Netflix Sci-Fi Dystopian Thriller Crosses Cyberpunk With Superheroes

What is Code 8 about, exactly? The basic plot follows the adventures of someone with special abilities who discovers that his superpowers alone can’t help provide the care that his sick mother needs. In order to get plenty of cold, hard cash to pay for her care, he teams up with a group of criminals, hoping that working with the bad guys can ultimately help him do plenty of good.Code 8 comes from the minds of Robbie and Stephen Amell, and their experience playing onscreen superheroes helped make this new tale of tights and flights seem that much more authentic. For CW fans, Stephen Amell is most recognizable for playing Green Arrow, and Robbie played Ronnie Raymond (the superhero Firestorm) in the Arrow spinoffs Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Back in 2016, they released a Code 8 short film in order to generate fan interest and funding for a feature film via an Indiegogo campaign.

Fortunately, their Code 8 short film and subsequent fundraising campaign ended up proving a major hit. The cousins ended up raising a cool $3.4 million, and the fundraising campaign helped them produce DVDs and distribute their final film via physical media. Now, the fact that the movie is streaming on Netflix means you can enjoy their superhero shenanigans with just the click of a button.

Unsurprisingly, Robbie and Stephen Amell are the primary actors in the Code 8 film, and it seems that critics and audiences alike enjoyed what these creative cousins cooked up. On Rotten Tomatoes, Code 8 currently has a critical rating of 81 percent. Critics generally praised the film for its ability to ground its sci-fi conceits in the real world, including characters and themes that will seem bleakly relatable to most of us watching.

Now, it seems that Robbie and Stephen Amell’s faith in this film is continuing to pay off. The first movie proved to be such a major hit that it’s getting a sequel, Code 8: Part II, and the Amell cousins will once more be working under the talented Jeff Chan who directed the first movie. That sequel is coming out on February 28 of this month, and we’re honestly excited to see where this franchise goes next.

If you’d like to get hyped up with us, there is no time like the present to stream Code 8 on Netflix. Once you discover how well this movie combines superheroes and cyborgs to create a captivating tale of a criminal with a heart of gold, you’ll be left wanting more. Fortunately, the sequel drops in just a few weeks, and we’re betting it will be good; if not, though, we’ve all been practicing how to tell the Amells, “You’ve failed this city” in our best Green Arrow growl.