Editing Deep Cover (section)

==Reception==
''Deep Cover'' was released on April 17, 1992 in 901 theaters, and grossed $3.4 million on its opening weekend.<ref>{{cite news |title=No Easter Basket for Box Office: Movies: 'Basic Instinct' winds up in first place over the holiday weekend, but business so far this year is down about 9%. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-20-ca-349-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=2012-06-09}}</ref> It went on to make $16.6 million in North America.<ref name="boxoffice">{{cite news |title=''Deep Cover'' |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deepcover.htm |work=Box Office Mojo |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref>

The majority of critics responded favorably towards ''Deep Cover''. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and praised the voice-over narration as "poetic and colorful. That's part of the process elevating the story from the mundane to the mythic".<ref name="ebert">{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=''Deep Cover'' |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19920415/REVIEWS/204150301/1023 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=April 15, 1992 |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]], in her review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', praised the "quietly commanding Larry Fishburne and the wry Jeff Goldblum, who make an interestingly offbeat team".<ref name="maslin">{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title=Police Thriller With Layers of Issues |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE0DC103DF936A25757C0A964958260&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 15, 1992 |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref> In his review for ''[[The Chicago Reader]]'', [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] wrote, "What emerges is a powerhouse thriller full of surprises, original touches, and rare political lucidity".<ref name="rosenbaum">{{cite news |last=Rosenbaum | first=Jonathan |title=Government Lies |url=http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/?p=7184 |work=[[The Chicago Reader]] |date=August 28, 1992 |access-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's [[Peter Travers]] wrote, "Duke (''[[A Rage in Harlem]]'') makes the perks of the drug lifestyle palpably seductive. But this time there's something new in the snortscrew-slay formula: a working conscience".<ref name="travers">{{cite magazine |last=Travers |first=Peter |title=''Deep Cover'' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947375/review/5947376/deep_cover |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081130001221/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/5947375/review/5947376/deep_cover |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2008 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 8, 2000 |access-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave the film a "B−" rating and [[Owen Gleiberman]] wrote, "The movie peels away every layer of hope, revealing a red-hot core of nihilistic despair. Fishburne, with his hair-trigger line readings and deadly reptilian gaze, conveys the controlled desperation of someone watching his own faith unravel. And Goldblum reveals a new dimension of comic rottishness".<ref name="Gleiberman">{{cite magazine |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |title=''Deep Cover'' |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310264,00.html |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=April 24, 1992 |access-date=May 14, 2009 |archive-date=April 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421052700/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,310264,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In her review for ''[[The Independent]]'', Sheila Johnston wrote: "The disappointment of ''[[Night and the City (1992 film)|Night and the City]]'' has left some critics lamenting that [[film noir]] is dead in the water, but ''Deep Cover'' displays many hallmarks of the genre, down to the diffuse paranoia (perhaps the entire operation is a high-level Washington cover-up). It was the most unexpected pleasure to arrive here in many a month".<ref name="Johnston">{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Sheila |title=Rackets, stings, cons and scams |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film--rackets-stings-cons-and-scams-deep-cover-18bill-duke-us-midnight-sting-15michael-ritchie-us-schtonk-15helmut-dietl-ger-sweet-emma-dear-bobe-18istvan-szabo-hung-1480031.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=January 22, 1993 |access-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> In its 2021 retrospective, ''[[The A.V. Club]]''{{'}}s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky wrote "As a depiction of crime, law enforcement, and drug dealing, the film is a cartoon; as an exploration of the Man's ulterior motives, it's trenchant and angry. Stylistic and attitudinal cues come by way of [[Miami Vice]], anti-heroic [[Blaxploitation]], and the politicized, independent-minded [[B-film]]s of [[Samuel Fuller]]."<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/deep-cover-is-a-smart-over-the-top-90s-classic-1846172793 Deep Cover is a smart, over-the-top ’90s classic|AV Club]</ref>

However, not all critics liked the movie. In his review for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', Desson Howe wrote, "With ''[[Boyz n the Hood]]'', Fishburne broke through to the big time. Here, his acting career takes a step backwards". Despite this, of Jeff Goldblum he stated that "Oddly enough, Goldblum's so wildly out of place in this misbegotten movie, he becomes its greatest asset".<ref name="howe">{{cite news |last=Howe |first=Desson |title=''Deep Cover'' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/deepcoverrhowe_a0aebe.htm |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 17, 1992 |access-date=2009-03-18}}</ref> Richard Harrington, also of ''The Washington Post'', gave a mixed review, saying: "While Fishburne is generally riveting -- his facial disguise is basically hardness layered onto strength -- and Goldblum is intriguing -- his wannabe urges are quite curious -- the film itself is only occasionally visceral. On the one hand, it's refreshing and commendable that a major film casts a black actor not only as a detective (rather than as a criminal), but in the lead role."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/deepcoverrharrington_a0ab28.htm 	 ‘Deep Cover’, By Richard Harrington]</ref>

On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 87% from 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "''Deep Cover'' rises above standard-issue crime thriller fare thanks to a smartly cynical script and powerhouse performances from its unorthodox but well-matched leads."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Cover |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1039270-deep_cover |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a weighted average to critics' reviews, gave the film an average score of 67 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Cover Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/deep-cover |access-date=May 24, 2023 |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom, Inc.]]}}</ref>