Code 8 (2016)

The Worst Film Ever

How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This short is apparently part of a fund raising effort to make a bigger project, although as 'proof of concept' films go, this one at least delivers within its time. Instead of playing like a trailer, this plays out like a contained episode in a bigger story, so while it does offer more, it is also a good standalone snapshot of this world. Taking the world of Heroes and making them an oppressed minority, we see the exploitation of powers rather than the dominance – which is already a nice twist on the norm. From here it plays out into a dramatic scene which ends open, but is still satisfying.The use of effects is in support of the world, and is nicely integrated into the actual film – rather than being the film, as is often the case with this type of thing. The performances are good throughout; I confess I have no clue who Amell is, or the family name, but he is a good lead here. Also Kang (better known and Fast and Furious' Han) was a surprise find.Overall a solidly enjoyable sci-fi which creates an engaging world and plays out a satisfying scenario. Still a 'proof of concept' perhaps, but a good one.

I invested in this and I am glad I did, This makes a very interesting concept and the cast is very good and so is the direction, editing and the basic story.Looking forward to see this on a big screen in the bear future as either a full feature movie or as a hour long drama TV show.Original in composition, it will easily take hold of you and keep you reeled in.Hopefully the story remains interesting and does not lose itself after a few episodes and get lousy or too far stretched out to the point where it holds nothing of interest - as so many shows do after a while.

This is a short-turned-trailer for the now greenlit independent feature length film of the same title. While low budget, the premise is sound and looks to be a great jumping off point for a new sci-fi universe. Starring Robbie Amell (The Tomorrow People and Flash) is a day laborer struggling to find money for his family's piling bills. It's revealed that some in this world (4% of the population according to the opening flyover) are gifted with mutated abilities that normal humans don't possess, and these people are oppressed and often have to resort to low wage jobs or even lives of crime. Toward the end, Robbie's character is definitely shown to be one of these "specials" as he uses a a bio-EMP to escape police custody after his friend played by Aaron Abrams (Hannibal, Stargate Atlantis) is killed.The film, already having met and far surpassed the goal of 200k dollars on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo is due out toward the end of 2017. Stephen Amell (Arrow, TMNT and Robbie's COUSIN) is an executive producer for the film, and while only his voice made it into the short/trailer, he will be playing a much bigger on-screen role for the feature.

"Code 8" is a 10-minute live action short film that was released on Youtube a couple days ago and quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of viewers. This does not make it a good film though. It takes place in a world where certain people possess super powers and the police fights them with lots of violence when they use them. Pretty generic and uninteresting if you ask me. The mediocre acting wasn't helping either. This is a film that pretty much relies entirely on special effects, visually and audibly, to make up for the lack of a better story. However, at this runtime it is still bearable, but seeing how a full feature film based on this premise got greenlit kinda scares me. I do not expect too much here. I am not a big fan of Stephen Amell on "Arrow" and apparently his popularity is now used to make his little brother a star too. Family affairs like this really suck, especially as Robbie isn't a better actor either. Thumbs down for "Code 8". Don't be fooled by the high rating. I assume this mostly comes from "Arrow" fanboys who automatically love everything that has the name Amell attached to it regardless of the quality. Here it is low quality. Thumbs down.