5 Years Ago Underrated Sci-Fi Gem Took Netflix by Storm; Its Sequel Just Crashed Top 10

Summary

• On February 28, a movie starring Robbie and Stephen Amell premiered on Netflix.
• We're talking about Code 8: Part II, the sequel to a movie that was one of the most popular on the service in 2019.
• The second installment made its way to the top of Netflix's Top 10, and also brought back the popularity of the original.

What would happen if the superhero genre were stripped of all the elements that make up superheroes as we've known them since Stan Lee's first comic books?

Instead of colorful superhero tights, you get plain work clothes; instead of admiration and awe, you get stigma and contempt; instead of insane capitalist dreams of superhero corporations with their own downtown skyscrapers, you get Neill Blomkamp-esque, high-tech, low-life industrial estates populated by marginalized groups. That would be Code 8, a Canadian sci-fi action film that offers the most dystopian perspective on the possibility of the population developing superhuman abilities.

Just a few days ago, just like the original film, a sequel, Code 8: Part II, was released on Netflix. The movie has an even bigger scope, a bigger budget, more ambition and therefore higher expectations, which, according to critics, were unfortunately not fully met. But that didn't stop the movie from being one of the Top 10 most watched movies on Netflix in many countries and bringing the brilliant original movie back from the brink of unjust oblivion.

A Sequel to a Crowdfunded Film with Robbie and Stephen Amell

In 2016, a short film of the same name was released, executive produced by Robbie and Stephen Amell. The setting is a dystopian future in which 4% of the population has naturally developed superpowers like superstrength, control of fire or electricity, and so on. Except that humanity was not prepared for such a dramatic metamorphosis, and so instead of celebrating people with superpowers, a social stigma has been attached to them: they are now marginalized, have fewer privileges, and live off manual labor.

After crowdfunding nearly $3.4 million for its Indiegogo campaign, the feature-length Code 8 was released in December 2019. This time around, the dystopian superhero sci-fi took on elements of a heist movie: in the story, Robbie Amell's character Connor, in order to have funds to treat his gravely ill mother, conspires with the telekinetic Garrett (Stephen Amell) to pull off a series of heists, including a police-controlled shipment of a popular drug made from the spinal fluid of people with powers.

And now, audiences who came to love the original film in 2019 have seen Code 8: Part II on Netflix five years later, on February 28, 2024. In the sequel, Robbie and Stephen Amell reprise their roles as super-powered con artists. This time, they once again face corrupt (and robotic) law enforcement, and they must help a girl get revenge on the cops for the murder of her brother.

The Immense Popularity of the Sequel and the Sudden Resurgence of the Original

When Code 8 was added to Netflix in April 2020, it immediately became one of the most-watched movies on the service in the US. And now, with the release of Part II, the popularity of the setting has returned once again.

According to What's on Netflix, on February 29, just one day after its premiere, Code 8: Part II took the number one spot in the top 25 most-watched movies worldwide. It also took the number one spot in the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, and ranked second to third in other countries. As of March 1, Part II continues to hold its solid position.

Again, people are revisiting the first film or experiencing it for the first time: Code 8 has been in the top 10 in the US for two days and is also leading in many other countries around the world. All in all, the films co-produced by the Amell brothers are incredibly entertaining sci-fi flicks that Netflix subscribers are loving.