In Too Deep

Plot synopsis:
Undercover cop Jeffrey Cole (Epps) is a recent graduate of the Cincinnati police academy who dreams of working undercover. Cole manages to get an undercover assignment the day of graduation and earns the praise of his superiors. Good at earning the trust of small-time drug dealer, Cole is given the task of taking down statewide crack dealer Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J), an underworld boss so powerful that his nickname is "God". Gittens is known as a family man and a man of the people, contributing to his community and helping those in need. However, there is another side to him, a ruthless leader of a criminal empire who will torture or kill anyone without question. Gittens controls eighty percent of the drug traffic in Cincinnati, Ohio, controls many of his opponents through bribery or intimidation, and appears to be untouchable. Building up his skills and credentials as an effective undercover officer, Cole earns the praise and adoration from his superiors, and he is eventually assigned to undercover work in the case against Gittens.
Cole goes undercover, posing as a drug dealer under the name of J. Reid from Akron, Ohio. He is determined to be the man who brings down Gittens underworld empire. Cole has to prove he has street cred to gain a place in God's crew. At one point God sends Cole out on a mission with a couple of his cohorts with the intention of Cole killing a man that God wants dead. Trapped in that position, Cole goes along and has to find a way not to kill this man, but not blow his cover. This on the car ride over. What he does is chase the man firing shots at him, but misses intentionally. Thus the crew believe he's loyal, but has bad aim. Cole eventually becomes close with one of the members of Gittens' crew, Breezy T. (Harper). Later on, Cole eludes and assassination attempt by members of Gittens' crew that he was with earlier. Cole goes to Breezy T., thinking that he was set up by Breezy or God. Once Breezy advises that he had nothing to do with that, nor did Gittens, and the guys acted on their own accord, Cole leaves.
Cole's superiors are impressed at his undercover work and how close he has gotten to Gittens, earning his trust while providing his superiors with intricate details into Gittens' organization. Cole's superior, Preston D'Ambrosio (Tucci) worries that the line between cop and bad guy is getting blurred and that both identities are becoming one. He begins to see behavioral changes in Cole, as more and more, Cole starts to assume the J. Reid identity, and D'Ambrosio believes that Cole is getting too far deep undercover that, characteristically and morally, he may not be able to recover from. Because of this, D'Ambrosio places Cole on forced hiatus from undercover and sends him to a place in the woods far from the city to get his head straight and re-discover himself.
During that time, Cole rediscoveres his identity and meets Myra (Long), an aspiring model during one of Cole's photography classes. The two eventually begin dating and D'Ambrosio (who checks in on Cole from time to time) begins to take notice of his new life away from undercover work. Cole tries to convince D'Ambrosio to let him go back undercover in the Gittens case, to no avail. D'Ambrosio is too concerned for Cole becoming the J. Reid moniker and losing his identity for good. D'Ambrosio is eventually overruled by District Attorney Daniel Connelly (Jake Weber) and Rick Scott (David Patrick Kelly), reasoning that Cole is the only undercover cop to infiltrate Gittens crew as deep as he has, and Cole is the person who can bring down Gittens' organization. Cole is then reassigned to the Gittens case. Myra, realizing that he has to go back undercover, begins to distance herself from Cole.
As Cole becomes J. Reid once again, he becomes reacquainted with Gittens. Cole starts to see Gittens becoming unhinged and his sporadic violence in the community (with one example, Gittens beating a man and woman in the streets in broad daylight with his infant son in the car), going as far as beating one of his close associates with a pool stick and ramming the stick up the guy's anus, killing the man for making a pass at his baby's mother. The ruthlessness starts to get to Cole, as he dives deeper into his J. Reid cover. The further Cole goes undercover, the more his identities and loyalties are blurred between Jeffrey Cole, the undercover officer, and J. Reid, the gangster from Akron that has earned Gittens full trust. Because of this, Cole begins to alienate himself from his superiors, his fellow officers, and even Myra, as Cole begins to lose reality of who he is, becoming more and more the J. Reid gangster.
D'Ambrosio wants to pull Cole out of undercover again, as he sees his officer becoming unhinged and becoming J. Reid. Connelly and Scott disagree, and they come up with a sting to bust Gittens meeting with his suppliers, to which D'Ambrosio eventually agrees after Cole convinces him the importance of this sting. During the sting, where Cole and Gittens are meeting with Gittens' suppliers, the police arrive to arrest Gittens and the suppliers. A gunfight ensues, with the police and Gittens. Gittens advises his crew to lower their weapons and surrender (advising that his lawyers will get them out and a shootout with police is futile). Cole shields Gittens from police and a standoff ensues between the officers and an unhinged Cole, struggling between his loyalties. Realizing he is losing himself, Det. Angela Wilson (Grier) talks him down and reminds him that he is Jeffrey Cole, not J. Reid, and to lower his weapon. Cole eventually gets a hold of himself and lowers his gun. As Gittens is being read his Miranda rights, Scott requests Cole to bring Gittens in (and exposes Cole's identity as an undercover cop). Gittens, in disbelief, denies all allegations that Cole is an undercover cop. Eventually Gittens realizes magnitude of the situation and that J. Reid is a cop; Gittens calls Cole a sellout, and leaves in police custody.
During trial, Cole (now out of undercover and back to his normal identity) testifies against Gittens and his organization. Cole puts in a good word for Breezy T., helping him reduce his sentence. Because of the evidence against him and Cole's testimony, Gittens is convicted and sentence to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Gittens and Cole share a final glance before Gittens is taken away.
As Connelly and Scott hold a press conference for the conviction of Gittens (taking credit for Cole's undercover work in the process), Cole and Myra (assumed to be back together) are driving and listening to the press conference. Cole switches off the radio, while Myra reminds Cole that his undercover work was the sole reason Gittens is behind bars. The last scenes are shown where Cole is teaching new young officers about undercover work, and the importance to never lose their cover or get too deep.

Tags: violence

Review:
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.
Those looking for a rousing shoot-em-up action picture will probably be disappointed by `In Too Deep.'  Those looking for a more low-keyed, subdued and thoughtful study of the realities of life as an undercover cop will, however, find much in this film to admire and appreciate.
Omar Epps stars as a Cincinnati-based rookie cop, Officer Jeff Cole, who goes undercover to nab a major cocaine dealer from New Jersey who calls himself `God,' (played by rapper LL Cool J) and who, Godfather-like, involves himself heavily in familial values and efforts to `help' the struggling members of his blighted neighborhood.
The movie builds much of its drama and suspense by bringing to the foreground the fascinating logistics that go into undercover police work, forcing us to witness first hand the risks, the moral compromises (to be convincing, Cole has to snort cocaine himself, for example) and the psychological ambiguities that invariably accompany the job.
The screenplay, though it could be sharper and more incisive at times, occasionally achieves substance in its examination of just what happens to an undercover agent's mind when he does indeed get `in too deep.'  In addition, the film frequently achieves moments of genuine suspense, in truly scary scenes involving God's uncontrolled displays of manic violence and torture and in moments when Cole's entire cover seems to have been `blown.' In those moments, LL Cool J hits all the right notes in his performance but, both he and Epps, unfortunately, lack the dramatic and emotional range as actors necessary to make their quieter, more intimate moments effectively credible.
In addition, the dialogue often rings untrue, especially in the conversations among the commanding officers played by Stanley Tucci and, in another weak portrayal, Pam Grier among others.With better performances, harder-edged dialogue and slightly more energetic direction, `In Too Deep' might have been a great study of moral conflict set within the context of an exciting policier.
As it is, `In Too Deep' respects the seriousness of both its subject matter and its audience and provides a number of powerful scenes - factors for which we are grateful but which also make us yearn for the high quality film that might have been..
Omar Epps is good in the lead role a J.
Reid/Jeffery Cole an undercover cop who begins to lose his mind while trying to get close to God ( a drug lord) played very effectively by LL Cool in one of his best performances ever.
While the film isn't as good as Deep Cover it's still worth a look..
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.
Stanley Tucci, excellent, Nia Long, let her have her own movie,PLEASE!!, Omar Epps as "J.
And look for Pam Grier, NAS, and a few others.A really good African American crime thriller, with heart..
Omar Epps plays Cole, an undercover cop who goes "in too deep" to stop God. At first he suspects he's a cop but after certain encounters with God's enimes; Cole proves himself.
Very realistic portrayal of the Ohio drug crime scene and the tense tightrope walk an undercover officer had to do to nab the local drug-lord.
Reasonable performance by Omar Epps and a good one by LLCJ.
I found the part of the movie where he takes a forced hiatus from his undercover role a little draggy though.
A superb, tense thriller that can be placed alongside "Donnie Brasco" (I mean, of course, Agent Joseph Pistone's book, not the dreadful movie, full of lies and awful changes, that was "based" on it).
A very realistic experience, with attention paid to the tiniest details and legalities - this isn't your average stupid Tarantino flick where undercover cops go around happily shooting anyone they want whenever they feel like it; this feels almost *real*!
I doubt if the movie was actually based on a true story of an undercover policeman (unless the "story" is the obvious fact that thousands of policemen risk their lives every month working undercover all over the world), but if anything like it ever happened, you can safely bet that it happened exactly the way the movie tells it.
If while reading "Donnie Brasco" (NOT while watching its stupid film version...) you ever wondered what it would be like if moved to the 1990s, "In Too Deep" will answer your questions!
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.
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.
The movie runs for a short time and shows us what we need to know without dragging too much..
It was an incredible mix of scripting, acting, dialogue and cinematography that uncovered an understanding of truth on both sides of the issue.In this film, Omar Epps plays a rookie, undercover cop, whose first small assignment actually leads him into the number one crime syndicate in all of Cincinnati.
Omar Epps is also great, and Nia Long, nice eye candy from fresh prince of Bel Air and Stanley Tucci, who added further weight to the cast.
The soundtrack is great too, especially at the end with the Mobb Deep track, it's a perfect fit.Overall rating: 7 out of 10..
Michael Rymers look at an undercover cop infiltrating a east coast drug lord is unrealistic, at times entertaining but all-together only average.
omar Epps is decent in the lead role, but LL Cool J's performance as the drug lord wasn't the best.
Nia Long was nice eye candy and Stanley Tucci and Pam Grier were good enough in there roles.
There's better films out there in this genre such as New Jack City and great stuff like Donnie Brasco.
That goes double for Pam Grier - her "character" isn't much more than a target for a few of Omar's attacks after he goes "too deep"..
This is a good, well constructed action film which involves an all black cast that is more than worth seeing.
Omar Epps is the lead and shows a lot of promise, as a "ghetto" undercover cop who gets a little too entangled with his job.I have to say, LL Cool J is the best.
Originally tonight's late night movie on BBC 1 was going to be the pierce Brosnan thriller DEATH TRAIN but because of a terrible train crash down in England a few days ago the BBC must have changed their mind in a similar way to some US stations changing their mind about showing SAVING PRIVATE RYAN while there's a war on so instead the BBC showed this gritty urban thriller .
" The film contains very strong language , violence and scenes viewers may find disturbing " said the announcer which led me to believe the station might have been better of showing a comedy if they were going to change the schedule Yes indeed IN TOO DEEP does contain strong language and scenes of violence , I sure hope the bad guy chalked his pool stick before taking his shot .
From the outset it's obvious what the story is about and where it's heading , an undercover cop infiltrates a drugs gang and ends up going native so right away you're reminded of NEW JACK CITY , DONNIE BRASCO and the little seen British thriller I.D .
There isn't one original idea to be found anywhere in this film; you'll recognize scenes taken from movies you haven't even seen!
Like Deep Cover  not as good but a bit more hip and pretty good.
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 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!
The plot, while not original, is actually pretty good fun to watch.
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.
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.
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..
This movie delves deeply into the mind state and life of an undercover police officer.
This movie can be compared to other movies such as; The Donnie Brasco Story, and Deep Cover.
This movie did a great job at showing the painful side of being an undercover police agent.
In Too Deep is a great action-packed movie with a resounding punch.
I give thumb ups to Omar Epps, L.L. Cool J.
This movie was pretty good i guess.
They didn't give enough information about what was going the first two years he was undercover trying to take down "GOD." He was undercover and then all of a sudden it's two years later in the film and he's gotten in too deep and has to hide out.
Omar Epps, although i think he's a great young actor, felt that his performance was kind of lame and flat except when he was playing the part of the undercover "Jay Reid.".
But I think I liked this movie better, the first time I saw it.
From feeding the local poor, to the undercover cop getting close to the top, to the baby references (God had a kid, Nino's woman couldn't).Been there Done that..
LL Cool J has expanded his acting skills with this one; he definitely is NOT a good guy, and his performance as a drug lord named "GOD" is first rate.
Omar Epps is intriguing as the undercover cop who feels duty bound to bring him to justice while his boss(Stanley Tucci) just wants to take him off of the case because of fears for his safety.
Nia Long, sort of in a castoff role, is the on and off love interest of J.Reid(Omar Epps).
Overall, this movie has good performances and an especially chilling scene involving LL Cool J handing out severe punishment to one of his "boys".
Omar Epps is surprising and masterful as the lead playing an undercover cop.
Also, LL Cool J does a very convincing job as a drug lord.
In Too Deep is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
The ending line with god, youre not a cop j reid, youre a sellout.
Youre life.'  Great quotes like this along with an exceptional storyline make this one of the most under-rated movies in US history..
Standard undercover cop drama done well but ends without much drama.
Rookie cop Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps) works in the narco unit and shows skills posing in the drug world.
Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J) is the leader of a drug gang calling himself God. Jeff goes undercover as J.Reid to take down God. He gets introduced by Breezy T (Hill Harper) and befriends the headman.
I like Omar Epps.
Omar Epps is great and he shows that he has the acting skills.
This is a gritty urban black version of many movies everybody has seen before.
Seldom is an action movie really focused on the story, instead it's always about the man who can do the impossible.
In Too Deep was different though because it was based on a true story and there really weren't any expensive special effects.
In this film, Omar Epps plays a rookie, undercover cop, whose first small assignment actually leads him into the number one crime syndicate in all of Cincinnati.
In Too Deep featured a great, real life story, that was on the level, I really enjoyed this film.
Everything was very well done, but it is very obvious that the Writer/Director of this film was white, while the majority of the cast was black.
I understand the point of this movie was to be real, but part of that realism was that this gang had never been infiltrated because of how smart they were.
Omar Epps plays an undercover cop trying to catch a drug lord played by LL Cool J.
Both the leads are great especially Cool J who plays his bad guy character as an intelligent reasonable guy who can nevertheless be extremely vicious when he has to be.Two complaints.
Another problem is the hero cop has a girl friend and the movie spends lots of time on that silly romance even though it has nothing to do with the real story..
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.
Anybody who remembers classic undercover cop capers, like "Serpico," "Rush," "Deep Cover," "New Jack City," "Donnie Brasco," or even a "Wiseguy" or "Miami Vice" TV episode, should find "In Too Deep" ranks as a tolerably exciting but hopelessly derivative variation on a well-worn theme.
Although Australian director Michael "Angel Heart" Rymer and "Dead Presidents" writer Michael Henry Brown and "The Octagon" scribe Paul Aaron stick to the formula, they have provided enough new material so that "In Too Deep" doesn't overdose on clichés."In Too Deep" chronicles the predicament that undercover Cincinnati cop Jeff Cole (Omar Epps of "The Mod Squad") confronts when he must prove he is not the heat but a home boy to a suspicious, big-time coke dealer.
Rymer and his scenarists dilute some of the suspense by unfolding the story in flashbacks as our hero lectures a class of Chicago rookies about the dangers of undercover work.
Anti-climactic and predictable as "In Too Deep" remains, Rymer and his writers cobble together a serviceable actioneer with layers of atmosphere.Cole is fresh out of the police academy when he volunteers to go undercover for Captain Preston Boyd (Stanley Tucci of "Big Night").
A refugee from New Jersey who has settled in Cincinnati, Gittens (L.L. Cool J) runs 80 per cent of the coke in town and calls himself 'God." According to Boyd, nobody has ever gotten close enough to Gittens to nail him.
Jeff Cole grows so obsessed with arresting 'God' that he crosses the line between good and evil and his undercover gangsta persona overshadows who he really is.
When he tries to see Myra, she vows to have nothing to do with him.Although "In Too Deep" imitates many earlier undercover cop movies, several things differentiate it.
The Cincinnati police uniforms with their white kepis make the cops look like AFJROTC cadets.
Typically, the villains die a horrible death in these movies.Omar Epps has more to do as an undercover cop in "In Too Deep" than he had in "The Mod Squad." At times, when he dons an obvious wig, he resembles a young Yaphet Kotto.
Meanwhile, rapper L.L. Cool J forges a memorable villain in Dwayne 'God' Gittens.
." "In Too Deep" qualifies as an above-average entry in the drug bust genre, though it pales by comparison with "New Jack City," "Donnie Brasco," or "Serpico." Sloppy scripting sometimes mars the overall sense of believability.
After Cole busts the Latino drug dealers, he waltzes out of his house amid a swarm of cops, and a friend of the family spots him.
If you enjoy slam-bang cop thrillers, "In Too Deep" makes the grade..
First off I would like to say what a hell of a movie and story plot.
I will start of by saying LL Cool J is a very legit gangster and drug lord.
Second off i knew Omar Epps was a very talented actor...