Code 8 Part II (2024)
Movie · 2024 · Science Fiction, Action, Crime · 1h 41m · R · English
Curator score: 1.2/10 (19.1K ratings)
Tagline: Power corrupts.
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 1.2/10
- Letterboxd: 2.64/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
- TMDB: 6.3/10
Director: Jeff Chan
Production: XYZ Films, Collective Pictures
Cast: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Alex Mallari Jr., Sirena Gulamgaus, Aaron Abrams, Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Akiel Julien, Natalie Liconti, Nneka Elliott, Sammy Azero, Jean Yoon, Altair Vincent, Sarena Parmar, Jessica Allen, Jane Moffat, Sunnie McFadden, Noorin Gulamgaus, Mikayla SwamiNathan, Hazel Gorin, Darrin Maharaj
Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict: A modestly improved sequel with stronger effects, a more coherent action engine, and a few fun worldbuilding touches, but it still feels thin, familiar, and emotionally underpowered. If you like low-budget sci-fi crime stories with robot-police imagery and don’t mind a derivative structure, it can pass the time.
Best for: Viewers who enjoy scrappy near-future sci-fi action; Fans of police-state dystopias and superhuman-underclass stories; People who are tolerant of formula if the worldbuilding is interesting; Anyone looking for a serviceable streaming watch rather than a standout genre film
Skip if: You want rich character work or a memorable emotional arc; You’re hoping for big originality in premise or plotting; You dislike grim, low-energy action movies; You need polished blockbuster scale or top-tier visual spectacle
Overview: Code 8 Part II is the kind of sequel that mostly justifies itself by being a little cleaner, a little bigger, and a little more confident than the first film. The robot cops, dog units, and upgraded effects give the world some texture, and the action has enough momentum to keep things moving even when the story feels familiar.
Worth noting: What holds it back is the same thing that limited the original: the emotional stakes are undercooked, the plotting is straightforward, and the film rarely surprises. It has a decent premise about superpowered people living under heavy surveillance, but it doesn’t dig deeply enough into that idea to make the world feel fully alive.
Bottom line: Still, there’s a watchable, workmanlike quality here. The performances are solid, the sibling dynamic helps, and the movie has enough genre competence to satisfy if you’re in the mood for a modest dystopian crime thriller rather than a major sci-fi event.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine: A slight improvement over the original, especially in its visual effects. The robot cops and the new dog gear look pretty cool. Some good use of slow mo too. The score is still a banger, especially in those opening credits. The story is still okay—not very engaging, but good enough to pique my interest. Robbie delivered another solid performance, and the dynamic with his brother Stephen was unsurprisingly great. It's good to see the brothers working together.
All in all,… more
- Kylo: While maybe an improvement over the first, this still wasn’t great. It feel too simple and bare. It’s always nice to see Robbie Amell though. The robot dogs were also pretty cool.
- Rosie✨: Code 8: Part II is a sci-fi action sequel that picks up right where the first film left off, with superpowered individuals still fighting against systemic oppression in a world that fears and exploits them. I remember liking the first movie, but for some reason, I never got around to writing a review—now I can’t figure out why, because this sequel is not good. Part of me wants to go back and see if I misremembered the first one, but… more Code 8: Part II is a sci-fi action sequel that picks up right where the first film left off, with superpowered individuals still fighting against systemic oppression in a world that fears and exploits them. I remember liking the first movie, but for some reason, I never got around to writing a review—now I can’t figure out why, because this sequel is not good. Part of me wants to go back and see if I misremembered the first one, but… more
- joshrowley: Derivative; entertaining; familiar; humorless; simple; well-cast; well-made; well-paced.
- One Godfella 侍: I did write some code in Java once, but that was the island in Indonesia.
RoboCop would have laughed with a K9 robodog.
Recommended similar titles:
- RoboCop (1987 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 42m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (696.7K ratings))
Shares the same corporate-police dystopia, satirical edge, and urban crime-future energy, but with far sharper writing and iconography.
- District 9 (2009 · Science Fiction · 1h 52m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (1.3M ratings))
A strong match for its outsider-under-siege themes, social allegory, and gritty sci-fi worldbuilding.
- Minority Report (2002 · Science Fiction, Action, Thriller · 2h 25m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (1.1M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Starz, Philo, TCM)
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- Looper (2012 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 58m · R · Curator 6.5/10 (1.1M ratings))
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- Dredd (2012 · Action, Science Fiction · 1h 36m · R · Curator 5.2/10 (558.7K ratings))
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- Upgrade (2018 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 40m · R · Curator 6.1/10 (527.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
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- Elysium (2013 · Science Fiction, Action, Drama · 1h 49m · R · Curator 1.9/10 (744.5K ratings))
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- The Creator (2023 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure · 2h 14m · PG-13 · Curator 3.6/10 (657.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
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- I, Robot (2004 · Action, Science Fiction · 1h 55m · PG-13 · Curator 3.0/10 (1M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu)
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- Total Recall (1990 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 1h 53m · R · Curator 6.5/10 (710.7K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential)
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- Blade Runner 2049 (2017 · Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 44m · R · Curator 8.7/10 (2.8M ratings))
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Topics: dystopian sci-fi, action thriller, crime drama, robot police, superpowers, streaming original, near-future, anti-authoritarian, grim tone, low-budget spectacle
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/code-8-part-ii/932420
Code 8 Part II (2024)
Movie · 2024 · Science Fiction, Action, Crime · 1h 41m · R · English
Curator score: 1.2/10 (19.1K ratings)
Power corrupts.
Overview In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.64/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
TMDB: 6.3/10
Production XYZ Films, Collective Pictures
Cast Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Alex Mallari Jr., Sirena Gulamgaus, Aaron Abrams, Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Akiel Julien, Natalie Liconti, Nneka Elliott, Sammy Azero, Jean Yoon, Altair Vincent, Sarena Parmar, Jessica Allen, Jane Moffat, Sunnie McFadden, Noorin Gulamgaus, Mikayla SwamiNathan, Hazel Gorin, Darrin Maharaj
Where to watch Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A modestly improved sequel with stronger effects, a more coherent action engine, and a few fun worldbuilding touches, but it still feels thin, familiar, and emotionally underpowered. If you like low-budget sci-fi crime stories with robot-police imagery and don’t mind a derivative structure, it can pass the time.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy scrappy near-future sci-fi action
Fans of police-state dystopias and superhuman-underclass stories
People who are tolerant of formula if the worldbuilding is interesting
Anyone looking for a serviceable streaming watch rather than a standout genre film
Skip if
You want rich character work or a memorable emotional arc
You’re hoping for big originality in premise or plotting
You dislike grim, low-energy action movies
You need polished blockbuster scale or top-tier visual spectacle
Overview
Code 8 Part II is the kind of sequel that mostly justifies itself by being a little cleaner, a little bigger, and a little more confident than the first film. The robot cops, dog units, and upgraded effects give the world some texture, and the action has enough momentum to keep things moving even when the story feels familiar.
Worth noting
What holds it back is the same thing that limited the original: the emotional stakes are undercooked, the plotting is straightforward, and the film rarely surprises. It has a decent premise about superpowered people living under heavy surveillance, but it doesn’t dig deeply enough into that idea to make the world feel fully alive.
Bottom line
Still, there’s a watchable, workmanlike quality here. The performances are solid, the sibling dynamic helps, and the movie has enough genre competence to satisfy if you’re in the mood for a modest dystopian crime thriller rather than a major sci-fi event.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3★) · 158 likes
A slight improvement over the original, especially in its visual effects. The robot cops and the new dog gear look pretty cool. Some good use of slow mo too. The score is still a banger, especially in those opening credits. The story is still okay—not very engaging, but good enough to pique my interest. Robbie delivered another solid performance, and the dynamic with his brother Stephen was unsurprisingly great. It's good to see the brothers working together.
All in all,… more
Kylo (2.5★) · 144 likes
While maybe an improvement over the first, this still wasn’t great. It feel too simple and bare. It’s always nice to see Robbie Amell though. The robot dogs were also pretty cool.
Rosie✨ (1.5★) · 116 likes
Code 8: Part II is a sci-fi action sequel that picks up right where the first film left off, with superpowered individuals still fighting against systemic oppression in a world that fears and exploits them. I remember liking the first movie, but for some reason, I never got around to writing a review—now I can’t figure out why, because this sequel is not good. Part of me wants to go back and see if I misremembered the first one, but… more Code 8: Part II is a sci-fi action sequel that picks up right where the first film left off, with superpowered individuals still fighting against systemic oppression in a world that fears and exploits them. I remember liking the first movie, but for some reason, I never got around to writing a review—now I can’t figure out why, because this sequel is not good. Part of me wants to go back and see if I misremembered the first one, but… more
joshrowley (3★) · 93 likes
Derivative; entertaining; familiar; humorless; simple; well-cast; well-made; well-paced.
One Godfella 侍 (2.5★) · 85 likes
I did write some code in Java once, but that was the island in Indonesia.
RoboCop would have laughed with a K9 robodog.
Recommended similar titles
1987 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 42m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (696.7K ratings)
Shares the same corporate-police dystopia, satirical edge, and urban crime-future energy, but with far sharper writing and iconography.
2009 · Science Fiction · 1h 52m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (1.3M ratings)
A strong match for its outsider-under-siege themes, social allegory, and gritty sci-fi worldbuilding.
2002 · Science Fiction, Action, Thriller · 2h 25m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (1.1M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Starz, Philo, TCM
For viewers who like surveillance-state futurism, police procedure, and a sleek, oppressive near-future setting.
2012 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 58m · R · Curator 6.5/10 (1.1M ratings)
Combines crime-movie mechanics with sci-fi ideas and a grounded, bruised tone.
2012 · Action, Science Fiction · 1h 36m · R · Curator 5.2/10 (558.7K ratings)
A compact, violent, authoritarian-future action film with a similar sense of urban rot and enforcement gone wrong.
2018 · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction · 1h 40m · R · Curator 6.1/10 (527.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Offers a leaner, more inventive version of high-concept near-future action with stronger momentum and style.
2019 · Action, Science Fiction, Adventure · 2h 2m · PG-13 · Curator 2.8/10 (750.3K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV
Another story about marginalized enhanced people navigating a harsh system, with much bigger visual ambition.
2013 · Science Fiction, Action, Drama · 1h 49m · R · Curator 1.9/10 (744.5K ratings)
Deals with class division, policing, and a broken social order in a sleek sci-fi action framework.
2023 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure · 2h 14m · PG-13 · Curator 3.6/10 (657.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
For audiences drawn to human-vs-machine conflict, future warfare, and sympathetic outsiders in a hostile system.
2004 · Action, Science Fiction · 1h 55m · PG-13 · Curator 3.0/10 (1M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu
A polished robot-policing mystery with a similar interest in enforcement technology and public fear.
1990 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 1h 53m · R · Curator 6.5/10 (710.7K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
A fast-moving, violent sci-fi thriller about identity, oppression, and a corrupt future order.
2017 · Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 44m · R · Curator 8.7/10 (2.8M ratings)
For a more contemplative take on engineered beings, institutional control, and bleak future atmosphere.
Topics
dystopian sci-fi, action thriller, crime drama, robot police, superpowers, streaming original, near-future, anti-authoritarian, grim tone, low-budget spectacle
Open Code 8 Part II (2024) on Curator TV