Essentially a humbler, grungier indie “X-Men” without the same dependence on splashy effects, “Code 8” is a solid genre effort from director Jeff Chan. Spun off from his prior short of the same nam…
Essentially a humbler, grungier indie “X-Men” without the same dependence on splashy effects, “Code 8” is a solid genre effort from director Jeff Chan. Spun off from his prior short of the same name, the crowdfunded effort is resourceful and polished on a tight budget. Its fast-paced progress has enough appeal to suggest a possible franchise, even if this potential kickoff is held back from becoming something more memorable by the general familiarity of the story and character concepts.
Thus criminalized, the minority is scorned by most legit employers, invariably pushing them toward conventional forms of crime. Their image isn’t helped by the fact that a dangerous new drug called “psyke” is created from tapping the spinal fluid of the psychically empowered. That opioid is yet another thing making the enabled look shady, even if they’re more its victims than perps.
Chris Pare’s screenplay packs in a lot of characters and complications without much time to lend them distinguishing personality. So we get a story populated by figures who don’t really develop past our first impression, in situations that are lively but pretty much play out as one expects. The film could’ve used more humor, particularly as the thing it’s most serious about is a hoary plot hook which does not transcend sentimental cliché here.
Chris Crane’s production design and Playfight’s visual effects present a plausible near-future marked more by pervasive surveillance and economic struggle than any spectacular advances. Their polished work is matched by DP Alex Disenhof and editor Paul Skinner, both also relative newcomers whose prior work has been largely in TV and shorts. Many of these collaborators, including some lead actors, carried over from the film’s 10-minute 2016 incarnation.
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