After a… wacky intro, we come to the real meat of the review. Directed by Jeff Chan, Code 8: Part II is a Canadian science fiction film that continues the story of its first installment featuring Robbie Amell and Kyra Zagorsky, which was released in 2019, and revolves around the character of Reid, a man with supernatural powers residing in a dystopian future. Reid, having been ostracized due to his powers and considered a ‘criminal’, is forced to negotiate with a ‘straight edge’ criminal (Amell) to complete a difficult job.
Nonetheless, Chan goes on to tell a secondary story in which the quest for revenge is pursued by a girl whose brother was killed by a cohort of corrupt policemen. Following this girl, the police sergeant comes across several characters who are highly esteemed and hard to reach, those people allow us to better understand the girl, how she interacts with Reid, along with various aspects of this dystopian world. Chan himself defines the main ideas of Code 8 in this way: it enhanced sense of anti-immigrant sentiments, and also depicted the world stretched by its hatred, the world where different people are forcefully separated from each other.
A tableau of characters also consists of Stephen Amell, Gulamgaus Mermaid, Altair Vincent, Alex Mallari Jr., Sofie Hawthorne, Aaron Abrams, Nneka Elliot, Jean Yoon, Sarena Parmar, Darrin Maharaj, and Kari Matchett. Jesse LaVercombe, Chris Murray, Brian atbay, and Chan worked closely on the project and co-wrote the screenplay.
Code 8: Forsaken (Part II) happens to have been well-received by critics in relation to the reviews. As per the report on ‘Heaven of Horror,’ it is a powerful sequel that feels more complete than the first one. On their part, ScreenRant noted that the sequel “improves on what was good about the first film, thus delivering an exciting follow-up instead.”
According to Ready Steady Cut, it is “A sight to behold with excitement-drenched visual effects, a good amount of suspense as well as energy-packed stunts – a great sequel which is worth the hype.” Similar thoughts were expressed by JoBlo when he said: “This one has a sequel because the plot makes more sense, the special effects are way better this time and they developed the characters further which builds up the main idea of the previous movie even more and gives more room for an action.”