The Code

Released: 2009

Reviewed: 2009
Star rating: 4 out of 5

Morgan Freeman (Ripley), Antonio Banderas (Gabriel), Radha Mitchell (Alexandra), Robert Forster (Weber), Rade Serbedzija (Nicky/Victor).

Master thief Ripley needs to pull one more big heist to pay off his Russian mob debtors and recruits Gabriel, a younger and very talented thief himself. With Weber, a cop who has been trying to catch Ripley for years, hot on their trail and the Russian’s holding Ripley’s goddaughter Alexandra hostage they will try to steal two almost priceless Faberge eggs.

This one kicked off with a bang right from the start when Ripley observes Gabriel robbing a courier on a transit train. From there things slow down for a while as the necessary character development takes place. Then things start moving again with some decent action along with several twists thrown in just to keep things off-balance. Things finally end nicely with a double twist ending that was very enjoyable.

I thought Freeman did a great job in his role as Ripley, bringing energy and emotion throughout. Banderas did a good job as well and seemed to have decent chemistry with both Freeman and Mitchell. Forster did nicely as usual as did Serbedzija. Mitchell was okay but just didn’t come across as genuine or emotionally invested in a lot of scenes.

Camera work was nice while sets and backgrounds were very well done indicating a flick with a decent budget. Sound, dialogue and effects/stunts were all well done as was the soundtrack.

Overall this felt like a quality film with quality actors and a nicely done plot. Nothing super exciting or even that original but, it was well done. Foul language, some nudity, and a sex scene or two so save this for older teens and above. Put this about the middle of your Must See queue if you enjoy a good thriller or heist flick.