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Good actors can always rise above the clich茅s surrounding them. Such is the case with Omar Epps and LL Cool J who deliver punchy, perceptive performances in a film which owes a lot to "Deep Cover" (which not enough of you went to see eight years ago), slightly less to "Donnie Brasco" (which more of you went to see) and, in fact, a debt to all those films where one particular cop goes under cover. Epps plays Jeff Cole, a young man from the grubbier end of Cincinnati who has joined the police to nail drug lords, and who is now faced with one such enemy, God (LL Cool J), as he works away from the inside, witnessing all manner of corruption and nastiness. Will he be able to walk that fine line between lawman and lawbreaker?
Unfortunately, the film's structure rules out any possibility of ambiguity. Furthermore, the romantic subplot between Jeff and his girlfriend (Nia Long) acts as an unnecessary brake on proceedings, and the role of Jeff's superior is far too skinny for the normally intriguing Stanley Tucci. Yet Epps brings charisma to Jeff's confusion, and LL Cool J fairly energises God, a gangster who is at home playing both casual killer and happy families. Cincinnati also offers a welcome change of scene from the worn-out locations of New York and LA.
