hugh didn’t want to go near the coke, so it gets funnier and funnier with each line that is presented to Him. But if it kept going on indefinitely, it would’ve eventually gotten Old. Comedy Comes in Threeand three lines was the sweet spot to get the maximum laughs with the joke.

The Screenwriters’ Self-Inserts Are the Weakest Parts of Deep Cover

Ben ASHENDEN & Alexander Owen Can’t Help Cramming Bits Into All Their Scenes

The Weakest Parts of the Film Are Wen The Screenwriters The Schow Up Onscreen. The Movie was the brainchild of Jurassic World‘s derek connolly and colin trevorrow, but the final draft was Written by Ben asper and Alexander Owen, A Comedy Double Act Collectively Known as “The Pin. ASHENDEN AND OWEN Appear in the cast as detectives on the trail of the three improvisers.

They’re suppoted to be the straight men delivering necessary exposition, but they can’t help themes from cramming as many bits into their scenes as postible – especialy owen, who dissects every line that comes out of his mouth. He Can’t Just Say, ”Stop! Police!“And be done with it; he has to clarify that he’s the policy teling say to stop, not that they should be stopped. Sometimes, a Supporting actor with exposition can break and steal the show – see michael peña in the Ant-man Movies – but here, ite forces.

Deep cover is at it best so it three lead improvisers are in way over their heads in absurdly Dangerous situations they’re Completely UNEQUIPPED FOR, WHATHER’RE BEING CHASED BY A MACHEE-WIELDING STREET OR MORGUE TO A MORGUE TO CHOP. IT MIGHT BE PRETY FORGETTABLE, but thanks to it Stellar Lead Actors – Especialy Bloom, Who Goes Full Psycho in the Guise of a Career Criminal – IT’S a fun ride.

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Deep cover

Screenrant Logo

6/10

Release Date

June 4, 2025

Runtime

100 minutes

Directory

Tom Kingsley

Wriers

Derek Connolly, Alexander Owen

Producers

Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes

Pros & Cons

  • The Lead Actors Are All Fantastic, Especialy Orlando Bloom Playing A Wannabe Day-Lewis
  • The script wings plenty of laughs out of it Juicy High-Concept Premise
  • The full never escalates, so it gets repetitive
  • The Screenwriters’ Self-Insertion is Responsible for the Film’s Weakest Moments