Code 8 feels like X-Men, but with a much smaller budget and without any big-name actors – and that’s the best thing about it. The film struggles more when it tries to imitate Marvel’s mutants than when it goes its own way. Code 8 is set in a world where four percent of people are born with supernatural abilities, yet instead of being celebrated, they face prejudice, poverty, and often resort to crime. As far as I can tell, the movie functions as an allegory for undocumented immigrants in the US – the image of laborers waiting for work is familiar from other, better films (like El Norte). There’s also a drug called Psyke that's made from the spinal fluid of people with powers; it’s literally created by and used by them. Code 8 handles well the idea that some immigrants are forced to smuggle drugs while others use alcohol or other substances to deal with depression and anxiety. The problem is, the movie doesn't seem to grasp that undocumented immigrants do these things because they lack power. If people crossing into the United States illegally had abilities like those in Code 8, Los Angeles would have been returned to Mexico a long time ago. Connor and his peers who also possess these abilities are oppressed, but it seems like they want to be; what kind of prison could hold them? I’d guess that just four people with powers could easily force the President to “kneel to Zod” within a week. We know where undocumented immigrants come from: places where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are essentially impossible (otherwise they wouldn't leave). However, explaining the origin of the characters’ abilities in Code 8 isn't so straightforward. Like those of the X-Men, these powers are unexplained – and unexplainable – and include standard superhero abilities like controlling electricity or having superhuman strength, as well as what amounts to magic (telepathy, telekinesis), and finally, as Jules Winnfield would say, “miracles according to Hoyle” (healing people). It’s hard to believe that one of the main villains' henchmen is bulletproof. How does someone even become bulletproof? Code 8 has some really creative ideas (my favorite part is the Guardians, robot police officers who drop from drones), but it shows absolutely no interest in its own characters. Where do their abilities come from? How do they function? And why aren't they using them more broadly? These are questions that Code 8 doesn’t answer because it never even considers them.

Source on TMDB