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Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 6 is finally here. With it comes new primal elements, changes to the island, and of course, a new Battle Pass. Season 6’s Battle Pass offers an assortment of cosmetic items, most of which are made available through continuous play. Other items – like the styles associated with the new Agent Jones skin – act as quest rewards. Unlocking these styles can be a little tricky. Our guide below will help with snagging the first one and we’ll continue to update as we unlock the rest.

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How to Unlock The First Agent Jones Style “Jump 15” in Fortnite

The Agent Jones styles are treated like the Mandalorian armor plates. Meaning, players will need to reach certain stages of the Battle Pass before they’re given a chance to complete each quest. For instance, the one that unlocks Jonesy’s first style, Jump 15, is revealed at level 14.
The first Agent Jones challenge tasks you with investigating an anomaly detected in Lazy Lake. Seems simple enough. What makes this tricky is that Fortnite doesn’t actually tell you what the anomaly is or where to find it (beyond said lake).

You’ll want to make your way to Lazy Lake upon exiting the Battle Bus. Once there, check each house – I suggest heading towards the blue house in the North part of town. That’s where we found the anomaly which looks like an ethereal butterfly. You know, the thing Agent Jones turns into during the Zero Crisis Finale event.

Once found, the butterfly will head downstairs into the basement. Chase after it. After descending a few stairs, it’ll fly through a wall. Take down the wall and you’ll be greeted with the anomaly seconds before it disappears into a wooden structure. From here, all you have to do is solve a brief puzzle by activating four jewels; you’ll need to activate each one in the right order (Red, Purple, Blue, and Green worked for us) or risk restarting the puzzle. Once complete, you can snag the crystal-like item to unlock Agent Jones’ Jump 15 skin style.

How to Unlock All Agent Jones Styles in Fortnite

To unlock all of Agent Jones styles, players will need to first hit specific Battle Pass levels. Once done, they’ll be given access to the challenges associated with each style:

• Jump 23: Investigate an Anomaly Detected on Shark Island (Battle Pass level 28)
• Jump 31: Investigate an Anomaly Detected near Catty Corner (Battle Pass level 49)
• Jump 42: Investigate an Anomaly Detected in Stealthy Stronghold (Battle Pass level 60)
• Jump 88: Investigate an Anomaly Detected in Weeping Woods (Battle Pass level 76)

We’ll be sure to update this guide as we complete more Agent Jones quests and unlock new styles. For more, check out our Fortnite review and these upcoming blue and yellow Fortnite Joy-Cons.

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 Kenneth Seward Jr. is a freelance writer, editor, and illustrator who covers games, movies, and more. Follow him @kennyufg and on Twitch.

A Microsoft spokesperson has told IGN that VR is not coming to the Xbox Series X|S at this time after it was reported the Xbox console referred to a VR peripheral.

IGN Italy reported that while testing the new Xbox Wireless Headset a prompt appeared on their Xbox Series X system saying their “VR Headset” needs an update. This suggests the Xbox Series X supports VR peripherals in some capacity.

However, a Microsoft Spokesperson says this is not the case. In a statement to IGN, the company says, “The copy in this error message is inaccurate due to a localization bug. VR for console is not a focus for us at this time.”

Microsoft has been asked in the past whether it will bring VR to the Xbox, but the company has been cool on the idea. Ahead of the Xbox Series X reveal in 2019, Phil Spencer said that VR is not part of its next-gen plans because “nobody’s asking for it.”

Compare this with PlayStation which has been an early adopter of console VR, and fairly successful with its venture to boot. The company recently announced a new VR headset for the PlayStation 5.

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Meanwhile, Microsoft isn’t completely out of the VR game though most, if not all, of its efforts, are entirely on the PC side of things. Windows mixed reality platform works with VR games, and the HoloLens AR headset recently revealed a Pokemon demo created in partnership with Niantic using the Microsoft Mesh mixed reality platform.

So at this time at least, Microsoft seems content keeping AR/VR on PC while focusing on other ventures for its Xbox Series X hardware.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor

Full spoilers follow for WandaVision and Tom King’s Vision comic series.

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WandaVision is one of Marvel Studios’ most unique projects to date, featuring homages to classic American sitcoms, the introduction of chaos magic, and a truly fantastic villain reveal. And while the show pulls from many of Wanda and Vision’s biggest comics arcs, it is Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s Eisner Award-winning Vision series that gives structure to the show about one of comics’ most tragic couples (and their twins).

As the title suggests, Vision is about, well, Vision, and his own ideal family. Of course, WandaVision became like the Hex and recontextualized Tom King’s Vision to be told from Wanda’s perspective, changing specific elements from the comics, but keeping the truth of the story intact. The messaging and structure are the same, just under a different coat of paint. This decision also enabled Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and company to further build out the MCU by utilizing existing characters and plots to bridge some gaps between the cinematic sagas.

What Is Tom King’s Vision About?

In an interview with Variety, Fiege specifically mentioned Tom King’s Vision as an inspiration for the series. He wanted to pay tribute to the classic family sitcoms he grew up watching, while also wanting to do “something that can only be done for television” in the first MCU series on Disney+.

And King’s Vision is the perfect story to adapt. It’s a family drama contained in 12 issues that is seemingly removed from any other major characters or on-going storylines, while also focused on internal dilemmas. (So like This Is Us, but with superpowers!) Taking place years after his marriage to Wanda, Vision creates a synthezoid family of his own and they move to the suburbs of Arlington, VA. Yet, when problems start popping up for his wife, Virginia, and their twin teenagers, Vin and Viv, the usually logical Vision chooses to solve these issues with increasingly irrational solutions… which makes him increasingly dangerous.

On the show, of course, Wanda and Vision (or a version of Vision) move to the TV sitcom version of Westview, NJ, and have a set of twins of their own, Billy and Tommy. And as external forces break the fourth wall of Wanda’s perfect world, she becomes increasingly desperate to protect her family. So beyond the nostalgia and suburbia of the comic, the story also serves as the blueprint for WandaVision’s themes, tone, and story structure.

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Something Amiss

King’s Vision and WandaVision share a core theme in asking the question: What are you willing to do to protect your family? In the comics, it is Virginia (who is revealed to be a synthezoid created with Wanda’s brainwaves) whose actions drive the story. Left to her own devices, Virginia leaves a trail of bodies and secrets that she struggles to keep from ruining Vision’s ideal life. The I Love Lucy and Bewitched tributes succinctly set up the show’s thesis. But Wanda’s denial fights the truth of her reality and cracks in her Westview world start to show. Soon, WandaVision hints that something more nefarious and sinister is hanging over the town of Westview — something more Stepford than Leave It to Beaver.

Good thing she has Agnes around to help her through any sticky situation…

Agatha All Along

Making Wanda the main character also brings Agnes… uh, Agatha, to the forefront. However, Agatha’s dynamic with Wanda on the show is more Ursula/Ariel than their traditional mentor-mentee relationship in the comics. They do play that mentor relationship in the expert casting of Kathryn Hahn as the nosy neighbor/confidante who guides TV Wanda through this new world she’s created.

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Knowing how the twins’ dog Sparky met his end (twice) in the comic tips WandaVision’s hand in revealing Agnes as Agatha Harkness on the show. In the comics, Sparky is the neighbor’s dog who dies and is brought back as a synthezoid pet for Viv and Vin. The revived Sparky then eats from the Wundagore Everbloom plant and Virginia eats him to see Vision’s future. Dark!

In the show Billy and Tommy find and name Sparky, but later the dog dies after eating off Agnes’ azalea bushes, which can be seen as the show’s Everbloom. We don’t see anyone eat Sparky (eyes), but the theme of fate and time are explored in a different way on the show.

The Wundagore Everbloom

Both the show and the comic deal with the concept of self-fulfilling fate. WandaVision explores this idea with Wanda becoming the Scarlet Witch, while in the comics Agatha sees a future where Vision is attacking the Avengers (after she eats from the Wundagore Everbloom plant). There is no specific reference to the Everbloom on the show, but the houseplant Agatha gifts Wanda in the first episode and Agatha’s lethal azalea are shorthand for it.

The show uses the witch myth of the Scarlet Witch as a prophecy Wanda herself sees when she first interacts with the Mind Stone, and one that she steps into while fighting Agatha. By giving Agatha this more high-profile and direct role in Wanda’s transition to the Scarlet Witch, this allows the MCU to tap more into magic and the Darkhold going forward too.

The Brother

When Evan Peters was re-introduced as “Pietro” at the end of Episode 5, the question of whether or not he was Fox’s version of the speedster hung over fans for the rest of the series. But his inclusion, which is more of a nod and a wink to X-Men fans than a hint of mutants coming to the MCU, parallels the role of Vision’s own brother in the comics, Victor Mancha. Vision’s half-brother by way of Ultron, Victor was sent by the Avengers to spy on and take down Vision if needed after Agatha warns them about Vision’s future turn as a threat to the Avengers. So while Pietro was revealed to be Agatha’s puppet, the intent is the same: an outside party using a family member to lower our hero’s guard. And since Pietro was already introduced in the MCU, it’s just easier to bring his character back (albeit with a different face).

Many fans were upset that Evan Peters’ Pietro is no more than a (Ralph) Bohner joke, but his casting impressively juggles the roles of a Victor Mancha stand-in, meta-decoy, and sitcom uncle. It’s stunt casting that actually fulfilled an important, multi-layered role using misdirection. WandaVision used the death of Pietro, as well as the casting of a different cinematic Pietro, to the show’s advantage. And given Peters’ natural comedic timing, he seamlessly fits the role of the wacky uncle.

The Gem, the Mind Stone and the White Vision

Both comics Vision and live-action Wanda recreate their lost partners from themselves. Wanda, in her grief, uses chaos magic to create a Vision from the piece of the Mind Stone that is within her. In the comics, Vision uses the gem gifted to him by Wanda, which has her brain waves and memories, to create his wife Virginia.

This element is adapted in two different ways: when Wanda creates Vision from her own Mind Stone energy fused in her body, and when Hex Vision awakens White Vision with his own memories. With this White Vision now finding himself on an Eat, Pray, Love journey with the original Vision’s memories, the door is left open for Paul Bettany and Vision to return to the MCU and even find his way back to Wanda.

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The Sacrifice, and the Future Is Here

The show ends the same way the comic does: a goodbye in the living room.

After harming the town she was supposed to thrive in, Wanda exiles herself for her mistakes. Virginia understands (as an echo of Wanda’s brainwaves) how important Vision’s humanity is to him, so she corrupts her machinery so that Vision can continue living with an intact conscience and reputation. She dies in his arms. In the show, Wanda and Vision hold hands and watch as she releases the hold over Westview and her fantasy.

Ultimately, it makes sense for the show to focus on Wanda over Vision. Her pattern of loss in the MCU is significant and has been her defining arc so far. She sacrifices her happiness in the show in order to grow and strengthen herself against emotional obstacles, or taking on an evil streak like she saw in Agatha. Wanda made the ultimate sacrifice, proving herself to be stronger than she once thought she was.

Both WandaVision and Tom King’s Vision explore the desperate lengths one will go to in order to recapture a past memory. WandaVision is a series patterned off Tom King’s Vision brainwaves, and the story of Wanda and Vision is a loop of love and loss. In the MCU, Wanda and Vision’s story ended too soon and too sadly, but now we have a more complete examination of what their life could’ve been. Yet, rather than being a story of wrath or pain, WandaVision ended with the biggest lesson shared in Tom King’s graphic novel: In the end, we begin again. It’s no “What is grief, if not love persevering?” but echoes of it still live there.

What do you think about WandaVision’s adaptation of Tom King’s graphic novel? Let us know in the comments!

The Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro is very flashy for a wired controller. An Xbox Series X/S refresh of Thrustmaster’s modular controller design, it has swappable, removable parts. That is, you can literally pop out the analog sticks and D-pad and switch them around as you please. It also has rear buttons, trigger locks, and a very powerful configuration app. There’s a lot to dig into. Once you’re in deep, however, it’s clear that the wildest features aren’t its greatest assets. Instead, it’s the clicky face buttons and large but comfortable design that really shine. Overall, it’s a very good controller that’s fun to tinker with – just don’t expect switching out the triggers and grips to transform your game.

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Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro – Design & Features

Looking at the Eswap X Pro, you can immediately tell that it’s a “kitchen sink” kind of controller, full of extra bells and whistles that make the controller feel extra. There are some obvious tells, like the row of profile and audio buttons that flank the 3.5mm audio jack at the base of the controller. The four rear buttons and trigger locks on the back are also dead giveaways. Others are a little more subtle, like the reflective panel at the top of the central face, or the controller’s thick, striped detachable cable.

And then there’s the fact that you can pop the D-pad and analog sticks out and swap ‘em around.

It paints an interesting picture. You can see that the Eswap Pro X is complex and polished. You can also see that it doesn’t exactly hew to the aesthetics of most Xbox gear. It looks somewhat generic in spots – the perfectly round face buttons, the plasticky bumpers – but all the extra buttons and switches make it feel technical, even if they don’t do anything too crazy.

Measuring 6.09 x 4.72 x 2.63 inches (WLH), the overall build is a little larger than the Xbox Series X controller, but it specifically has much longer handles, not unli-ke a PlayStation controller. That makes sense, as the original Eswap Pro was made for the PS4, and its design seems to be heavily based on the Astro C40 TR, another modular controller also designed for the PS4. The big chassis is a boon, handles and all. It fits well and fills your hands when you grab it, so there’s no need to grip tightly. Your fingertips have plenty of room to post up at the base of the handles, giving you easy access to the rear buttons. And though that bigger frame and the modular parts add some mass – the Eswap X Pro weighs 329 grams, versus the Series X controller’s 287 grams – the well-balanced Eswap X Pro makes that heft feel like a comfort rather than a burden.

The Eswap X Pro’s standout feature is its customization system, which allows you to swap out up to nine modular parts to adjust the look and, occasionally, the feel of the controller. The analog sticks and D-pad, set in semi-circular blocks, can be removed and swapped. The caps of the analog sticks twist off, allowing you to put on alternate shapes. Two side panels on the handles let you swap in new grips. Lastly, the triggers can be replaced.

The parts vary in size as well as how easily they can be replaced. The analog sticks are simple to pop out, but the D-pad requires you to use an included tool to remove it, and the triggers need to be unscrewed. None of this is difficult, and the controller comes with all the necessary tools and parts, but the system introduces a lot of small extra pieces that you could conceivably lose during or between modifications.

Though switching out parts is easy and fun in a tinkery way, it is far less utilitarian than you might think. Ultimately, there are only two functional choices to make here; whether you want offset (Xbox-style) or symmetrical (PlayStation-style) analog sticks, and whether you want those sticks to have domed convex tops, or inset concave ones. I prefer offset sticks – pressing to the right on the left-stick/D-pad in the low position is a reach for my thumb – so the option to swap is really only useful when I want to put the D-pad in prime position.

The rest of the changes are purely cosmetic, and you’ll need to buy color-coded part packs ($49.99) if you want to change things up. (At launch there are two alternate colors, metallic blue and metallic green). In time, Thrustmaster could add more colors and more functional packs, but the modular functionality of the Eswap system offers more potential than anything else.

It also has a whopping ten extra buttons and two switches, in addition to all the usual Xbox Series X sticks and buttons, including the new share button. The extras break up into three groups: Four “ergonomic” buttons at the base of the controller’s back face, two trigger lock switches adjacent to LT and RT, and six “settings” buttons that flank the 3.5mm audio jack at the bottom of the controller. Together, it’s a lot of extra options, but they individually vary from fine to a little underwhelming.

While I love the idea of rear buttons, similar to the paddles on the Xbox Elite: Series 2 and Scuf’s many gamepads, the Eswap X Pro’s aren’t my favorite implementation. The four smallish round buttons are easy to reach, but are also clustered very close together. At times, it felt like my fingers were tripping over each other when trying to use them in place of the face buttons. They also don’t feel quite as snappy as the tactile face buttons, which look generic but have a good-feeling press and nice audible click. Having rear buttons is always a nice option to have, but the Eswap X Pro is not the controller to get if you prefer them over standard gamepad buttons.

Trigger locks are standard fare for premium controllers. The Eswap X Pro’s cut LT and RT’s travel in half, which is nice for competitive play. Across the board, I don’t use trigger locks much outside of online multiplayer, as the blocked trigger mechanism doesn’t feel as comfortable. That said, you can customize the controller’s trigger actuation more precisely in Thrustmaster’s configuration app, giving you additional options to optimize speed and comfort if the lock feels like too much.

Likewise, the settings buttons on the bottom of the controller work fine. The three on the left are audio controls, volume up, volume down, and mic mute, for when your headset is plugged into the controller. On the right, you have two buttons to choose between two profiles, which you set up in the app. There’s also a “map” button, which lets you reconfigure some buttons on the fly. Having easy on-board controls is helpful, especially on Xbox where you’d need to hop in and out of your game to make changes in the app.

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Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro – Software

The Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro has a bespoke configuration on Xbox called ThrustmapperX. (On PC, you use the Thrustmapper app created for the PS4 gamepad). The app allows you to set up two controller profiles with distinct button maps and settings for analog stick response, trigger actuation, and haptic strength. You can create more profiles to swap in and out, which are stored locally on your console. For an Xbox configuration app, it’s an incredibly robust toolkit that lets you fine-tune settings so that the controller responds to your style of play.

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You have access to an incredible amount of control through the app. For example, in the “vibrations” sections, you can independently adjust the haptics in the trigger and handles on each side. The trigger menu allows you to control the initial and final actuation point on each trigger. These distinctions can get very subtle, verging on overkill, when you get into making granular changes, but it’s much more control than you’ll get with most controllers, which is a good thing nonetheless.

Like most third-party Xbox controllers, the controller mapping options are somewhat limited. You can only remap the core D-pad functions, the face buttons, bumper, triggers, and rear buttons. You cannot change any of the system buttons or Thrustmaster’s added settings inputs. Also, you can only swap among those inputs, unlike the Xbox Elite controllers, which add additional functions like launching apps or additional capture options. This increasingly seems to be the norm among third-party gear for consoles, but it severely limits the utility of both the configuration app and the rear buttons.

Thrustmaster Eswap X Pro – Performance and Gaming

The Thrustmster Eswap X Pro has strong fundamentals. It felt comfortable and excelled in all the games I tested it with, including Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Mortal Kombat 11, Hades (On PC), and Gears 5, among others. Its large, shapely design makes it comfortable to hold for long stretches, and its analog sticks have a firm, springy feel. Its perfectly round face buttons are slightly small, but actuate quickly with a pleasing clickiness.

Having the ability to switch the positions of the left analog stick and D-pad for games where I prefer using the directionals, like MK11, is nice to have. That said, since you need a tool to remove the D-pad, switching the configuration takes just long enough to be disruptive, especially if you don’t have it on hand. Safe to say, you won’t be reconfiguring the controller mid-session, at least not without pausing the action for more than a moment.

As mentioned, I’m less enthusiastic about the rear buttons. Setting aside the fact that it takes time to acclimate to using them, I found that the rear panel felt crowded when I tried to use them in place of the face buttons. Without alternate configuration options, that’s really all they’re good for.

Rian Johnson is back on the case. Peacock announced Tuesday that the filmmaker will serve as creator, writer, and director on the streaming service’s mystery series Poker Face. Natasha Lyonne is attached to star and executive produce. The streamer has ordered 10 episodes.

“I’m very excited to dig into the type of fun, character-driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching. It’s my happy place,” Johnson said in a statement. “Having Natasha as a partner in crime is a dream, and we’ve found the perfect home at Peacock.”

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With Poker Face, Johnson is officially doing a double-dip into the mystery genre. The director is also currently developing a sequel to his 2019 whodunit Knives Out, with Daniel Craig likely to reprise his role as Detective Benoit Blanc. Additionally, Johnson reportedly confirmed last month that his original Star Wars trilogy is still in the works, which would bring The Last Jedi director back to that galaxy far, far away. No official dates have been announced yet for the project.

Johnson is also no stranger to the television landscape. Though Poker Face will be his first foray into writing a television series, he has previously directed episodes of Breaking Bad and Terriers.

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Lyonne is best known for her recent work as the star and co-creator of Netflix’s time loop comedy series Russian Doll, which recently entered production on Season 2.

NBCUniversal launched Peacock last July. In our review, IGN gave Peacock a 6, calling it a “solid streaming service [with] glaring features missing that most platforms have had for years.”

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

(Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images)

Fortnite Season 6 is teasing players with new Anomaly puzzles, like the Shark Island Anomaly players encounter once they progress far enough in the Season 6 Battle Pass. This particular challenge and associated puzzle becomes available once you hit Battle Pass level 28. Here’s where to find and how to investigate the Shark Island Anomaly in Fortnite Season 6.

How to Investigate an Anomaly on Shark Island

Naturally, you’ll first want to land on Shark Island. This unnamed location is still quite obvious once you see it in person, as it features a rock formation that looks like a shark opening its jaws. It’s found in the northwest corner of the island, north of Coral Castle.

Once you hit land, you’ll want to head to the north side of the island, where you’ll find a glowing butterfly which flutters to and from three strange silver canisters sticking out of the ground.

They seem nondescript, but approach them and you’ll see they emit holograms when you’re close by. Each one shows a classic Jonesy avatar performing some sort of physical move. From left to right on the map, they show him…

Crouching…

Emoting…

And jumping.

Head to each canister and perform the move you see in the hologram. An audiovisual clue will confirm you’ve done it right, and after all three are complete, the Anomaly will reappear in the center.

You’ll need to build over to it with a plank or two. Once you’ve reached the Anomaly, press the interact button and that’s it! You’ve completed the second Anomaly puzzle for Fortnite Season 6, this time earning yourself the Agent Jones (Jump 23) cosmetic, pictured below.

This isn’t the only Season 6 challenge you can complete right now. Be sure to also check out our guides on how to investigate the Anomaly in Lazy Lake, how to craft the Hunter’s Cloak, and where to find three Golden Artifacts.

City of Lies debuts in theaters on March 19 and on Digital and On Demand on April 9.

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Occurring within months of each other in late 1996 and early 1997, the shooting deaths of rap icons Tupac Shakur and Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace are indelible stamps on a particular moment in time. As a high school student at the time, shock at their passings was coupled with speculation on who did it and why. It speaks to how much of an impact both musicians made in such a short time that the curiosity surrounding their respective deaths remains a heated part of the cultural conversation nearly a quarter-century later.

Director Brad Furman’s City of Lies attempts to both answer and add to this speculation, but a scattershot stylistic approach and some questionable narrative choices make the film a mixed bag at best. Arriving on VOD this week after several years languishing on studio shelves (it was filmed in 2016 and originally scheduled for release in 2018), the film’s leading turn from tarnished star Johnny Depp makes its very existence as much a time capsule as the subject matter it covers.

Based on the book LAbyrinth by author Randall Sullivan, the film hones in on the events surrounding Wallace’s shooting, with Furman using his Lincoln Lawyer-honed procedural skills to jump-off into a wider examination of corruption within the LAPD. Depp occupies the lead role of Russell Poole, the Los Angeles detective initially tasked with investigating Wallace’s death before a separate-but-related shooting nine days later involving two L.A. police officers, one of whom was affiliated with Death Row Records — rivals of Notorious B.I.G.’s Bad Boy Records.

Poole is soon pulled into a depressing morass of corruption throughout the LAPD, and begins an obsession spanning nearly two decades. Much of the preceding is conveyed via flashbacks set in 2015, via conversations between Poole and journalist “Jack” Jackson (Forest Whitaker), who is himself attempting to cover the Biggie story in hopes of repairing his own damaged reputation.

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This bifurcated lens — that of police and that of journalism — allows for a welcome exploration of the shootings from both a legal and cultural perspective, but too often it has the effect of refracting our focus, making it feel like we’re peering through one window to look through another. Indeed, the film is at its most compelling when methodically laying out the expanding web of criminality surrounding the shootings as well as the many parties involved, bolstered by a strong roster of supporting players like Shea Whigham and Xander Berkeley.

But problems arise when screenwriter Christian Contreras’ script attempts to tackle a lot of big ideas relating to pop culture and race and political corruption without really laying the track to underline why the East Coast-West Coast feud was such a big deal, and why it would have been such an appealing prospect for law officers to align themselves with the feuding labels. This ends up making things muddier as more elements are added to the mix instead of bringing them into sharper relief. By the end, we are practically drowning in muck as we take stock of a system seemingly bent on remaining bent.

A separate problem is Depp’s mannered, mumbly performance. Even noticeably grayer, sporting a paunch and fuzzy upper-lip, Depp’s Poole still feels like a collection of the actor’s most recognizable tics. Granted, achieving anonymity is difficult for a star who at one time commanded as much wattage as Depp, but for someone who, also at one time, was known for his ability to effortlessly disappear into roles, it’s notable just how much the persona overwhelms the performance here.

Far from a proud reclamation of superstar status for Depp, this serves instead as a hollow reminder of the days when his mere presence on the marquee was enough to guarantee acclaim. The real Poole passed away of a heart attack in 2015, leaving unsolved the crime that consumed the last 18 years of his life, and while his cinematic incarnation is portrayed as honorable and upstanding (if flawed), he also remains largely a cipher, unfortunately.

Yes, he’s driven by the desire to seek justice for Wallace and expose the corruption within the department, but we never get enough of a sense of what motivates him. Something to elevate the whole thing and make it seem like anything but a modern Serpico riff, with Poole as the proverbial Last Good Cop. Meanwhile, the relationship with Jackson, while allowing for the simple joy of seeing two talented actors like Depp and Whitaker play off each other, follows a too-familiar arc ending at a place that doesn’t feel entirely earned.

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