“Improv comedy is like going into battle. If you want to kill, you have to be willing to die.” This is the quote that opens Tom Kingsley’s Deep Cover. And, while it must make a lot more sense in F.L. Adamson’s improv guide it was taken from, the quote already clues you in on what a wild ride you’re about to take. After all, though there is an element of putting yourself in the limelight that can be scary for most people, few things are as safe as improv. You get up on a stage, you say a few lines, people laugh, or they don’t, and that’s about it. Well, not in Deep Cover, it’s not. In Prime Video’s newest comedy, saying “yes, and?” can take you down a dangerous path, one that might even end in death. Yes, you read that right. In Deep Cover, going blindly into an improv class can get you mixed up with the sorts of people that carry big guns and big bags of coke, and we’re not talking about the drinking kind. Written by Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, and Ben Ashenden, who also appears in the movie as a police officer, the script to Deep Cover is, right off the bat, one that defies any viewer’s suspension of disbelief. The premise is so absurd that it is hard to imagine a film born out of it working for even a split second. Let it sink in: an improv comedy teacher and two of her students are recruited by a mysterious cop to uncover an operation of counterfeit cigarette smugglers. However, after saying yes to a question too many, Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard), Hugh (Nick Mohammed), and Marlon (Orlando Bloom) end up infiltrated into the depths of London’s toughest crime ring. Under the pseudonyms Bonnie, The Squire, and Roach, they must now help take down big boss Metcalfe (Ian McShane) if they ever want to go back to their normal lives.
‘Deep Cover’ Works Despite Its Wild Premise

Image via Prime Video

This is the kind of plot summary that honestly has no business getting turned into a movie. The story of Deep Cover is just too absurd to be believed, and the writers and director make no effort to help ease viewers into this universe they have created for their characters. There is no plausible explanation for why Sean Bean’s Billings even chose Kat and her students to begin with. At least, nothing beyond the usual “actors will go for anything because they are desperate.” Likewise, it is odd how quickly Paddy Considine’s Fly accepts Bonnie, Roach, and The Squire as fellow well-established criminals despite their obvious lack of familiarity with the underworld. Bravado seems to be enough in the crime halls imagined by Connolly, Trevorrow, and Ashenden for their three leads. And, yet, you stop questioning the notions behind Deep Cover’s screenplay right after Howard, Mohammed, and Bloom’s first joint scene as Bonnie, The Squire, and Roach. The trio of actors has such chemistry and the movie’s sense of humor is so sharp that it is hard not to be captivated by what you are watching. It’s almost as if you’re in the audience for a particularly good improv show in which someone proposed the scenario “improv comedians are trapped as members of a gang.” It makes no sense, but that doesn’t mean the result can’t be fun and actually quite charming.

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Screenplay-wise, the secret seems to be the care that went into creating the three main characters, as well as the people that surround them. While it is hard to believe that anyone would employ a group of improv comedians to do an undercover operation, it’s not at all difficult to buy that these particular characters would jump at the opportunity if it were to present itself to them. Kat is so humiliated by her more well-to-do friends, and Marlon, so obsessed with crafting the perfect gritty, rugged character, that they can hardly believe their luck when Billings comes along. As for Hugh, well, he just wants to be noticed. Add to this rat pack the likes of Considine’s kind-hearted dealer and his assistant, Sonoya Mizuno’s tough cookie Shosh, and you get a group of characters that are quite hard to resist. Things only get a little boring when Ashenden’s Dawes and Alexander Owen’s Beverley join in. Albeit quite well-developed in their own right — Dawes is the experienced, no-nosense police officer, while Beverley is his impressionable newbie of a partner — these two guys just don’t work like the rest of the film. They have moments that are supposed to be funny, what with Beverley constantly saying lines straight out of a police procedural and getting shot down by Dawes, but they’re not as entertaining as the rest of the screenplay. It’s hard to put a finger on what exactly doesn’t work here, but if we were to take a guess, the likely culprit is chemistry, that hard to capture element that can make or break a movie.
‘Deep Cover’s Cast Is Delightful to Watch

We say chemistry because there’s also nothing wrong with Ashenden and Owen’s performances. The two actors are doing their thing, and they work quite well on their own. There just seems to be something missing from their interactions. The same, however, cannot be said for the rest of the cast, that is absolutely delightful to watch. Howard, Considine, Bean, and McShane are all great, but the metaphorical prize goes to Mohammed, Mizuno, and Bloom. Well-versed in comedy, Mohammed demonstrates what perfect timing is in all of his scenes, from his first awkward conversation at the office in which his character works as an IT guy to his final moment with Shosh, with whom Hugh has an adorable romance. Mizuno, in turn, offers the perfect balance between softness and cruelty, making us fall for her even as she is offering Hugh a pickaxe to chop down a body. Finally, there’s Bloom. Deep Cover proves that he should’ve remained in the spotlight all these years since Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings. It’s also proof that he should’ve been used more often in comedies. Sure, his Marlon might not be as captivating as Mohammed’s Hugh, but he’s still quite funny, and the fact that he is a spoof of action heroes (as well as method actors) proves that Bloom sure can laugh at himself. Look, sometimes, a movie is made good by its incredible screenplay. Sometimes, it’s the cinematography or the editing that does the trick, turning a veritable dud into a gorgeous, thrilling masterpiece. And, of course, sometimes, all it takes to make a good movie is a good group of actors willing to say “yes, and?” to their parts. Deep Cover manages to put together a pack of extremely talented people, all willing to embrace the impossible and make the best out of it. So, when the time comes to pick a movie on streaming this weekend, don’t get discouraged by Deep Cover’s strange synopses. Yes, it is weird. And it is also a lot of fun. Deep Cover is now available to stream on Prime Video.

Deep Cover

While the basic storyline is absurd, the performances make this thrilling comedy worthwile.

Release Date

June 12, 2025

Runtime

100 Minutes

Director

Tom Kingsley

Writers

Derek Connolly, Alexander Owen, Ben Ashenden, Colin Trevorrow

Pros & Cons

The cast is nearly perfect, and the characters, well-constructed.
Mohammed and Mizuno’s romance is adorable.
‘Deep Cover’ proves that Orlando Bloom should’ve never left the spotlight.

The basic premise defies our ability to suspend disbelief.
The screenplay does little to sell us the crazy universe in which the story takes place.
Unlike the rest of the cast, Ashenden’s Dawes and Owen’s Beverley lack chemistry.