Code 8

2019 Directed by Jeff Chan

Fear is the most dangerous power

In Lincoln City, some inhabitants have extraordinary abilities. Most live below the poverty line, under the close surveillance of a heavily militarized police force. Connor, a construction worker with powers, involves with a criminal gang to help his ailing mother. (Based on the short film “Code 8,” 2016.)

Stephen Amell Robbie Amell Kari Matchett Penny Eizenga Lawrence Bayne Jai Jai Jones Alex Mallari Jr. Shaun Benson Sung Kang Aaron Abrams Martin Roach Nneka Elliott Matthew Gouveia Kevin Claydon Laysla De Oliveira Vlad Alexis Ho Chow Simon Northwood Peter Outerbridge Sarah Hoedlmoser Greg Bryk Kyla Kane Karissa Strain Max Laferriere Merwin Mondesir Casey Hudecki Darrin Baker JaNae Armogan Jeff Sinasac Show All…

Alternative Titles

8号警报, Codigo 8, Renegados

thriller science fiction drama action crime

99 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Vishwas Verma ★★★ 1

In my opinion, this should be a TV series of at least 4-5 seasons. The plot has so much potential.
The movie is good. Robbie and Stephen did really well. The special effects and the direction is good too.
Heard it got a tv series with the same cast. Well, that's very good news, I'll be waiting for that.
Review by Siegel™ ★★★ 1

Humorless but unpretentious, this movie is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. There's some decent "guy drama" and some cool sci-fi stuff and hot people and some sleazy bad guys and robot cops that drop from flying drones. Everybody is just a little bit dumber than they need to be and a little more impressed by what should be everyday events in a universe where people have powers, but it genuinely is a well-crafted world. I can't imagine that I'll ever really think about this ever again but I have to admit that I was consistently engaged and entertained.
george recs
Review by Austin Burke ★★★ 4

👌🏻60%
2019 list - Click HERE
After hearing about this film for months; I had to check it out. Code 8 is an interesting idea that just wasn’t executed to its full potential. It is showcasing elements of RoboCop, X-Men, and pretty much any superpower-filled film along those lines. We have a construction worker who falls in with a group of criminals in order to raise the funds to help his ill mother. Robbie Amell plays Conner, and he gives a solid-enough performance. The story with his mother is an overused trope, but it’s one that brings us enough emotion to feel connected. What interests me most is this world. We are apparently getting more from it, so that’s a plus,…
Review by DirkH ★★ 1

Interesting premise? ✅
Nice bit of world building? ✅
Cool action sequences? Well....kinda.
Interesting characters? Ehm. Well. That's a nope.
Cool plot then? Nope. Big noperoony there.
So, generic, beige vanilla then? ✅
Review by Sam Morrison ★★★ 6

Code 8 is one of those really strong 3s I occasionally give out. The letdown is high here, but it's easy to see what areas needed to be improved on. Because the potential is the strongest aspect, and it needed so much more room to breathe.
What we needed from this story was a TV show. As a film clocking in at just under 1.5 hours, it feels packed to the brim with neat ideas, the lid barely holding on as it struggles not to burst.
The world is kind of like an X-Men dystopia, where many young residents have powers, ranging from fire, electricity, mind reading and even healing capabilities. I found myself in love with the police robot…
Review by Dave Taylor ★★★½

Remember how lame ‘Project Power’ was? ‘Code 8’ takes the same basic ingredients of drugs and super powers (albeit mixed together differently) to create a much better film.
Apparently, drugs and super powers can’t support a plot on their own, so a standard trope must be used. With ‘Code 8’ we have bank AND armored car heists as the central focus for the action. Both the set up for these plot points and execution were well done and I was invested for the first 2/3rds of the movie. I even thought the visual effects were quite good especially since it is obvious for other reasons that the budget was modest at best.
The last 20 minutes lost me a bit as the action came to a screeching halt and the ending was muddled to say the least. Still, this is a solid flick and as close to a new super hero movie as you’re likely to get until ‘WW1984.’
Review by George Clark ★★★½ 2

2019 Movies Ranked-HERE
Code 8 is the passion project of Stephan Amell and Robbie Amell with both producing and staring in the film while Jeff Chan directs. This film is a spin off of the short 11 minute film called Code 8.
To me, this low budget film is so easy to watch, it’s not trying to be the next biggest block buster, just a passion project. Both brothers shine in what is an indie version of X-Men (a very good indie version). Code 8 is a well crafted crime melodrama and fantasy that pays of by surrounding itself in a grim urban setting.
With good cinematography and great acting Code 8 is a film that’s definitely worth watching when you…
Review by MovieQueenz ★★½

This movie came across as somewhat mediocre. I wasn’t overly impressed with the storyline, the action scenes or the overall outcome of the movie
The only thing that impressed me were the special effects and “powers” that these super-powered people have.
Whilst there are many synergies to everyday life and the levels of isolation and segregation of different types of people for various reasons, this movie was simply just another “kids mum is dying and he does the wrong thing to see her” type of movie
Review by Jayson Kennedy ★★½

Proposed present day sci-fi where humans with abilities beyond known senses have been reduced to a quietly detested minority class under tight government control. A young man with electrical powers begins taking shady jobs to help his ailing mother, but as he gets deeper suspicions from police, including a new cybernetic division, are raised.
Working like a dystopian social concept from John Carpenter's playbook mated with TV-style crime drama and Neill Blomkamp visuals, Code 8 punches above its budget and plays a nice show-and-tell with the abilities of its characters. Some can melt steel with their barehands, some read minds, while others can apply invisible force to objects like Luke had to master in another galaxy long ago. The abilites…
Review by Fred 🇵🇷 ★★½ 2

"You cross that line, there's no coming back."
I have a line when it comes to derivative content. Once it becomes clear that a given movie is seemingly set on recreating something, it needs to do at least one amazing thing with its take in order for me to forgive its stepping over that line of blanket familiarity. Code 8, the low-fi X-Men spinoff that first came to existence through a promising short film I caught years ago, never manages to be anything other than just that. It's surprisingly well-made with some pretty impressive low budget CGI and interesting glimpses of genre innovation (not to mention the fact that its well-paced and an overall easy watch). But too much of…
Review by andy levy ★★★½ 8

it may not have the most original concept - there are humans with superpowers and the world is scared and treats them like crap and drives them underground and to criminal activity etc etc - but it's executed very well, does have a few unique twists, and is well-acted and directed.
the amell brothers (green arrow and firestorm, to me) do a good job in the two main roles, and it's always a treat to see sung fucking kang (though i wish he'd had a bigger role)
all in all, a movie that deserves some attention beyond being thrown in itunes' new release section for people to randomly stumble upon, as i did
Review by André Hecker ★★★

↓ English version below ↓
Im Programm der Fantasy Filmfest White Nights 2020
In der alternativen Realität von Code 8 sind Superkräfte Normalität, aber Meldepflichtig und die Polizei setzt zur Unterstützung auf mechanische Kollegen und Luftüberwachung per Drohnen. Inmitten dieses Szenarios baut sich eine Geschichte um Ausgrenzung, Zweiklassengesellschaft und Revolution auf, erzählt mittels einem Fantasy-Crime-Thriller.
Dabei hat man zwar stets das Gefühl das alles schon mal gesehen zu haben, dafür unterhält der Stoff aber solide. Exposition spart sich Code 8 weitestgehend, denn Superkräfte und militärische Polizei kennt man zu genüge aus anderen Filmen, ebenso wie eine begehrte Superdroge. Daher erklären sich diese Elemente auch von selbst, sodass der Film hier keine Zeit verschwenden muss.
Das Indiegogo-Projekt startete als Kurzfilm und…

Recent reviews

Review by Greg Melendez ★★★½

Pretty solid GCI and a decent story. Felt like Push but in its own special way
Review by Mango_Nate ★★½

This definitely has legs as a television series. Feels like they can build on a lot of the lore here.
Review by daveyclay ★

A code 8 is when you drain the X-Men of all social metaphors and style.
Review by von212 ★★★

Cool movie fromna couple DC comics actors. No performances to write home about but still worth the watch
Review by Drscott213 ★½

Like the idea behind it but just came off a bit corny..
Review by Paul Blakeley ★★★½

Pretty entertaining enough sci-fi actioner. It looked nice enough, had some fun scenes and was a slightly different take on the powered people genre. It was an interesting idea seeing them just in normal run of the mill jobs using their powers.
Review by David Miller ★★★

Interesting movie, typical "mutant" affair with untrusting humans. Modern police force with robots.
Review by Omar27 ★★★★½

This is a really awesome movie about people who have powers but (as usual) regular people not liking it. Stephen Amell does a really good job at being a mentor to his (actual) family Robert Amell, and although they don’t like each other in the movie, they still have really good chemistry together. The plot is good and keeps you focused on the movie. Would watch again
Review by SjorsVanKuipers ★★★

fuck they really know what it's like playing support don't they
Review by Sam Morrison ★★★ 6

Code 8 is one of those really strong 3s I occasionally give out. The letdown is high here, but it's easy to see what areas needed to be improved on. Because the potential is the strongest aspect, and it needed so much more room to breathe.
What we needed from this story was a TV show. As a film clocking in at just under 1.5 hours, it feels packed to the brim with neat ideas, the lid barely holding on as it struggles not to burst.
The world is kind of like an X-Men dystopia, where many young residents have powers, ranging from fire, electricity, mind reading and even healing capabilities. I found myself in love with the police robot…
Review by Colleen ★★★

A mellow superhero? flick
Better than expected, although 💡 strain really?
Review by Tomo Cole ★★★

Nije loš, no vjerujem da ću nakon tjedan dana zaboraviti sve o ovom filmu. Fino za ubit jedno kišno popodne i ništa više. S ozbirom na tematiku očekivao sam puno više od efekata i nekog kulnog CGI-a no od cijele priče toga je bilo najmanje. Malo drugačije ispričana priča o mutantima, koji ovdje nisu mutantni, nego ljudi s moćima. Rođaci Amell (do ovog filma nisam ni znao da su u rodu) su bili solidni iako od Stephana uvijek očekujem više, nakon uloga Arrowa. Sung Kanga iz FF serijala mi je uvijek drago vidjet i baš je dobar glumac. Izgled filma je jedino za pohvalu, no kao što rekoh ničime nije upečatljiv. Puno filmova na ovu temu je bolje bilo odrađeno. Tako da je skroz gledljiv, no da bih ga preporučio nekome, baš i nebi.