Code 8: Renegados

Code 8 is a mix of Blade Runner (for the music style and the image texture and color) and X-Men for the scenario. It's a very good movie. It's a little bit like if the director and the producers said « ok teenagers have the X-Men saga, let's do something around the same idea but for adults ». The are no jaw dropping special effects, mutants (called "person with abilities" in the movie) dont do funky stuff.. every body acts great.. it's the kind of sci-fi movie that will very likely go unnoticed and it's a shame, it deserves much much more.

It's pretty good movie. I like the story. Acting was pretty much convincing. Special effects are awesome. For low budget production, it's excellent sci-fi movie. Definitely it's worth of your 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.

I think a few reviewers might have been disappointed that this wasn't the kind of vibe you'd normally associate with the Super Hero genre.

This is well made, scripted and acted with a dark, dystopian near-alternate future as its background.

If you're looking for a darker approach with a little moral ambiguity you might enjoy this more than you expected to. Think "crime thriller" rather than supers.

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.