Neubauer Artists Present Ambitious Sci-Fi Swing “Code 8 Part II”

The first movie, released in 2019, was crowdfunded into existence off the back of an impressive short film. While the new one has increased financial backing from Netflix, it feels smaller scale in some ways, though its focus is sharper. Some of the issues still hold over from the original, however.

Connor is out of prison and working as a janitor at a community center, having cut ties with his former criminal associate Garrett. Connor’s attempt at staying out of trouble is destroyed when he’s forced to help 14-year-old Pav escape from a pack of corrupt officers led by Sergeant King. King uses the newly launched robotic K9’s to track Pav down, while Connor finds himself once again reaching out to Garrett and his crew for help, but can he trust the man who landed him in prison in the first place?

The original Code 8 was a surprisingly fun addition to the modern sci-fi genre, a crowd-funded film that took equal inspiration from super-powered narratives that were reimagined as street-level dramas, such as Daredevil. Both films focus on Connor (Robbie Amell), who was born with the ability to control and channel electrical energy. In a world where certain people are born with super abilities, crime still controls the ebb and flow of Lincoln City. Criminals flourish just under the surface, relying on a drug that is taken from supers. Aided and abetted by a police department that’s not wholly interested in stopping them, Connor finds himself increasingly under the sway of the powered gang leader Garrett (Stephen Amell), all in an effort to protect his loved ones. Now in Code 8: Part II, Connor is tasked with protecting someone else from the world he’s been trying to avoid reentering. A moderate but overall effective riff on the superhero genre that was directed by Jeff Chan with a script by Chan, Chris Paré, Sherren Lee, and Jesse LaVercombeis, the sequel is a well-made if basic sci-fi film that benefits from solid construction.

The first test that the new movie really needs to pass is whether you can enjoy it without having seen the first film. And though we would of course advise watching the original (that film is not perfect, feeling in many ways a recycled take on genre stalwarts such as ‘Blade Runner’, ‘RoboCop’ and particularly ‘X-Men’, but it has some solid entertainment value once you get past that), ‘Part II’ does enough to justify its own existence. And it tells a story that, if it’s not completely distinct from the first by design, is watchable without having a Wikipedia page open in front of you to pick up on any character history etc.

The opening expositional spiel, a more concise version of the first movie’s helps that, filling in a little extra about what happened in that film and why you should care about Robbie Amell’s gruff Connor.

Co-written and directed by Jeff Chan (working again with co-writer Chris Pare plus franchise newcomers Sherren Lee and Jesse LaVercombe), ‘Part II’s storyline has a few issues in that it sometimes feels like you’re watching another version of the first movie –– once more Amell’s Connor has someone to worry about who has powers that could help him (last time it was a healer, this time it’s Sirena Gulamgaus’ teenager Pav, whose powers are much more nebulous, and seemingly a convenient plot driver). Stephen Amell’s Garrett, meanwhile, has gone up in the world, building his own drug empire in Lincoln city after his immediate bosses were wiped out last time.

Yet there’s enough here in the evolution of the world to have some added power –– the police are supposedly using less violent methods (a series of robotic police dogs), but the corruption level among the officers has increased.

On the direction front, Chan makes a low-budget sci-fi look good, and mostly maintains the feel of the original. The pacing problems of ‘Code 8’ still remain, though; the action is never quite as zippy as it could be and there are stretches where it lags.

Robbie Amell continues to put in a decent job as Connor, though he’s not really required to do more than scowl a lot and then stand holding his hand out and straining a bit while the VFX team does the heavy lifting of bringing his electricity powers to life on screen. While he’s not quite got the range of even his cousin (more on him in a moment), he’s certainly up to the task of playing Connor.

As for Stephen Amell, it’s fun to see him playing more of a villain, and he brings some depth to the role, though Garrett perhaps has a little less to do this time around, since he was more of a focus last time around. But ‘Part II’ certainly offers him enough to bring out a decent performance.

Outside of the main trio, you have the likes of ‘Kim’s Convenience’ veteran Jean Yoon, who has some spark as the organizer of a run-down local community center, while a welcome Aaron Abrams returns as police detective Davis from the first movie, here doing his part to investigate his corrupt superiors.

The ‘Code 8’ franchise will not win many awards for originality, primarily existing as a mash-up of other, superior sci-fi takes on the encroaching threat of technology, police brutality and how a minority group deals with the prejudices of wider society.

There’s some fun action to be found, and the effects are solid for a lower-budget piece of entertainment. And as sequels go, it continues the story in decent fashion.

What is the Plot of ‘Code 8: Part II’?

The film centers around the 4% of people living in fictional Lincoln City who possess special abilities. It follows the journey of a teenage girl (Sirena Gulamgaus) fighting to get justice for her slain brother at the hands of corrupt police officers. After becoming a witness to the cover-up, she becomes a target and enlists the help of an ex-con (Robbie Amell) and his former partner-in-crime (Stephen Amell).

Who is in the Cast of ‘Code 8: Part II’?

• Robbie Amell as Connor Reed
• Stephen Amell as Garrett Kelton
• Sirena Gulamgaus as Pavani
• Altair Vincent as Office Stillman
• Alex Mallari Jr. as Sergeant “King” Kingston
• Moe Jeudy-Lamour as Officer Cirelli

Back in 2016, Arrow star Stephen Amell and his cousin, Robbie Amell, crowdfunded the science fiction film Code 8, based on a short film of the same name. Directed by Jeff Chan, Code 8 was released theatrically in 2019 followed by a Netflix debut in 2020. During the start of the pandemic, Code 8 became a success on the streaming platform, and a sequel was greenlit the following year. Code 8 Part II picks up several years after the conclusion of the first film, set in a world where humans have developed various superpowers and live on the outskirts of modern society as lower-income workers. Where the first film was presented as a heist drama focused on Robbie Amell’s Connor Reed turning to a life of crime where he partnered with Stephen Amell’s Garrett Kelton, the sequel changes the dynamic and embraces a more rebellious underdog versus the system tale reminiscent of Gareth Edward’s The Creator but with a more street-level point of view. With solid pacing and special effects, Code 8 Part II is an improvement over the first film in every way and poised to kickstart a franchise.

At the end of Code 8, Connor Reed (Robbie Amell) failed to save his mother’s life after turning to a life of crime alongside criminal Garrett Kelton (Stephen Amell). With the ability to harness electricity, Connor took the fall for Garrett and spent the last five years in prison. Upon his release, Connor cuts all ties with Garrett and takes a job as a janitor. Garrett, meanwhile, has aligned himself with Seargent Kingston (Alex Mallari, Jr), a Lincoln City cop who supports the transition from android police, known as Guardians, to the no-kill dog robot K-9 units. As Kingston aims to win a prestigious leadership role in the LCPD, he is also secretly supporting Garrett dealing the superpower drug Psyche for a cut of the profits. When someone tries to steal his money, King has him killed. The victim’s sister, Pavani (Sirena Gulamgaus), witnesses the murder using her abilities which sends King and his team after her. Pavani must then rely on Connor to protect her which sets them opposite not only King but Garrett as well. This sets up the requisite double-crosses, triple-crosses, and more in a fairly straightforward story that turns the original film’s anti-hero story into a true hero’s journey.

Code 8 Part II opens with a brief explanation that the title refers to the illegal use of superpowers in the fictional Lincoln City and then uses an almost identical open credit sequence to the first film. Aside from that feeling of deja vu, Part II feels like an improvement over the first film in every way. Running just about five minutes longer than Code 8, Part II wastes little time in pairing Connor with young Pav. Pav has a target on her back due to what she has seen and Connor initially goes to Garrett for help seeing as the criminal owes him a favor for the prison stint. I expected the two Amells to have a closer relationship in this film than the first, but thankfully they are still reluctant to work together since Connor has a good core and wants to help Pav rather than use her to secure protection from Kingston and the cops. Stephen Amell, who was a solid anti-hero for years on The CW’s Arrow, is reliably good here and rarely strays from doing what is beneficial for him rather than what is right. The bulk of the screen time is taken by Robbie Amell who is a bit more seasoned five years after the first movie and plays Connor as less naive and more worn down by his time behind bars.

The other returning actor from the original film is Alex Mallari Jr. Mallari previously played Kingston in a single scene at the opening of Code 8 in a role that had zero consequence to the story. Bringing him back for an expanded role helps bridge the fact that Sung Kang does not reprise his role as Detective Park. Mallari, with a deep voice and intense presence, echoes some of the great sci-fi and action movie villains from 1980s flicks. Young Sirena Gulamgaus also holds her own opposite the adult cast of the movie with a very expressive range of emotions on her face. The story also benefits from shifting the robotic villains from human androids to dog-like bots which adds some more dimension to the chases beyond gunfights. The special effects are very good, especially when the characters use their powers. Relying on some creative CGI in their eyes, the range of powers here adds some cool moments to the numerous action sequences throughout Code 8 Part II.

Jeff Chan returns as director and co-wrote the film alongside the first film’s scribe Chris Pare and new writers Sherren Lee and Jess LaVercombe (Float). The script feels more nuanced this time around with the characters having more to do than repeat the same cliched actions again and again as they did in the first movie. None of the characters feel as two-dimensional this time around despite the film hitting many familiar notes. Each time the story tries to employ a twist, it feels telegraphed and expected. This is even more true when they try to twist a twist to keep us on our toes. While that may sound negative, the script tropes work thanks to the well-shot action sequences and the improved special effects. Code 8 Part II does a better job of world-building and that comes from the fact that the story gets away from the criminals versus the cops and turns it more into a disenfranchised versus authority tale. The idea of the powered minority being a thinly veiled allegory for racial intolerance is pretty on the nose, but it never feels forced. Because the cops here are legitimately bad, it helps the story feel propulsive even though it is very familiar.

With a better story, better special effects, and better character development, Code 8: Part II builds on the core concept of the original film and expands the action. Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell deliver on characters they have come to know well for a movie that is reminiscent of late 1980s/early 1990s sci-fi action movies. Code 8 Part II is familiar and fairly formulaic but still delivers a solid collection of action sequences that keep the pace moving from beginning to end. With a setup for a third film, Code 8 Part II could kickstart a solid genre franchise that would be worth revisiting every few years for new tales. The first movie was a good heist tale and this sequel works as a protect-the-youngster yarn which could position the third film to take things in another direction entirely. Code 8 Part II is not going to blow away the Hollywood competition but it shows what a passionate group of filmmakers and actors can do when given the platform.