There are many people in the world with superpowers. They can do everything, but they are mostly used as builders. The time has come when even these “builders” are being replaced by robots. As a result, builders are no longer needed. What do they do? And then the “builders” were forbidden to use their forces. For violators of the ban announced the hunt, including using robots.
There is a group of people in this world with abilities who do not want to indulge the fears of ordinary people. They do not want to hide their capabilities, but want to use them in business, often a dirty business - they are not allowed to do another.
There's a guy with a sick mother. He needs money, but it’s not easy to make money...he’s an electrician, a man with electrical superpowers. And that limits him. He tried as best he could to do the right thing and not get up on the crooked path, but one day he broke down. . .
There is a moment in your life when everything is against you. And at that moment, something extraterrestrial is testing you to shrink and tear. Whether you endure or bend under circumstances... stay with the good or join the darkness... show patience or sink into hatred and desire, for example, money.
It's a normal production. Quite an interesting plot, to which you can screw a lot of philosophical themes. Not very successful selection of the actor for the main role.
I don’t know why, but something in the film reminded of the movie Brightness (2017) with Will Smith.
Code 8 is one of those films whose production and release fell on the last ten-thousand-nineteenth year and at the same time I do not remember the domestic rental of this tape. Perhaps the tape was immediately purchased for streaming, but this is just an assumption. At some point, I managed to get a movie on TV, get acquainted. Then return to it again to refresh your memory, and now I am ready to share with you the impressions of what I saw and some thoughts about this tape.
A narrative criterion or narrative. In the near future, humanity shares its existence with the gifted. These are the ones whose hands and feet have the plausibility of psychokenetic abilities and the elite of society has found a way to control their activities, keeping them within the framework of the ordinary. The main character is one of them, but he hid all his life. Until something terrible happened and I had to use my talents harshly. The concept of a criminal action movie with a fantastic element is interesting, especially when combined with a good family drama. In the end, even tears came to my eyes, because such moments are emotionally strong and cannot help but touch. Unless you’re a long-time consumer who finds it too easy. But it reminds me of the inevitability of the end. The literature in the film is not the strongest, but the concept is close to the X-Men and the futuristic setting adds a few points to the film in my eyes.
Visual criterion or technical support of the tape. The tempo of the tape is firmly aged, all events occur quickly, but due to timekeeping they do not have time to get bored. There is a strong action, mixed with the visual embodiment of superpowers. There are almost no explosions, but there is a slight intrigue that won’t come as a surprise if you’re watching in the genre. The operator works well with plans and focus, keeping the frame in a certain color palette, especially good focus perception from a flying drone, which allows you to more accurately simulate the height of bird flight. The robberies themselves do not look very bright and spectacular, but glad that they exist. I will also say a few words about music. Ryan Taubert has written themes that work well for atmosphere. In this case, the final themes could qualify for a presence in your music collection.
Acting work within the average temperature of the hospital. Brothers Amell, Robbie and Steven look good in the frame and play such different characters, in their emotional sincerity I want to believe. Kayla Kane played a healer and did it convincingly, out of the whole gang of gifted, she somehow looks more like a person who evokes sympathy. Son Gunn is in the background, but also an equally bright character. He also has to balance between ordinary people and gifted people, not be suspected of sympathy. Also note the work of dubbing actors. Stanislav Tikunov and Evgeny Tolokonnikov fit well into the character of their heroes and were able to strengthen the union of voice and image, both can well in emotions, but the timbre of the first feels more mobile, due to the fact that once he managed to coolly get used to the organics of Pennywise. Sonu Gan's voice was loaned by Ivan Kalinin, often his voice came across by ambiguous characters, but here is a rare case when positive intonations outweigh negative ones. Because Kalinin can do different things. One of the last works in the dubbing of Sergei Smirnov, such voices one in a million. Even the characters of the second plan are excellent.
In front of us is not overloaded with meanings film, in which an interesting concept of entourage, a simple and understandable conflict. Criminal action movie with a fantastic assumption, once as an acquaintance I advise you to look. Not the top of the genre, but will not cause strong rejection. All health, peace and pleasant viewing.
Code 8 is one of those films whose production and release fell on the last ten-thousand-nineteenth year and at the same time I do not remember the domestic rental of this tape. Perhaps the tape was immediately purchased for streaming, but this is just an assumption. Today I managed to get a movie on TV and now I am ready to share with you my impressions of what I saw and some thoughts on this matter.
A narrative criterion or narrative. In the near future, humanity shares its existence with the gifted. These are the ones whose hands and feet have the plausibility of psychokenetic abilities and the elite of society has found a way to control their activities, keeping them within the framework of the ordinary. The main character is one of them, but he hid all his life. Until something terrible happened and I had to use my talents harshly. The concept of a criminal action movie with a fantastic element is interesting, especially when combined with a good family drama. In the end, even tears came to my eyes, because such moments are emotionally strong and cannot help but touch. Unless you’re a long-time consumer who finds it too easy. But it reminds me of the inevitability of the end. The literature in the film is not the strongest, but the concept is close to the X-Men and the futuristic setting adds a few points to the film in my eyes.
Visual criterion or technical support of the tape. The tempo of the tape is firmly aged, all events occur quickly, but due to timekeeping they do not have time to get bored. There is a strong action, mixed with the visual embodiment of superpowers. There are almost no explosions, but there is a slight intrigue that won’t come as a surprise if you’re watching in the genre. The operator works well with plans and focus, keeping the frame in a certain color palette, especially good focus perception from a flying drone, which allows you to more accurately simulate the height of bird flight. The robberies themselves do not look very bright and spectacular, but glad that they exist. I will also say a few words about music. Ryan Taubert has written themes that work well for atmosphere. At the same time, the final themes could claim a presence in your music playlist.
Acting work within the average temperature of the hospital. Brothers Amell, Robbie and Steven look good in the frame and play such different characters, in their emotional sincerity I want to believe. Kayla Kane played a healer and did it convincingly, out of the whole gang of gifted, she somehow looks more like a person who evokes sympathy. Son Gunn is in the background, but also an equally bright character. He also has to balance between ordinary people and gifted, not to be suspected of sympathy.
As a verdict. Before us is not overloaded with meanings film, in which an interesting concept of entourage, a simple and understandable conflict. Criminal action movie with a fantastic assumption, once as an acquaintance I advise you to look. Not the top of the genre, but will not cause strong rejection. All of you have good health and good viewing.
In the future, some people became mutants, gifted people with superpowers. A person is so designed that he is afraid of what he does not understand, besides, the authorities skillfully incite discord against the gifted, seeing in them a potential threat. As a result, everything came down to the segregation of the population, to the infringement of the rights and freedoms of the gifted. To use their abilities, they now need a license that costs a lot of money. Those around them are distrustful and fearful of those who are not like them, xenophobia in society is gaining momentum. But this film is not about strikes and revolutions, Code 8 is about the simple survival of a family of mutants in this world of a new order. The mother of the protagonist named Connor is sick, she freezes everything around, and her body does not cope with the superpower due to a tumor in the brain, fails. The young man himself, in search of money for the treatment of his mother, gets involved in a dangerous adventure with a bank robbery. That is, then the film turns into a rather mediocre action movie, seasoned with the use of superpowers of the heroes. To suppress mutants, the authorities invented combat robots under the “not beaten” name of the Guardians (hello to the X-Men and the TV series Gifted). Code 8 is the police code for assaulting the police. Connor is an electrician, meaning a mutant who electrocutes. And in the film there is none other than Oliver Queen from the TV series “Arrow”... yes, the same actor Steven Amell in the role of telekinetics, there is also a healer, a burner, a thought reader and a bulletproof mutant. This is where the gift list ends, as does this review. Because there is nothing more to say about this mediocre, but at the same time not repulsive film.
4 out of 10
The alternative reality, where there are people with superpowers, is experiencing a crisis - ' Supermen' ordinary people are afraid and do not trust, they can not legally work, and to license their existence and get the rights available to ordinary people, everyone ' Superman' requires to spend a considerable amount. Against this background, in order to suppress possible unrest, a technology is created that allows you to recognize superpowers, and the police ranks are replenished with androids who do not know pity. It all sounds very, very interesting, a powerful, serious story (possibly even with a gray moral) sticks on itself ... but the creators decide to go the other way, issuing the most sterile film.
The main problem ' Code 8' lies in the plot - it is ordinary. The story told does not play with the original data of the world in which the events of the film take place. If you simply take and throw out absolutely all the moments concerning superpowers from the script, then the tape will not lose absolutely nothing, the film will continue to work as if nothing had happened, and the narrative will not even need any crutches. The fact is that ' Code 8' this is not a story about the life of superhumans, about their discrimination by the rest of society, this is just an extremely dull criminal action movie about robberies. All these superpowers, drones, police bots are just decoration, and the scenery is cardboard, which does not affect the events in any way. And it's incredibly sad.
There is nothing more to say about the film. Characters are boring, no empathy. Stephen Amell still plays Arrow (that is, absolutely does not play and just walks with a harsh face), his brother Robbie copes better and tries to show at least something from emotions, and the secondary characters are not even remembered. Well, except that Kari Matchett as the mother of the main character is also worthy of mention.
Fans of good action can also move - boast at least some interesting fighting scenes ' Code 8' can not. Although again it would seem superpowers, droids, but no. Of course, a modest budget played a role, but nevertheless.
Verdict: ' Code 8' this is not a superpower movie, not some fantastic dystopia, it's just a B-category crime movie that you've seen by dozens. It is not that the film is bad, no, it is just secondary and does not cause much interest.
You can watch, but why?
A near future populated by a small percentage of people with superpowers. Here you and the ideal bulletproof bodyguards, the lords of electricity and fire, strong "Hulki" and other fabulous assholes... "freaks." But technology is developing, and over time, automation has replaced all the “gifted”, leaving them without work and the right to earn, forcing them to be interrupted by illegal part-time jobs and robbery. The story will be about an electrified boy, a kind of walking defibrillator, but forced to turn to the dark side to find Bablinsky for the treatment of a sick mother.
More and more often, the theme of people with abilities is played in the cinema, touching on social problems. It is no wonder that a person driven into a financial impasse begins to break the law, especially with powerful power.
The film offers the viewer an idea of what will happen if the heist is plotted by superheroes. And here everything is like in life: mistakes, failures and no connections. In addition to the main plot, the tape offers to immerse yourself in the drama of the main character and some branches of secondary characters, which adds to the picture of completeness and saturation. The graphon is simple, but looks pretty, without a cut in the eyes.
If the topic of social superheroics is interesting, then it is worth reading this film.
The moral is as follows: if your neighbor has the superpower to masterfully fertilize gardens, then put him a Mr. deodorant.
As a result, a dynamic film about robbers-supermen, which looks fascinating and with interest.
1. Despite the direct analogy with the Men of X Marvel, Canadians did everything even better, perfectly thinking through the psychological and social component of the film, showing a good social xenophobia, which was not in the sight of American comics. I don't even want to compare.
2. Special effects are well developed. Especially robot cops jumping out of drones.
3. A couple of cops – yes, the “bad” was a bit overplayed. But Officer Park’s family problem was revealed in a matter of minutes.
4. Psychology is more than enough: the social conflict of the protagonist with society, moral and ethical problems that the heroes are forced to solve, the choice between real relations to people with abilities and their civic duty - all this is shown and justified laconically and fully.
You can also list such moments as a well-chosen soundtrack, excellent timing of action scenes (the film is quite rhythmic, which gives incredible pleasure).
Against this background, some significant jumbles, like stupid political decisions, but in general, these little things do not spoil the overall impression.
I would have been very happy if not for the final. In works of art there is a closed ending, when all dots on the “i” are placed and all the results are summed up, the morality underlying the work is voiced.
There is an open ending when the authors leave the reader room for his own imagination. In this case, there are some questions for which the authors provide sufficient data.
In this case, I had the impression that the film was just cut before the finale. Nothing. Happy? The emphasis was made on one conflict, and in the final, a completely different one pops up, if it can be called a conflict at all.
Dramatic ending? He's not here either.
The opportunity to trace the further fate of the characters or at least fantasize is impossible, so even the open ending of the film does not pull.
The only thing that can be taken as the central idea of the film: the solution of the eternal criminal and social conflict. Just like organized crime, it will still thrive. But this is a well-known fact that does not require proof, and as an idea of drama is not interesting. But the main thing: in the intrigue throughout the film there is not a word about it.
So in just five minutes, I was made to understand that it was easy to merge a great project. And it hurts to tears.
Sometimes independent up-and-coming creators have a lot of interesting ideas, but they do not manage to reach out to major studio producers to properly implement them with serious financial support. This is exactly what happened with Jeff Chan, who began his career as a director with a series of short films based on the popular computer game Call of Duty. Having fulfilled his long-held dream and proved that he is capable of much more serious, large-scale work, stretched by a full meter without damage to the quality and dynamics of the narrative, Jeff Chan decided on the most profitable path for the novice director and took up the production of an inexpensive but promising horror called Grace. However, the classic story about exorcism was not as impressive as fans of the genre would like, but it was impossible to call the deafening failure of Grace. It is obvious that Chan tried, tried to use spectacular techniques of intimidation and spent enough time on the development of the characters of the leading characters, and although he did not have everything, the film could still be called a quite confident debut, after which the career of the director could well go up. Still, the producers didn’t see Jeff Chan as the second James Wan, which forced him to switch to other stories, the most intriguing of which was Code 8. Having written the script of the tape and laid it out for public discussion among the audience that was able to help with the implementation, Jeff Chan thereby came into contact with Stephen and Robbie Amell, quite remarkable actors of our time, who decided to play along with the director and implement his idea in a short meter. And the finished result exceeded even the most daring thoughts of the creators. Finally, Jeff Chan was a real success and could count on much bigger dividends with the full-length version of the project. However, Chan again failed to hold mutually beneficial negotiations with the producers, which made him and the Amella brothers had to raise money for a full-fledged Code 8 using a crowdfunding platform, where they were lucky to have more than two million dollars, which means the project moved from a deadlock and finally got to the screens.
Directly the plot of the film takes us to a world where along with ordinary people live individuals with amazing abilities that can be directed in a variety of ways. Each such person has its own unique characteristics, and once they brought benefits to society, but over time, as technology began to develop at a rapid pace, gifted people have become virtually useless to anyone. They found it difficult to find work, and ordinary human society looked only with suspicion at those who were different. One of these people, who in the past could have considerable prospects, but in the current left with nothing, was the main character of the film, a young guy named Connor Reed (Robby Amell), who has innate abilities to control the electric discharge. However, despite his trusting nature and extraordinary strength, he has to live a poor life in a modest apartment with his seriously ill mother Mary (Kary Matchett). Trying to find the necessary means to save the closest person in the world from certain death, Connor tries to take on a variety of work and at the same time avoided criminal elements, as he saw nothing good in such a trade. Nevertheless, the current situation in society has led to the fact that Connor has no choice, and he still has to give up his principles to get the necessary funds. Having earned the attention of the dangerous thug Garrett (Stephen Amell), Connor was placed at the disposal of a gang working for the risky criminal tycoon Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryke). And gradually, step by step, Connor, who has unique abilities, became an almost indispensable man for the gang. But the more crimes he had to take part in, the more doubts the chosen path caused. However, it will be impossible to reverse everything, because you have to answer for your actions. So Connor will have to think through many and try to draw the right conclusions from what happened, if it is still possible.
Of course, the ideas laid by Jeff Chan in Code 8 were worthy of a large-scale adaptation with multiple special effects, but this project belongs to the category of independent, and therefore the creators had to elaborate in order to present their thoughts properly and not cross the line, after which their modest project can turn into a frank parody. Developing the story of Connor Reed, Jeff Chan was largely focused on popular films about the robbery, including “Fight”, “Three nines” and “Casino Robbery”. And the incredible abilities of a certain percentage of the population of the Earth are not a determining value for the narrative, but an auxiliary one. The most important thing for the director was to show how society reacts to those who are different from the vast majority and how to act in conditions where you simply do not have the opportunity to be who you want and do not even think about the revolution, since it is almost immediately condemned to failure. By outlining the boundaries and rules of Code 8, Jeff Chan was able to focus entirely on the characters to show their inner drama and experiences. And a modest budget, limiting the scope and number of special effects, is good for the stories, because the creators were able to focus on the most important thing. In a way, Code 8 is a more down-to-earth and dramatic version of the X-Men franchise, and that’s the biggest charm of Jeff Chan’s film. Watching the development of the story, it is easy to believe in the sincerity of the experiences of the protagonist and when he once again agrees to a deal with his criminal patrons, then you do not doubt that it was a difficult decision for him and wish that he could retire as soon as possible, although it is clear that it will be extremely difficult to do it.
The actor duo of the Amell brothers adorns the production with really interesting, completely different characters, but it is also worth noting that despite the small budget and partial work on bare enthusiasm, Code 8 looks fascinating and spectacular. Live stunts performed by professional stuntmen have the necessary concentration of adrenaline and cruelty, which is seen here, causes interest and respect. Also, the creators managed to find extra funds for a couple of good graphic effects. In particular, police drones look worthy, which monitor the order in the city and sometimes serve as a very significant value for the development of events. And this suggests that despite its modesty, Code 8 is able to arouse the interest of the public and it has something to surprise its viewer. Most importantly, the creators worked primarily for the sake of art and their own vision of history, leaving self-serving goals on the periphery of attention. This approach deserves real respect.
The world knows many full-length films and even entire franchises, which grew out of short sketches: ' Evil Dead', 'Saw', 'Bomb with a shotgun', ' District 9' No exception was the Canadian fantastic film ' Code 8', the history of which began with the short film of 2016, shot by the authors of videos from Call of Duty Jeff Chan and Chris Pare. The main roles were performed by truly Canadian actors and stars of the notorious Sidab brothers Amell.
The plot of the film is set in an alternative America, where a small percentage of people with superpowers live, whose work was in demand in developing industry until special people were replaced by machines in production. In addition to everything in society, negative attitudes towards the bearers of the gift & #39 are increasing. The main character is one of the gifted representatives of the minority, deprived of legal earnings and dragging a miserable existence, forced to step on the criminal path.
Second place is not a revelation for Canadians who are already used to the secondary nature of their film industry, endless cable soap and Category B action movies. Unfortunately, in the film ' Code 8' clover-leaved again turned out to be second only to star-striped neighbors, since everything that demonstrates the picture from the setting to the plot has already been repeatedly played in ' X-Men' and their various secondary clones. Simply put, in this field it is extremely difficult to show the wonders of ingenuity conceptually. But there is always the opportunity to twist with the help of the original script, capable of once again deconstructing the genre of superheroics from one angle or another. And here, alas, ' Code 8' is not able to show originality: an ordinary criminal drama that loses absolutely nothing if you remove from it the components in the form of superpowers and drones, after which the familiar picture of modern American (and not only) society with class inequality and repressive police apparatus will remain. If you continue to list all that is not surprising in this picture, then you can note the acting of the Amell brothers, mentally returning the viewer to their familiar serial images. The only thing that really deserves attention is the quality of special effects and graphics for a negligible budget. Otherwise, no surprises can be expected, despite the existing potential for more than a dozen stories told.
Pros: Special effects, graphics.
Cons: Absolute triviality and secondary in everything.
In order to survive at all times, it was necessary not to show everyone their abilities and abilities, at least all at once. And if ordinary people are unable to control those who are superior to them at the genetic level – to read minds, conduct electric currents, heal, serve as a magnet or be impenetrable, then it is natural that a person will always try to destroy the threat to society at any cost.
In a world where not only services and production are automated, but so are the senses. Confronting the Special and the Ordinary is always an interesting topic for me. It is the confrontation that puts everything in its place, since these two categories of people cannot exist peacefully. Why? Is it easy for ordinary people to accept that they are ordinary? Or can the Special Ones constantly restrain themselves from taking advantage of their gift? Yes, this is how children learn from diapers - hide, hide the gift, otherwise you are doomed. But such things learned to recognize the technical ways, so hung everywhere tracking devices, and police drones at the first signal ready to use weapons. For the Special, there is nothing left in this world: no opportunity to earn money, no chance to go to normal schools, no chance to just walk down the street. How can you not stand up?
Although the film is the sequel to a ten-minute short that came out in 2016, I didn’t watch it, or even know it existed. The film began quite dynamically and spectacularly, that everything is immediately clear and without background. We have already missed high-quality fiction, and there is also an action movie. The plot has already become familiar to the viewer - superpowers. However, this is still something new, although there are parallels with the X-Men.
The movie looks easy. For all its criminal component, there is a personal drama of the main characters. Events are developing dynamically. Disassembly, shooting, flying drones and even bank robbery. What else do you need for great action? Superpowers subtly fit into the frame. The budget is quite large, so the special effects look great. There are no visual questions. Erotic scenes, obscene language, as well as scenes with special cruelty are absent.
I liked the movie. I was expecting more from the final. We can say that this is a classic action movie about good and bad guys with elements of fiction. You get used to the fact that movies like this end with a hint of a sequel, but I think it’s unfair not to finish one story and start another. The characters are all interesting, and everyone has their own story, which was presented only by hint. There's a lot left unsaid. However, at the same time, watching the film is extremely atmospheric and addictive. It turned out not just an action movie in which everyone wants to destroy each other, but also a great drama.
It’s nice to see the actors in interesting movies. In this film, reputation is ahead of its heroes. Robbie Amell is an amazing young actor who knows how to choose roles and films, whether it is a secondary role in the series The Flash or multi-genre roles in films like Nanny, ARQ or weak prequels Scooby Doo. The actor has repeatedly shown us his acting skills, experiencing different feelings and emotions on the screen. It is also worth noting its physical form. The role of a Level Five Electrician is just for him. His older brother Stephen Amell is the famous superhero Arrow from the series of the same name. The actor does not often appear in a big movie, except for the role of Casey in the sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The role is familiar - to play a real man, although his appearance is a clear example of a failed plastic. At once it is not even clear whether the character of Stephen Amell is good or bad. I liked his work. However, after 8 seasons of Arrows, where he is one of the few who did not have superpowers (the last crossover does not count), it is a bit unusual to see him in such a role.
As a result, it turned out quite pleasant to the eye, ear and brain action films, without obvious failures in the script, dialogue, picture, meaning, here is just a well-sewn film on the seemingly beaten theme of superpowers. Moreover, the film is purely Canadian, without any US, to which you can rightly object, and what does it matter? You will be right in many ways.
In 2016, the short film Code 8 was released. The success of this film led to the creation of a full-length film in a few years, but to keep the viewer in suspense for 10 minutes and 1.5 hours is not the same thing.
The plot of the feature film in brief looks like this: people with superpowers are less and less able to use their talents and earn money legally. Plus, gifted people are tightly controlled by the government and are not popular with ordinary people. To earn money for himself and his family, the main character has to use superpowers in the criminal business, but any “curve” does not simplify life and does not lead to positive results, even if you have superpowers.
As for me, the film turned out to be some kind of gluing of Blomkamp feature films (fiction with a social orientation), an admixture of “X-Men” and an average action movie of category B. The whole film does not leave the feeling that you have already seen something like this, only to analyze all films where there was such a thing, when watching it is unrealistic.
Unlike the short film, the feature film lost the highlight, clarity of presentation / plot and the brightness of the characters.
In my opinion, it is better to watch the short version and not watch the full meter.
5 out of 10
Sometimes from a short film, distinguished by its limited timekeeping and conciseness, very cheerful full meters come out. In 2013, the short film “Burden” was released on YouTube, telling about a father who saves his little daughter in a zombie apocalypse. The situation is complicated by the fact that the father bit himself, which means that after some time he will be a danger to the baby. Four years later, the Australians shot a full-length eponymous film with Martin Freeman in the title role and this picture was no worse than a short film.
Similarly, the fate of the 10-minute film “Code 8”, shot by Jeff Chan – first came out a short sketch, followed by an hour and a half movie. It is noteworthy that there and there starred brothers Amella – Stephen and Robbie, as well as Son Gan, also known for his role in the third “Fast and Furious”.
The film is similar to films about people with superpowers (the brightest representative is X-Men or the series Heroes), who live among ordinary people. As in the above examples, society does not seek to accept mutants as they are and tries to control their actions in order to prevent superhumans from using their powers for good. Plus, they have a hard time in social terms – no one is eager to hire them, even for the one that is usually performed by refugees, working somewhere on the construction site. Among people with abilities, there are several "species" - those who have telekinesis, electricians who are subject to electricity, people who are able to melt metal, people-healers who are able to cure even the most terrible diseases, as well as hard people - strong people who can drag heavy loads.
Connor Reed (Robby Amell) is an electrician and like everyone else, he can’t find a job to help his mother raise money for treatment. As befits in such cases, not because of greed, but for the sake of saving a dear person, he embarks on a criminal path and gets into a gang working for one of the local mafiosi.
The film begins with the example of a few people with extraordinary abilities, demonstrates the conflict between the rest of society and individuals. From the first minutes, the director informs the viewer that superhumans are almost outcasts and the attitude towards them is appropriate. Against the background of this not only global, but rather a general problem, the private story of one man develops - Connor Reed, who decided that only using his powers he can achieve the desired result for himself and for his mother.
Perhaps due to the fact that the film has an extremely meager plot (2.4 million dollars for filming were collected on voluntary contributions of people), the director did not have enough to withstand the bar raised at the very beginning to the end. The story of the main character is not shining with original script moves (mother, financial problems, no work, and then the pretty girl came across), but it turns out to be too shallow for the main idea of the film - it would be great to see the problems of superhumans caused by the breakthrough of science and technology, which led to the unnecessary functionality of mutants. Society progresses in this regard, and someone ultimately remains on its margins. For example, the automation of many processes in production – because it minimizes human work, significantly reducing the staff. So here, mutants were not needed by this society, and if Jeff Chan had delved into this, it would have been great. And so it came down to banal crimes and showing a limited group of “X-Men”. Again, maybe the director was forced to go to the minimalist version to meet a modest budget.
But in general, the film turned out to be good and in terms of special effects, by the way, he was pleasantly surprised - everything was done clearly and competently, does not cut your eyes. In particular (again, paying attention to the financial costs), police drones in the form of law enforcement officers were well worked out - perhaps they looked most spectacular.
By the way, we also have a similar example: in 2017, a short film “Major Thunder” was released, based on Russian comics about a police officer named Thunder. That movie turned out to be cool, and in 2020 it should come out full meter (although with another actor in the lead role). I want to believe that this movie will be no worse than a mini-picture shot two years ago.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
Code 8 is a fantastic crime-dramatic action based on the famous short film of the same name, ready to impress all fans of stories about people with superpowers, where in the framework of drama and visual and technical plan everything is done in the best traditions of quality cinema.
The world, where the nation is divided into simple and superhuman, is further complicated by the increased development of robotics. Jobs are increasingly occupied by machines, while ordinary people have advantages and benefits, so the main burden of global unemployment is imposed on gifted people. Faced with the grave consequences of the riots, state authorities are tightening the law according to which anyone who uses superpowers against a person is subjected to instant destruction with the help of special robot policemen. As a result, in a world where superhumans have become outcasts without any rights and freedoms, the protagonist does everything possible to earn money for the treatment of his terminally ill mother. After every attempt to earn an honest way, a young guy by coincidence unwittingly becomes a participant in a robbery, which later completely changes his life forever.
It should be noted that the picture belongs to the format of medium-budget production, but the picture and the production itself leave a very pleasant impression, as if the film was shot by large studios for wide distribution. And yet, despite the original concept, the authors of the picture did not delve into the global aspects of what is happening in the world. The plot focuses exclusively on the story of the protagonist and local criminal showdowns of district significance, although the story hints at a much more significant scale. Therefore, taking into account the available budget, you close your eyes to a lot in the hope of seeing a full-scale story with multimillion investments in the near future, because it is worth it.
After the sensational shorts “Call of Duty” and “Code-8” for the director, this is a real debut in a big movie and a direct application for entry into the cast of promising directors. Whatever you say, sooner or later we will definitely see Jeff Chan in the credits of a multimillion-dollar action, because this is the direction in which the young man works.
In general, for home viewing the film is perfect, but do not expect and especially compare with the pictures category 'A'. If you take into account certain moments and forgive some script flaws, then you will get a truly pleasant impression from watching. This is a really good and even more shameful movie for all fans of science fiction, so feel free to turn on, watch and enjoy. Have a good time.
Stephen Amell - the actor known for the role of Green Arrow from the TV series Sidab, clearly did not want to be associated exclusively with this role and in principle tried to break into different projects. For example, he played Casey Jones in the sequel to the half-bey Ninja Turtles. It may not be a worthy project in the portfolio, but in my opinion Amell was the decoration of that film and in principle his acting is often criticized and clearly in vain. But for several years, he and his cousin Robbie Amell are making their own project, which even raised money on crowdfunding. They first created a test short film Code 8, which combined the style of Neil Blomcomp and, in fact, the X-Men. At the same time, it was a purely author’s project without reference to any franchises, in fact inspired by the same work of Blomcomp. As a result, $2 million of the requested $200,000 was collected. And now for four years, the Amellas went into radio silence, like somewhere there the film was shot, glowed like some film festivals in Canada, only this year they showed a trailer and in fact for me personally suddenly there was a release.
I love simple and concise genre stories that are not afraid to experiment. For this, for example, I fell in love with the series of films about John Wick, where, despite the classic story of the OR of the main character with a cheat on headshots, the film was remembered for its unique style, cool presentation of the main character, and a reference for the genre of action. For the same reason, I wildly liked David Eyre’s film Brightness, where the combination of absolutely contrasting, but similar in genre triggers themes, police badie Movie and fantasy, gave birth to a unique movie, albeit with a familiar story. Code 8 works in the same sandbox, but does it in a slightly more competent way.
The story of Code 8 tells the story of Lincoln, a city built by people with abilities. But those were replaced by robots over time, and 4% of the city's population is simply abandoned because no one wants to hire these people for permanent work. People are afraid of them because they can’t always control their abilities. In schools, children with abilities are taught separately. The police regularly scour them and if someone rushes Code 8 "Crime with the use of abilities" is declared urgently and two Chappie robots are urgently parachuted from a quadcopter flying over the city and begin to water the renegade with lead. To understand who, what and why, in the end do not try. But people somehow need to live and, in fact, organized crime flourishes among the gifted, they even sell their own unique drug that is made from the stagnant brain of gifted people. And everything I've told the film is naturally crammed into the opening credits, which tell the story of a strange universe. This is done very concisely and competently. If the same Brightness could spend half an hour on the exposure of its universe, of which it was likely that you could understand about the crap and after an hour and a half you would throw all sorts of prophecies, then Code 8 takes about three minutes to do this and when the main action begins you fully understand how this world works.
Essentially, Code 8 is a Three Nine-style robbery movie, Thieves Hunt, and of course Combat, but much more than the first two. The story essentially comes in contrast to the presented setting and the topic itself. If we are usually presented with superpowers as a bridge to scale upwards, then Code 8 goes from the opposite and tells a more personal chamber story that plays no role in saving the world. For a story in a purely superhero setting in the film, superhero issues are not raised in principle. The main character does not think about going to save the world and fight crime, even the dictatorship of the authorities with combat droids is not the final goal. He just wants to somehow live to take care of his sick mother, that is, there is an absolutely straightforward down-to-earth story against the background of a fantastic setting. And it's done really well. A simple metaphor of the U.S. working class and stratification works. The atmosphere of such a competent ground-based fiction is maintained from the very first frames to the credits.
Jeff Chan, who has several concept films in his filmography, the original short meter Code 8 and commercials for Call of Duty, was clearly inspired by Blomcomp’s work. The same robots are very similar to Chappie, behave in a similar way. As well as Blomcomp there are scenes of their assembly, and Slow Mo shooting too. There is no typical Blomkovo meat, but given the budget everything looks at the highest level, and in fact in some places even better and more competent than the same Blomkomp. The camera behaves smoothly, each individual frame is very correct. The action scene in the film is not without smart ideas. For example, how the same robots act at the time of cleaning buildings with all sorts of scanning beams, it's just fucking creative and competent. The abilities are applied at a very high quality level directly with the feeling of impact.
Amello’s duet is one of the strongest parts of the film. Stephen, who plays the experienced burglar Garrett, is presented as a kind of dark mentor with his gang. Insanely charismatic with his evil wisdom, he manages to convey an idea regardless of its moral significance. In fact, Stephen himself said that he likes to play villains. Connor, played by Robbie, is also a very charismatic guy with simple motivation, but a more meaningful choice in the end.
As a result, Code 8 is literate, it is a new look at both the superhero theme in principle and purely genre crime drama. Cool visual, charismatic actors, a worked-out world and a mundane story converge in a very correct and concise picture. Although the same Brightness tried to do more on similar topics, Code 8 is simply made better for much less money. I hope that the Amellas will not go anywhere with this idea and kind of some streaming service is already interested in the ideas of a full-fledged series. The guys are really talented and do not want Sidab to bury these talents in the Earth.
9 out of 10
Code 8 is a full-length version of the 2016 short from Canadian director Jeff Chan. The short meter came out conceptually interesting, and as befits timekeeping, concise.
Fantastic action movie, with good potential and acutely social background. It's quite an interesting twist. In the world, among ordinary people, a very small percentage of people with superpowers. But in this world, they didn't become superheroes or X-Men. Cities used their extraordinary capabilities for their own purposes, but when the level of technological progress increased, and all the work could be done by machines and robots, the need for special people disappeared. The population for the most part turned away from them, finding work became a very difficult task, and if this is possible, then it is worth forgetting about fair wages. At the same time, you still need to register your abilities, practically putting on yourself the stigma of an outcast.
The basis of the film remained the same, but the plot inevitably had to expand and think, add new characters and new turns in order to make a full-length film. And here, unfortunately, the obvious shortcomings of the picture surface. And the main miscalculation, in my opinion, is the wrong vector of the development of a promising idea. What was shown in the short film gave a clear picture of the world in ten minutes, marked a conflict that should grow from the local to something global.
But the film, on the contrary, went from big to small. Having posed global questions, he quickly slid into a small-town showdown and robbery, and if you remove all superpowers, you would think that we have an average criminal fighter, with elements of drama and very sluggish dynamics. Which is a shame. The whole film did not leave the expectation of something dynamic and spectacular, the prerequisites for which were not small. But all the most inventive borrowed from the short version, and the full meter of imagination was not enough. They came up with some kind of drug (naturally associated with superhumans), but this topic was practically not developed, except for monetary motivation. The most visually beautiful moment remained (as in the short film) the scene of the landing of robocops “guardians” from patrol drones, the most spectacular shots of the film. Moments of the use of superpowers, the viewer spoiled by the now popular superhero, is unlikely to be surprised, but the scenes are shot well, sometimes even with fiction, but they are unfortunately few.
The acting game also does not shine with bright colors over a long and sagging plot. No revelations. The main bundle of the Amell brothers does not look bad, and elder Stephen in joint shots, his texture pretty much eclipses his younger Robbie, who is assigned the leading party here. There is no one to distinguish from the second-planners, except for an aggressive partner of an Asian police officer, who acted in a short meter in a different role.
At the exit we have not a bad fantastic action movie with a good idea and potential, but the director lacked something to realize all this. There may be opportunities, but I think it was the lack of creativity that was decisive. After all, it was enough for a short film, and for a full meter no longer. The film, like air, needed acceleration, drive, it could to some extent cover other gaps. But the anticipation of something more, with the onset of the final credits, remains an anticipation. I'm sorry.
The case when there was confidence that the film was able to captivate and surprise, and after watching remained, there is not disappointment, but annoyance that the picture did not reach the bar set by itself.