Who else thought that the transformation between p^ussy David and bad ass David was way exaggerated? First he's wearing white suits and he's pretty mellow then he gets all agro when Barbosa messes with him, next thing ya know he's wearing a leather jacket and shooting him a couple of times.
Also, at the beginning of the movie, he is with his family and says: don't be so disrespectful at my house, next he's shooting a poor dying policeman..
I mean....
I think his change is plausible. David wasn't playing with a full deck anyway -- why would a successful lawyer want to be a drug dealer in the first place?
Poor David Jason wanted respect, and he felt he could get it by becoming a pusher of some new wonder drug that delivered a great high. I think he went bonkers because as much as Felix was a jerk, he never considered that Felix would be a rat in the end.
"Felix the Rat!"
"Yeah, let's have some shrimp! Jumbo!" or something like that Goldblum yells from the limo.
"Because I'm chaos, it is my destiny to destroy" -- Jeff Goldblum as "Mr. Frost."
Good post...I agree with you regarding the morphing of David's character...this man clearly longed for respect from the wrong people and was going to do what he needed to get it. Goldblum's performance in this film was on the money...one of the primary reasons to watch this movie. Fishburne's performance was another...I found the story itself and the rest of the performances to be overblown.
shareOkay not to mention his sharpshooter's accuracy when he shot the cop at the end from that weird angle above, completely missing Stevens.....it had a 'magic bullet' quality to it for sure....was he taking sniper lessons on the DL?
shareI've been saying this for the longest of times! How can David shoot the cop from like 100 feet away AND AT A HIGHER UP ANGLE, but miss John who's standing, what, about 10 feet in front of him?
DAVID SHOULD HAVE LIVED!!!
Tell me he was not the hottest when he turned badass? Who knew a transformation can make you that hot!
Always an active duty Jr. American Gladiator!
Old thread, I know. I always thought that seemed kinda dumb, but he doesn't exactly aim when he fires at John, just shoots from the hip, trying to be slick and pop a shot off before John knew what happened since they were both watching each other like hawks. If either of them took a moment to aim theyd be open for a calculated shot by the other. It makes more sense then you think at first glance.
Am I unreal? Am I a character who can’t possibly exist? – Alissa Rosenbaum
I'm glad people keep coming back to this board -- Both Russell Stevens/John Hull and David Jason are a cut above for characters of the crime-thriller genre.
Henry Bean crafted these guys to reflect and intensify each other's darkest selves as they move up the food chain as partners.
The story introduces us to David as tired of being walked on, dismissed, and held down by his superiors. John allows him to begin his transformation into the David we see at the finale - amoral, exacting, bloodless.
In the same way Ivy's murder forever changes John, David's killing Felix brings about a big shift in his character. He has now taken a life and has a confidence about himself as a MAN he never felt before.
David's basic instinct to take out Gallegos' guards and, at the finale, execute Taft was always there inside him, but it was his partnering with John that brought it out.
Interesting you bring those points up about the characters in the film, b/c other than the killings you described David was hesitant and John was the one pushing things forward, slapping Molto around, threatening to put his eye out and telling David "you want to do the synthetic coke thing? This is what it takes!"
In the shooting script the roles where largely reversed in those moments, with Jason cracking and abusing people and quick to shoot and John trying to hold him back and showing mercy to their prisoners. Interesting you credit Bean with this crafting. I never hear Tolkien getting any credit, but he wrote the original script.
I'd like to find other drafts, but here is the shooting draft, it's a great read, though the final film is much better. Little changes like the difference between what you and I describe really were an improvement. Don't know if that is the actors or maybe Bill Duke's doing.
http://www.weeklyscript.com/Deep%20Cover.txt
Am I unreal? Am I a character who can’t possibly exist? – Alissa Rosenbaum
Aha! Never looked at the shooting script to see if Bill Duke and Co. had modified things. Good for them refining the piece based on Fishburne and Goldblum's chemistry!
Maybe I shouldn't give full credit to Henry Bean after all... Based on INTERNAL AFFAIRS I just kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt that he took whatever intricately-plotted social commentary Tolkin had fashioned and ramped up the psychodynamics between the characters as he is wont to do.
Thanks for the reply!
'We'll have barbequed Jumbo shrimp! YOU MUTHAF@CKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!'
'Only EFFORT, DISCIPLINE, LOYALTY, earn the right to wear the Dragon Doji.' - Oroku Saki
Goldblum as David Jason = one of the coolest, craziest non-chalant villans ever.
There are alot of interesting characters in this film.