Code 8

X-men on the other side of the law. A dime-a-dozen theme technically well-crafted into a sci-fi B-movie without any screenwriting inventiveness or memorable acting performances. Who was this made for? Fans of the genre like these kinds of things done on a grand scale or at least imaginatively (Upgrade). Even the music shamelessly steals from Martinez's Drive and Fiedel’s Terminator. [Sitges FF] (10/05/2019)

Jeff Chan made a short film in 2016 and since it was a success he decided to make it a feature film, and it's a very enjoyable sci-fi B movie. The film has an interesting world that happens to be similar to the recent Freaks (X-men from the other side), except here the police have robots, there are drones patrolling the air, people are being destroyed by the new drug Psyke, and people with superpowers can't work normally and if they do, it's illegal and they can be shot. The protagonist can control electricity and is one of the most capable of his kind, and he nods at a black job for a local gang, and since his powers make him useful, he starts working for them until things go classically wrong. The script could have been more interesting, I wouldn't have been angry if the film had an extra half hour and made better use of the well-chosen premise, but if a good idea, a likable main character, great technical aspects and very solid action are enough for you, you should be as satisfied as I am. 7/10. (12/13/2019)

Code 8 is a new take on stories about people who have supernatural abilities, have to fight for their right to exist, and hide their powers from the outside world. A whole slew of such movies has come out in recent years, and if someone does not make a truly original version of this "X-Men" universe type of movie, they will just keep churning out the same old movies. If we overlooked the science-fiction element in the supernatural abilities in Code 8, we would be left with a relatively ordinary crime drama about virtuous thieves and malevolent mafia bosses with an average storyline, which we have seen many times before in other movies. Although it is a well-made movie and so we can not blame the usual blunders, the problem is simply the subject matter, which just does not appeal to me. [Sitges 2019] (10/09/2019)