"Code 8"
In Lincoln City, a tiny fraction of the population are born with superpowers, but are feared and ostracised by society. One such individual is Conner (Robbie Amell), a construction worker with the power to control electricity. His mother Mary (Kari Matchett), a cryokinetic shop worker, is ill and he needs money to pay her bills. Desperate, he is recruited by the telekinetic criminal Garrett (Stephen Amell) and his gang, who perform heists for sleazy local crime boss Marcus Sutcliffe (Greg Bryk). But as they fall deeper into the quagmire of criminal enterprise, the net of law enforcement draws ever closer, and betrayal lies at every turn...
I liked this.
It's a fun first effort from director Jeff Chan, which manages to rise above the "oppressed mages" cliche by adding some important details which make it better than, say, "Bright". There's a cool little montage of news stories at the start about "legislation" and documentation of powered people, drawing obvious parallels and allegories with immigration and racial politics in the US (though it trips up a little bit by focusing on a bunch of white dudes, but baby steps), as well as how these folks with superpowers are effectively forced into lives of crime. There is a great scene early on where they are working as undocumented builders for a guy willing to use their talents but not respect them as people, fitting in today's society.
It's a simple enough plot, heist movies and betrayal, which is fun enough , though the large number of characters leads to a fair few of them being rather underdeveloped. It's still a fun, interesting, unique take on the oversaturated "super powers" movie genre, and I think it's good fun.
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