Superhero movies are everywhere nowadays. Every year we seem to be inundated with big budget releases from Marvel and DC; well made action films of a generally high standard (Suicide Squad not withstanding) which make boatloads of cash for the studios, prompting dozens more to go into development with higher budgets and effects. Enter the rise of the low budget superhero film. We saw it last year with Brightburn; an interesting spin on a decades old origin story that didn’t quite hit like it should have and now we see it done with much more success in Jeff Chan’s Code 8. Set in a gritty world where powers are despised by society and those with them are hunted, the film is less standard superhero film than it is a sci-fi heist thriller with a lot of heart. Whilst it borrows some concepts from other films and the plot loses its place in spots, the endearing lead performances from cousins Robbie and Stephen Amell combined with solid action, terrific world building and a swift pace make this one enjoyable, easy watch that I would be happy to spend more time with.
Set in the futuristic Lincoln City, built by the same superpowered humans that are now under strict restrictions, we follow Connor Reed (Robbie Amell), a down on his luck handyman working odd jobs to make ends meet and to provide for his mother Mary (Kari Matchett). When his mother’s cancer worsens, Connor is forced to look into other means to earn money for her treatment, taking a job with Garrett (Stephen Amell) – a high level enforcer for drug kingpin Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryk) – and his team. Connor learns to embrace his power here as an “Electric” – allowing him to manipulate and create electrical fields around himself – forming a bond with Garrett and putting his morality at risk as they engage in increasingly illegal jobs for larger and larger pay checks. When the screws begin to tighten around the crew however, Connor must reassess the life he has chosen and take control of his destiny in order to save his mother.
Sound like something you’ve seen before? Code 8‘s story is not exactly the most original, sticking pretty closely to the standard hero’s journey, with a few twists and turns thrown in to mixed results. What pulls you in as a viewer is the world building: think a cross between the gritty, grounded world of Chronicle and the heavily regulated, robot police force patrolled streets of District 9 or Chappie. There is clearly a lot of lore here that the film teases you with, providing few answers as to the origin of the powered humans or the drugs pulled from their spinal fluid that now fill the streets. Rather than rely on exposition heavy dialogue the film finds creative ways for the audience to experience the world, with a montage of construction workers using their powers to assemble a house of particular note. It might not sound like the best use of budget, especially when there isn’t much to begin with, but it is just one example of a subtle way to show the world and is just plain interesting to see from a street level view – this isn’t Thor swinging his hammer or Iron Man blasting bad guys, it’s a real-life portrayal of these powers in an everyday setting. Speaking of budget, the film does a lot with a little; making the powers less flashy but more deadly brings real life consequences to using them and as a result the characters tend to rely on more traditional weapons, using the powers for utility. Most of the budget goes to the robotic police force of “Guardians” and drones which carry them and they all look spectacular, as if they had been plucked from something with Marvel’s budget.
Beyond the flashy world building and powers is an engaging story that hits with some powerful emotional beats, centered on two key relationships between Connor and his mother and Garrett. The mother-son relationship is central to the overall story, acting as the incentive for all of Connor’s actions throughout the film and Robbie Amell and Kari Matchett do a great job selling this bond. Connor struggles with the weight of compromising his moral code to help her, and her insistence that he let her go and move on with his life and Amell captures this internal tug of war exceptionally well. We see real conflict in Connor as he learns to utilise the powers his mother has insisted he hides, knowing they are the only thing that can provide him with the means to save her in time. This conflict carries over to Connor’s relationship with Stephen Amell’s Garrett, a man with whom he is fundamentally, morally at odds with, but who allows him to embrace his abilities and ultimately use them for good, even if it means using them for nefarious purposes first. The older Amell has cultivated an image for himself as the boy scout superhero Oliver Queen on the popular DC series Arrow and is clearly relishing the chance to play a heel for a change. Whilst Garrett is more of an antihero than a fully fledged villain there is some darker material to work with here and Amell more than proves he has the chops, making the action look easy with his stunt-heavy background on television.
Outside of these two central relationships however, things are bit more rough around the edges, with side plots thrown in centered around a detective (Sung Kang) hot on the heels of Connor and Garrett and a woman (Kyla Kane) with the ability to heal people who has been indebted to Sutcliffe and forced to keep him alive. The police investigation story doesn’t really go anywhere and doesn’t get the screen time to do so, with an attempt to flesh out Sung Kang’s character coming too late in the piece to really do much to endear him to the viewer. Similarly Kyla Kane’s character isn’t really given anything to do outside occasionally healing Sutcliffe and hurling abuse at Connor, with Kane’s performance coming across as boring and wooden. Greg Bryk does what he can with the character of Sutcliffe, giving him something of an energy reminiscent of a Miami drug lord, but without any of the swagger or charisma needed to really pop on screen. Thankfully the action makes up for these poorer aspects, drawing the story away from these less developed areas with some tight, focused scenes of brutal violence, utilising the powers in some inventive ways outside of the usual close quarters hand-to-hand combat.
Code 8 is a surprisingly engaging and effective spin on the superhero genre told from a gritty, realistic world set somewhere in the future. While it might not be the most original or nuanced film ever made, it hits where it needs to; with inventive world building, intriguing powers, solid special effects and a pace that keeps you locked into the story. Outside of a few meandering side plots the film fires on all cylinders, hitting all the right emotional beats with great performances from Robbie and Stephen Amell. If you’re looking for a fun, interesting flick to keep your attention as you while away the time in isolation you couldn’t ask for much more than Code 8.
Code 8 stars Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Kari Matchett, Kyla Kane, Greg Bryk & Sung Kang – Streaming on Netflix now.