In what's clearly not the first and certainly not the last film to portray cops who get too involved in their undercover dealings with thugs, "In Too Deep" offers an occasionally engaging but ultimately mediocre look at such matters.
Reportedly based on a true story, the film retreads familiar grounds and occurrences with the gung-ho cop managing to infiltrate a criminal's trusted inner circle. Not surprisingly, he then slowly but surely comes to befriend, trust and defend them, and must ultimately chose which lifestyle -- cop or criminal -- to follow.
It's an intriguing premise, but unfortunately it's already been done in better films such as "Donnie Brasco" and "Deep Cover" just to name a few. While all of the proper elements are in place -- the eager cop, his worried mentor, a new and similarly concerned lover, and of course, the powerful and charismatic villain -- they're not always presented in a believable or credible enough way to make the film work.
Since it unfolds in such a haphazard and noticeably episodic fashion -- with many scenes sporadically occurring and never feeling cohesive with the rest of the plot except in the most basic connection -- we never fully buy into what's happening.
Despite the decent, but obvious and obligatory third quarter speech where the protagonist explains why he became a cop, we never sense that he's the best man for the job -- beyond him saying so. Nor do we believe that his mentor would assign the rookie to a previously unbreakable case. As such, that assignment feels too contrived instead of realistically stemming from Cole's proven track record. Had more believable and/or plausible explanations or catalysts been in place, perhaps such moments would have been more credible, but as they stand, they simply aren't.
The same holds true for Cole being able to break into the thug's inner circle (one would think that such criminals would be on the lookout and/or more thoroughly investigate any newcomers to their fold, but hey, they're criminals, so we can't expect too much) as well as his change of heart toward them (after the main thug saves his life in yet another predictable and obligatory scene).
That said, some of the individual scenes are intriguing and/or engaging. It's just too bad that Australian director Michael Rymer ("Allie & Me," "Angel Baby") and writers Michael Henry Brown ("Dead Presidents") & Paul Aaron (director of "A Force of One," "Maxie") couldn't maintain such interest throughout and thus make the film a more compelling whole.
Notwithstanding the film's episodic nature and the characters' shallow development and questionable motivational behavior, the performers do the best with what they've been given to work. The charismatic Omar Epps ("The Wood," "The Mod Squad") is decent as the rookie undercover cop, but is tossed around so much between the episodic scenes that it prevents us from properly bonding and/or sympathizing with his character.
Rap star-turned actor LL Cool J ("Deep Blue Sea," "Halloween: H20") is similarly decent portraying the thug with a charitable heart. That "twist" tactic, which is supposed to tear the protagonist and the audience between despising the drug lord and thinking, "Gee, he's not such a bad guy after all," simply doesn't work and feels the most contrived of anything that occurs (even if it may have a factual basis).
Upon seeing the multi-talented Stanley Tucci ("The Impostors," "Big Night") as the rookie's mentor, one may question why he's appearing in a film like this. Nonetheless, and despite the weak script, he turns in an okay performance. Meanwhile, Nia Long ("Love Jones," "Soul Food") can't do much with her token, worried new lover role, and Pam Grier ("Jackie Brown" "Mars Attacks") seems as if much of her performance may have been left on the cutting room floor.
Although the premise -- of a cop going bad due to the "system" not caring about what happens to him as long as he does his job -- is intriguing, the fragmented, episodic and often contrived moments severely affect the film's overall execution and final impression. For that reason, "In Too Deep," a film that simply retreads familiar material, rates as just a 4 out of 10.