Code 8: Renegados

Code 8 is a decent enough film, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was worth skipping by, superhero builders and drugs taken from people's body bits, but it really isn't bad.

Some nice ideas and some good special effects, it's not a huge budget film, but somehow they make it work. Don't expect Marvel, and don't expect Breaking Bad, but do expect a few interesting moments. Every single cliche under the sun is here, there's not a huge amount of originality, but enjoy it for what it is.

I wonder if those that have given this 1 and 10 star reviews have actually seen this, those I've read with such extreme scores do not relate to this movie.

Decent acting, Robbie Amell will of course have his fans, 6/10.

Code 8

It is obvious that this Indie Sci-Fi from Director Jeff Chan takes inspiration from the X Men franchise but it also has a Neill Blomkamp vibe. Set in a world where some humans have extraordinary gifts. These powered individuals live in poverty. Their gifts are more of a burden and anyone caught using their special abilities must answer to the law. A powered construction worker played by Robbie Amell falls in with a criminal gang when he desperately needs to raise money for his sick mother.

As aforementioned this film is heavily influenced by the X Men movies but it does have its own unique premise. Sadly the execution of this premise is slightly lacking. Performances by all are commendable. The audience will grow to care for what happens to those onscreen due to some decent acting. However this story would have been better told as a TV series rather than a 1hr 38min movie. The world which is created onscreen is one that can be expanded upon. An episodic TV show would have allowed the created universe and characters to flourish. I have read somewhere that Robbie and Co-star Stephen Amell are actually developing a continuation for the small screen.

Considering that this films production budget was crowd funded and was only a measly $2.1 million the special effects are really quite impressive. This is where the Neill Blomkamp vibe becomes apparent. The robotic police officers in the movie reminded me of the robot designs in 'Elysium' or perhaps 'Chappie'. But it is painfully obvious that it is just a man in a suit rather than a CGI creation. This is where budget constraints are visible. Still the aerial shots of the drones deploying the robots was rather cool. This is a film that does punch above its weight in terms of the visuals effects.

'Code 8' is certainly worth checking out. It's probably a movie that won't linger in the memory banks for long but the expansion of the universe created by this film in the form of a TV show would be most welcome.

It's nice to see a film about superpowers be about "normal" people, about the choices they have to make to live their lives. A solid story, good characters, good acting and very well done special effects make this film well worth watching.

Worth watching for a decent mashup of Sci-Fi and Heist genres. Some all-too-convenient plot devices abound along with the now-familiar premise of powered people being discriminated against. It had a chance to be very good and instead was just decent, but I'll watch a decent Sci-Fi flick any time.

It's Dec 2019 and I can safely count on both hands films that I've thoroughly enjoyed this year and Code 8 is one of the them. Mid budget Scfi drama at its best. Watchable once and maybe again a year or two from now. A definite go.