Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Code Blu-ray Movie Review

I'm still trying to figure out what the title even refers to...

Reviewed by Dustin Somner June 28, 2009

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.

Keith Ripley (Morgan Freeman) is a highly skilled thief who’s been pursued by the New York City Police Department for years. In need of a new partner, Ripley tails a notorious thief named Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas), and offers him the opportunity to join him in stealing two Faberge eggs worth nearly 40 million dollars. Gabriel agrees and the two men begin to develop a foolproof plan to break into the highly protected vault of a Russian jeweller. Along the way, Gabriel falls in love with Ripley’s stepdaughter (the beautiful Radha Mitchell) and learns of Ripley’s involvement with a Russian mobster named Nicky (Rade Serbedzija). Ripley has been entrusted with the dept of his deceased former partner, and owes his share of the egg heist to Nicky, who claims the eggs belong to his family. As the plot thickens, Ripley’s stepdaughter Alex is kidnapped by Nicky and held as collateral to ensure both thieves follow through on the job at hand. Now it’s up to Ripley and Martin to pull off the heist, rescue Alex, and avoid the watchful eye of the NYPD.

The plot of The Code is significantly more complicated than I let onto in the above synopsis. There are multiple turns along the way, with some truly inventive twists that will keep you guessing all the way up to the closing minutes of the film. In that regard, I’d consider the film a success. Unfortunately, there are also some profound leaps of faith, and one too many contrived elements in the plot. First off, if Martin is supposed to be a well known thief with a knack for pulling off heists, why would he rob a man at gunpoint in the middle of a crowded subway train, with no real plan for escape. From that point forward, I looked at Martin as a petty thief, which ruins his credibility later in the film when he’s portrayed as a brilliant mastermind. Additionally, it seemed preposterous that the two men would show up at a NYPD function where they’re surrounded by officers that have been hot on Ripley’s trail for years. When the eggs are eventually stolen, don’t you think they’d immediately draw the conclusion that it was Ripley. Regarding the eventual execution of the heist itself, I was fairly disappointed in the juvenile portrayal of the security system. How many times do we need to see a thief feed a static camera shot into the security station in an attempt to “fool” the security guards. If this was such an elaborate system, wouldn’t they have sensors that would indicate when the vault door is opened, or when a passcode is used to gain entry to a hallway leading into the vault. Lastly, the scene where Martin uses a car dolly to scoot past an infrared laser system is pure comedy. We’ve already seen that done in countless other movies, so why is it necessary to stick with the conventional route rather than showing some ingenuity.

The acting in the film is uniformly excellent, but I’m not sure I would have chosen Banderas for the role of Martin. He does a decent job molding himself into the character and making it his own, but the chemistry between Banderas and Freeman seemed a little forced. In order to sell the movie, the viewer needs to believe a bond has formed between the two men, but that connection is never developed and I felt that was more a result of Banderas than Freeman. I’ve always been a big fan of Morgan Freeman and his ability to bring a certain weight to any production he’s in, which once again proved to be true with The Code. Freeman brings a gentle intensity to the character of Ripley, giving a performance that elevates the film marginally higher than it deserves. Moving on to the supporting cast, Radha Mitchell heats things up as Martin’s love interest and turns in an effective performance as the sweet, damaged stepdaughter of Ripley. Robert Forster plays a no-nonsense cop with a longstanding vendetta against Ripley, and Rade Serbedzija is coming dangerously close to being universally typecast as your run-of-the-mill Russian mob boss (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Given the pedigree of the entire cast, it’s a little disappointing they weren’t given better material in the script. Quality acting can only go so far when you’re dealing with mediocre material and The Code is a perfect example.

The Code Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Code Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

The Code Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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.

The Code Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.