The Code
(2009/aka Thick As Thieves/First
Look Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture: B-/C+
Sound: B- Extras: C-/D Film: C-
Mimi Leder was once poised to be the next big director, an
able-bodied helmer whose Peacemaker
was the first film DreamWorks ever issued and Deep Impact was one of the biggest hits of in their early
days. The later Sentimental Journey and especially goofy Pay It Forward were big mistakes.
Now, she tries a thriller again and The
Code (2009/aka Thick As Thieves)
manages to pair Morgan Freeman with Antonio Banderas and thanks to a wacky
screenplay by Ted Humphrey is a mess.
They both play thieves, with Freeman the old pro who takes
his time and Banderas the instant gratification kind who is lucky he is still
in one piece. Most of the 103 minutes
becomes chases and gun fights, then it is suddenly a heist film where the two
(surprise?) team up to crack a high-tech security operation to score two
expensive Faberge Imperial Eggs (like the one in the James Bond film Octopussy, a comic Bond romp that
suddenly looks like The French
Connection as compared to this) and you could care less as you watch.
I never like seeing freeman wasted, while Banderas repeats
himself again as I was actually reminded of a film I had hoped to forget, his Assassins flick with Sylvester
Stallone. Radha Mitchell (Phone Booth) shows up as “the girl” and
when she is nude, too much of her is hidden, though she should have had more of
a role, Robert Forster plays the good cop and Rade Serbedzija (Eyes Wide Shut) hams it up as another
“dirty suspicious guy” and the clichés just keep on coming.
The KGB is involved, yet that organization has not existed
since the early 1990s, so someone needs to check their history and you will see
(if you have two hours and a few bucks to waste) why this landed up skipping
movie houses.
The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot
in Super 35mm film and is grainier and noisier than it should be for a Blu-ray,
while the anamorphically enhanced DVD is even softer and lousier. A Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is the only audio
option on both releases, which has some surround activity, but is nothing
special and has some of the silliest music we have heard in a while.
Extras are even goofy, with the DVD only having previews
for other First Look releases, while the Blu-ray has a making-of featurette.
- Nicholas Sheffo
