The real crime? That this film went straight to streaming

Deep Cover
(MA15+, 99 minutes, Prime Video)
4 stars
If you look at the elements of Deep Cover, the film really shouldn't work.
An improv comedy teacher, an unemployed wannabe serious actor and an underappreciated office worker are pulled into an undercover police sting after being scouted at an improv lesson, only to end up unwittingly infiltrating an organised crime operation.
It sounds completely ridiculous - and it is - but somehow with the truly excellent comic timing of the leads (Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed), the snappy writing (Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow is among the scribes) and decent production value, Deep Cover is more than the sum of its parts.
It's hard to nail down just who is the stand-out performer in this film.
Is it Howard, the lone American in the trio, putting her comedic chops to the test and playing it straight next to her more extravagant co-stars, steering the ship in the right direction?
Or is it Bloom, fully letting loose as an actor who thinks every new situation is an opportunity to create a harrowing backstory for his "character", to utterly hilarious result?
Maybe it's Ted Lasso's Mohammed, whose character is completely inept and makes you crack up in just about every scene?
Then you've got Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as an organised crime heavy who thinks he's stumbled upon a pack of ruthless killers to join his crew, Ian McShane (John Wick) as his unhinged Scottish boss, and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) as the cop who recruited our protagonists.
Everyone is on their A-game, and it's their dedication to the material that really lets you just sit back and enjoy a bit of silliness for 90-odd minutes.
Deep Cover has several set pieces that any cinematic action comedy would be thrilled to have in its runtime, including a pursuit on pushbikes through London's backstreets, and an attempted escape from a seemingly endless supply of gun-toting gangsters.
Watching both the cops and hardened criminals mistake the actors for cold-blooded murderers is great value.
Our main characters - Kat, Roach and Hugh - take "yes, and" to the next level, fully living out the rules of improvisational acting amid the dangers of London's crime scene.
Deep Cover is silly, fun and unquestionably entertaining - one of the better films to debut on streaming services this year.
It's a shame this film didn't get a cinema release, or even a bigger promotional budget, because it's got the charm and entertainment value to really be a success.
Especially when you compare it to other action-based films that have hit streaming in recent months, including Viola Davis's G20 (adequate as action fare, but forgotten about by the next week), Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz vehicle Back in Action (also forgettable, and Andrew Scott is miscast), Tom Hardy's Havoc (a mess of a movie that barely deserves one star) and big-budget action sci-fi The Electric State (not completely terrible, but still less enjoyable than Deep Cover).
Audiences seem to be crying out for original films, films that aren't part of franchises or adapted from games, or remakes, but when we get them they're relegated to a streaming release and cannot make an impact at the box office.
That said, if Deep Cover does as well on Prime as it has the ability to do, there will undoubtedly be a sequel coming in the next few years.
You can imagine that if this film was conceived in the 2010s it could have a place in the cultural consciousness alongside the likes of The Other Guys, Spy or The Hitman's Bodyguard.
Deep Cover
(MA15+, 99 minutes, Prime Video)
4 stars
If you look at the elements of Deep Cover, the film really shouldn't work.
An improv comedy teacher, an unemployed wannabe serious actor and an underappreciated office worker are pulled into an undercover police sting after being scouted at an improv lesson, only to end up unwittingly infiltrating an organised crime operation.
It sounds completely ridiculous - and it is - but somehow with the truly excellent comic timing of the leads (Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed), the snappy writing (Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow is among the scribes) and decent production value, Deep Cover is more than the sum of its parts.
It's hard to nail down just who is the stand-out performer in this film.
Is it Howard, the lone American in the trio, putting her comedic chops to the test and playing it straight next to her more extravagant co-stars, steering the ship in the right direction?
Or is it Bloom, fully letting loose as an actor who thinks every new situation is an opportunity to create a harrowing backstory for his "character", to utterly hilarious result?
Maybe it's Ted Lasso's Mohammed, whose character is completely inept and makes you crack up in just about every scene?
Then you've got Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as an organised crime heavy who thinks he's stumbled upon a pack of ruthless killers to join his crew, Ian McShane (John Wick) as his unhinged Scottish boss, and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) as the cop who recruited our protagonists.
Everyone is on their A-game, and it's their dedication to the material that really lets you just sit back and enjoy a bit of silliness for 90-odd minutes.
Deep Cover has several set pieces that any cinematic action comedy would be thrilled to have in its runtime, including a pursuit on pushbikes through London's backstreets, and an attempted escape from a seemingly endless supply of gun-toting gangsters.
Watching both the cops and hardened criminals mistake the actors for cold-blooded murderers is great value.
Our main characters - Kat, Roach and Hugh - take "yes, and" to the next level, fully living out the rules of improvisational acting amid the dangers of London's crime scene.
Deep Cover is silly, fun and unquestionably entertaining - one of the better films to debut on streaming services this year.
It's a shame this film didn't get a cinema release, or even a bigger promotional budget, because it's got the charm and entertainment value to really be a success.
Especially when you compare it to other action-based films that have hit streaming in recent months, including Viola Davis's G20 (adequate as action fare, but forgotten about by the next week), Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz vehicle Back in Action (also forgettable, and Andrew Scott is miscast), Tom Hardy's Havoc (a mess of a movie that barely deserves one star) and big-budget action sci-fi The Electric State (not completely terrible, but still less enjoyable than Deep Cover).
Audiences seem to be crying out for original films, films that aren't part of franchises or adapted from games, or remakes, but when we get them they're relegated to a streaming release and cannot make an impact at the box office.
That said, if Deep Cover does as well on Prime as it has the ability to do, there will undoubtedly be a sequel coming in the next few years.
You can imagine that if this film was conceived in the 2010s it could have a place in the cultural consciousness alongside the likes of The Other Guys, Spy or The Hitman's Bodyguard.
Deep Cover
(MA15+, 99 minutes, Prime Video)
4 stars
If you look at the elements of Deep Cover, the film really shouldn't work.
An improv comedy teacher, an unemployed wannabe serious actor and an underappreciated office worker are pulled into an undercover police sting after being scouted at an improv lesson, only to end up unwittingly infiltrating an organised crime operation.
It sounds completely ridiculous - and it is - but somehow with the truly excellent comic timing of the leads (Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed), the snappy writing (Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow is among the scribes) and decent production value, Deep Cover is more than the sum of its parts.
It's hard to nail down just who is the stand-out performer in this film.
Is it Howard, the lone American in the trio, putting her comedic chops to the test and playing it straight next to her more extravagant co-stars, steering the ship in the right direction?
Or is it Bloom, fully letting loose as an actor who thinks every new situation is an opportunity to create a harrowing backstory for his "character", to utterly hilarious result?
Maybe it's Ted Lasso's Mohammed, whose character is completely inept and makes you crack up in just about every scene?
Then you've got Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as an organised crime heavy who thinks he's stumbled upon a pack of ruthless killers to join his crew, Ian McShane (John Wick) as his unhinged Scottish boss, and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) as the cop who recruited our protagonists.
Everyone is on their A-game, and it's their dedication to the material that really lets you just sit back and enjoy a bit of silliness for 90-odd minutes.
Deep Cover has several set pieces that any cinematic action comedy would be thrilled to have in its runtime, including a pursuit on pushbikes through London's backstreets, and an attempted escape from a seemingly endless supply of gun-toting gangsters.
Watching both the cops and hardened criminals mistake the actors for cold-blooded murderers is great value.
Our main characters - Kat, Roach and Hugh - take "yes, and" to the next level, fully living out the rules of improvisational acting amid the dangers of London's crime scene.
Deep Cover is silly, fun and unquestionably entertaining - one of the better films to debut on streaming services this year.
It's a shame this film didn't get a cinema release, or even a bigger promotional budget, because it's got the charm and entertainment value to really be a success.
Especially when you compare it to other action-based films that have hit streaming in recent months, including Viola Davis's G20 (adequate as action fare, but forgotten about by the next week), Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz vehicle Back in Action (also forgettable, and Andrew Scott is miscast), Tom Hardy's Havoc (a mess of a movie that barely deserves one star) and big-budget action sci-fi The Electric State (not completely terrible, but still less enjoyable than Deep Cover).
Audiences seem to be crying out for original films, films that aren't part of franchises or adapted from games, or remakes, but when we get them they're relegated to a streaming release and cannot make an impact at the box office.
That said, if Deep Cover does as well on Prime as it has the ability to do, there will undoubtedly be a sequel coming in the next few years.
You can imagine that if this film was conceived in the 2010s it could have a place in the cultural consciousness alongside the likes of The Other Guys, Spy or The Hitman's Bodyguard.
Deep Cover
(MA15+, 99 minutes, Prime Video)
4 stars
If you look at the elements of Deep Cover, the film really shouldn't work.
An improv comedy teacher, an unemployed wannabe serious actor and an underappreciated office worker are pulled into an undercover police sting after being scouted at an improv lesson, only to end up unwittingly infiltrating an organised crime operation.
It sounds completely ridiculous - and it is - but somehow with the truly excellent comic timing of the leads (Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed), the snappy writing (Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow is among the scribes) and decent production value, Deep Cover is more than the sum of its parts.
It's hard to nail down just who is the stand-out performer in this film.
Is it Howard, the lone American in the trio, putting her comedic chops to the test and playing it straight next to her more extravagant co-stars, steering the ship in the right direction?
Or is it Bloom, fully letting loose as an actor who thinks every new situation is an opportunity to create a harrowing backstory for his "character", to utterly hilarious result?
Maybe it's Ted Lasso's Mohammed, whose character is completely inept and makes you crack up in just about every scene?
Then you've got Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as an organised crime heavy who thinks he's stumbled upon a pack of ruthless killers to join his crew, Ian McShane (John Wick) as his unhinged Scottish boss, and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) as the cop who recruited our protagonists.
Everyone is on their A-game, and it's their dedication to the material that really lets you just sit back and enjoy a bit of silliness for 90-odd minutes.
Deep Cover has several set pieces that any cinematic action comedy would be thrilled to have in its runtime, including a pursuit on pushbikes through London's backstreets, and an attempted escape from a seemingly endless supply of gun-toting gangsters.
Watching both the cops and hardened criminals mistake the actors for cold-blooded murderers is great value.
Our main characters - Kat, Roach and Hugh - take "yes, and" to the next level, fully living out the rules of improvisational acting amid the dangers of London's crime scene.
Deep Cover is silly, fun and unquestionably entertaining - one of the better films to debut on streaming services this year.
It's a shame this film didn't get a cinema release, or even a bigger promotional budget, because it's got the charm and entertainment value to really be a success.
Especially when you compare it to other action-based films that have hit streaming in recent months, including Viola Davis's G20 (adequate as action fare, but forgotten about by the next week), Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz vehicle Back in Action (also forgettable, and Andrew Scott is miscast), Tom Hardy's Havoc (a mess of a movie that barely deserves one star) and big-budget action sci-fi The Electric State (not completely terrible, but still less enjoyable than Deep Cover).
Audiences seem to be crying out for original films, films that aren't part of franchises or adapted from games, or remakes, but when we get them they're relegated to a streaming release and cannot make an impact at the box office.
That said, if Deep Cover does as well on Prime as it has the ability to do, there will undoubtedly be a sequel coming in the next few years.
You can imagine that if this film was conceived in the 2010s it could have a place in the cultural consciousness alongside the likes of The Other Guys, Spy or The Hitman's Bodyguard.

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Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News. COMMENT What. About. The. Lawn. In 2019 Donald and Melania Trump packed up their his and her medical-grade bronzer tubs and headed to London for a State visit, landing on the Buckingham Palace lawn in Marine One, the presidential helicopter. One was not amused. Days later Scott 'I don't hold the hose' Morrison visited the Palace and the late Queen, per the Times, 'marched him to a window to look out at the once green and pleasant grass and said: 'Come and look at my lawn. It's ruined.'' Let's hope the royal family's under gardeners are ready given that Mr Trump is set to return to London for an historic second State. (It is reportedly 'pencilled in' for September.) And let's hope that Kate, The Princess of Wales is already working on her game face for what will be the most charged, if not hardest, assignment of her royal career. Kate and Trump. Smiling side-by-side. Just imagine it. You can't quite, right? But this moment will happen, along with 98 other smiley, pose-y, 'say fromage for the cameras' instances during the visit, during which Mr Trump will try and impress the princess with big talk of his putting game and she will attempt to explain why her father-in-law is not interested in invading Iceland. What a meeting of minds. And what diplomatic heroics will the expected of Kate as she faces assuming a major role for the trip. Kate during a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019, on the first day of Trump's State Visit to the UK. Picture: Victoria Jones/pool/AFP Queen Elizabeth with Trump during his 2019 State Visit to the UK. Picture: Victoria Jones/Pool/AFP In 2019, the last time that the Trumps and their individual hair care crates were in the UK, Kate was the Duchess of Cambridge, a significant place removed from the throne. Back then, she and Prince William were able to fly under the radar and take relatively back seat roles. Her responsibilities extended entirely to sourcing an Alexander McQueen gown and remembering to wash her hair or the State dinner. Not this time. If the 2025 trip is anything like the one six years ago, as the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate will be expected to host the Trumps for tea and to step up to help King Charles and Queen Camilla shoulder the hoisting load during the scheduled-to-the-millisecond, multi-day Cirque du Soleil-level formal production. Queen Camilla winking. Picture: X Kate might have a few State visits as a princess under her belt (South Africa, South Korea, Japan and Qatar) but nothing like this year's American one given the involvement of the world's most famous McNugget consumer. William and Kate at a ceremonial welcome for The President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea in London. Picture: Chris Jackson –Even months out, the Trump visit is already shaping up to be the most charged State event of Kate's 14 years on the royal clock, surpassing that time in 2015 when China's President Xi Jingping turned up for his go in a gold carriage down The Mall and faced protesters. (Courtiers no doubt all let out a collective sigh of relief that Prince Philip was several hours away in Norfolk glueing together an Airfix model of a Spitfire and couldn't be bothered to try out any new material.) For this visit, the demands put on William and Kate for a note perfect performance will be that much greater. Princess Kate is seen walking well behind Donald Trump in footage from 2019. Picture: YouTube The prince has already gotten a taste of this, having what was by all accounts a very warm and chummy meeting with Trump in Paris in December last year. (William does know something about being an apprentice after all.) Trump meets Prince William on December 7, 2024 in Paris, France. Picture: Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty Images The success of that face-to-face speaks to the demands put on working members to put aside all personal thought and feeling and to quiescently do what Whitehall asks of them. After all, William's marquee project is The Earthshot Prize, giving away nearly $100 million to creative and exciting climate crisis solutions; the Trump administration is opening up Millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness to drilling and mining. For Kate and William, this US State visit will be a major taste of what lies ahead for them – having to do the glad-handing bidding of Downing Street. (State visits are organised at the request of the government of the day, not based on who the sovereign fancies having over for a Scotch Finger.) Kings and Queens are required to remain blandly, politically neutral at all times, to be perpetually smiling milquetoast automatons in good quality wool separates. Their personal tastes, preferences and ideological inclinations can and will never enter the equation. Come September, the realpolitik demanded of royalty will be on full display. Even then, no matter how much hot air there will be coming out of governmental and royal functionaires about special relationships, the rest of the UK's 68 million people might not feel the same way. William and Kate will be working their smiling muscles and playing very very nice with the Cousins but on the streets of the capital public feeling could be running high. Mr Trump's trips to the UK in 2018 and 2019 were met with large-scale public resistance. There were mass protests, nearly 1.9 million people signed a petition opposing his visit; newly knighted London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan forcefully denounced the president; and then speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow barred him from addressing parliament. 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Buckingham Palace is in the midst of a ten-year renovation and King Charles has, and may very well never, live there. Adding another possibly testy element – Charles is the King of Canada, a country that Mr Trump has threatened to annex. A visit earlier this month to Ottawa saw the King very obviously demonstrate his support for the country, and his speech to their parliament was 'a coded rebuke to Trump's expansionist urges,' per the Times. Unlikely to impress the president either is that French President Emmanuel Macron is set to get his own royal State visit months before the American one. 'It is an open secret,' Shipman wrote, 'that the King is happy' about this trumping. Egos, a lack of carriages, dogs, aides, renovations, helicopters, dinners, finger sandwiches, nerves, sensitivities: There is a lot involved in the Trumps' arrival, any – all – of it could go pear-shaped and Kate will be at the heart of things. Lucky girl. There is one perfect moment though that, let us pray, gets recreated somehow. In 2019, Queen Camilla went viral after being caught on camera winking behind Mr Trump's back. Oooh errrr Your Majesty. Give us another one, please. Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years' experience working with a number of Australia's leading media titles. Originally published as Picture exposes Kate's Trump nightmare