When movies go direct-to-streaming, there’s generally a reason why they skipped theaters. But this month, Amazon Prime Video‘s Deep Cover has proven to be a welcome exception to that.
The film stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed as a trio of improv performers who are convinced to use their skills to infiltrate the London criminal underworld.
It’s a ludicrous premise for a film, and Deep Cover never tries to pretend otherwise. Instead, it leans into the absurdity to great comedic effect.
To help make our case, the Watch With Us team is sharing three reasons why you should watch Deep Cover on Amazon Prime Video.
The Core Trio Are Hilarious Together
This film would not have worked if Howard, Bloom and Mohammed didn’t have such great comedic chemistry with each other. Howard plays Kat, a failed actress who is reduced to teaching improv classes to get by. Marlon (Bloom) and Hugh (Mohammed) are two of her students, but far from her best.
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One of the reasons why Bloom and Mohammed are so funny in their scenes with Howard is that their characters are terrible at improv. Kat does a lot of work digging them out of the narrative holes they’ve created, only to get them deeper and deeper in trouble. She’s the one who convinced them it was a good idea to go undercover among real criminals, but they both went along with it. What this trio lacks in common sense, they make up for with their total commitment to the bit, even if it may get them killed.
‘Deep Cover’ Has a Fantastic Supporting Cast
It may be a coincidence that House of the Dragon‘s Paddy Considine and Game of Thrones‘ Sean Bean both have supporting roles in Deep Cover. Unsurprisingly, they’re both excellent in their parts. Bean plays Billings, the London cop who convinces Kat to go undercover on his behalf, while Considine portrays Fly, a criminal whom the group befriends as they make their first connections.
John Wick‘s Ian McShane plays Metcalfe, a major crime boss who isn’t there to be funny. He’s the character who adds some danger to the mix, and without him, Deep Cover could have easily become just a farce.
It’s a Genuinely Funny Action Comedy
Deep Cover handles its humor so well that this film should probably be classified as a comedy action movie, rather than an action comedy. You’re not going to see a lot of big-budget action sequences here, and the action that does unfold is always played for laughs.
This film strikes the right balance of being humorous without losing some of the dramatic stakes that arise. Without giving away too much, we can say that some characters don’t make it out alive, and that adds to the tension for Kat, Marlon and Hugh, while making the movie even funnier.
Deep Cover is streaming on Prime Video.