The Code

Good talent put to waste in a been-there-done-that heist movie
The only reason I picked this movie up [as a rental] was because of Morgan Freeman, an actor I've always respected and admired. The fact that Antonio Banderas plays opposite him also intrigued me, and then there's the beautiful Radha Mitchell. So, the idea of these three together in a movie kind of made it an appealing choice, though I have to say I was disappointed with the results.

The movie is a standard heist film - Antonio Banderas plays Gabriel aka Gaby, an armed bandit who encounters Morgan Freeman's character, Ripley whilst pulling off a robbery on a subway train. Ripley sees potential in the relatively younger Gaby and persuades him to join him in a heist at the famous Romanov's Jewelers. The objects of desire are two prized Faberge eggs whose existence have never been officially acknowledged but which Ripley assures Gaby are very much in existence and priceless [well, about 40 million]. Anyway, as Gaby agrees to be Ripley's sidekick, he finds himself falling for...

HONOR AMONG THIEVES?
Film stars, like everyone else, need to work to pay their bills. Granted their incomes exceed most peoples and their bills match, but they must still work. Thus it is that we find stars featured in films that get smaller releases than most. The odd thing is that while the film may not get a wide release or go straight to DVD, it doesn't mean it isn't as good if not better than big screen fare. Such is the case with THE CODE.

Morgan Freeman stars as Keith Ripley, a professional burglar who has yet to be caught. While working on his next goal he comes across a young upstart named Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas) and recruits him. Ripley has a huge heist planned, the culmination of his long heralded career but he needs a partner.

As the story unfolds we also meet Alexandra (Radha Mitchell), the daughter of Ripley's late best friend. Alexandra has caught the eye of Gabriel, much to the chagrin of Ripley. Feeling a debt of protecting his old friend's daughter, he...

Worth a watch, a decent Blu
There are three popular leads in this that could make it a must-see, but in the end the chemistry only hits the mark with Radha Mitchell. We have a standard heist film with plenty of plot twists (five in the last ten minutes) and suspenseful moments being supplied by Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas. Radha plays the goddaughter of Morgan's world famous thief, Banderas plays the sidekick who falls for her.

Plenty of homages here, even down to the dance scene from Basic Instinct. They put the same shirt on Banderas as Douglas, and a sexier more revealing dress on Mitchell - both grinding to some rave music. A very similar scene from Entrapment but Banderas instead of Zeta-Jones, and the list continues. There are also some mad Russians, ego-driven Federal officers, and rebellious NYPD hot shots filling the supporting ranks. What makes this watchable is wondering where the twists might come in and seeing if they can pull off the impossible heist.

The Blu clarity...

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