6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
While pulling a down-and-dirty jewelry heist on a subway train, Gabriel encounters Ripley, a legendary thief who was casing the same job. In spite of Gabriel's initial reluctance. Ripley manages to rope him into an impossible job: the theft of two priceless Faberge Imperial Eggs from the heavily guarded vault of a New York diamond wholesaler. The stakes rise for Gabriel and Ripley when Ripley's goddaughter is kidnapped by the KGB. Staying one step ahead of the NYPD, the FBI, the diamond merchants and the vicious Russian KGB crime boss determined to have the priceless eggs for himself, Gabriel and Ripley must find a way to pull off the heist and make it out alive.
Starring: Rade Serbedzija, Morgan Freeman, Robert Forster, Corey Johnson, Antonio BanderasThriller | 100% |
Crime | 63% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The heist film genre is full of some tough acts to follow. Ever since Ocean’s Eleven broke onto the scene back in 2001, Hollywood studios have attempted to generate the same winning combination achieved by director Steven Soderbergh. The Italian Job remake came close, and I’ve always enjoyed the underappreciated gem The Score, but I still feel Ocean’s Eleven is the film to beat for the genre trophy. With that in mind, you can imagine my reservations in reading the plot synopsis of the 2009 straight-to-video release of The Code. Originally titled Thick as Thieves, the film offers an all-star cast and an interesting premise, but ultimately fails to generate the charm on display in countless superior films within the same vein. I don’t necessarily believe the film deserved an unceremonious release directly to home video (especially considering some of the awful films that receive a theatrical release), but it also doesn’t deserve a place next to the upper echelon of heist films released over the past ten years.
I think Antonio Banderas just saw a squirrel.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 19Mbps) The Code offers a pleasing visual experience throughout the majority of its runtime. Detail is rendered with above-average clarity in 95% of scenes, with only a handful appearing somewhat less distinct. There are a number of facial close-ups scattered throughout the film and every textured line on the faces of Freeman and Banderas can be seen with intricate precision. The color spectrum apparent in The Code isn't bold or vivid, but I found it appropriate and natural for the settings in which the film takes place, which should be the ultimate goal of any cinematographer. If I had one complaint about the transfer, it would be the occasional undefined differentiation in contrast. There's a scene around the halfway point of the film where Banderas and Freeman are in a stairwell dressed as police officers. In that particular scene (and a couple of others), the dark colors don't contain enough gradient to bring out the texturing of the dark blue uniforms and they end up looking like a solid block of blue. This only seemed to be a problem during low-light sequences, but it occurred enough to make it worth mentioning. Thankfully, I never noticed any artifacting, edge-enhancement, or DNR applied to wipe out the presence of film grain (which can be seen in multiple scenes), which left me with an overall assessment that this is a highly competent transfer.
The primary audio offering is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix in the native language of English. It has to be difficult working as the sound engineer on a film starring Antonio Banderas, since the man struggles with enunciating English dialogue in a manner that's universally cohesive. There were far too many scenes where I had trouble making out his lines due to his strong accent (it almost became frustrating enough to warrant subtitles), and plenty of other scenes where Morgan Freeman's soft-spoken voice isn't given adequate volume to hear what he's saying. Aside from the slight volume imbalance and difficulties with the dialogue, the track offers a fairly robust use of rear surrounds, and an excellent level of clarity in the music and effects. There isn't a great deal of action aside from an early subway scene, but if you listen for the subtle environmental effects throughout the film, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the overall proficiency of the audio experience.
Cast Interviews (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 7:54 min): As the title implies, this extra consists of interviews with Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Radha Mitchell, Robert Forster and other members of the film crew. Everyone interviewed discusses the themes in the film, and the characters they portray. Personally, I found this featurette to be a waste of time, but you may feel differently.
Behind the Scenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 16:21 min): This featurette follows the crew through the filming of several scenes and shows director Mimi Leder giving instructions to the main actors. Aspiring filmmakers will probably delight in the opportunity to watch the camera crew at work, but most others won't likely have enough interest to sit through the entire supplement.
Rounding out the special features, we have four standard definition trailers for other films from First Look Studios.
If you enjoy heist films with some interesting twists strewn throughout, The Code may be worth consideration as an addition to your collection. The acting is good and the production values are reasonable, but I was a little disappointed in the amateurish oversights of the plot. The big payoff in a film like this should be the heist, but I was left feeling extremely let-down with the plan and execution of the big score, which is completely forgettable next to other films of the genre. I doubt I'll choose to watch The Code again, so I'd recommend you opt for a rental prior to considering a purchase of the film.
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