Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas have to break into a seemingly impregnable vault to steal some eggs or someone will die. This thriller would appear to have a top notch cast, but it dumped to home video because the story is entirely predictable.
International art thief Keith Ripley (Morgan Freeman) is riding the subway and low level thief Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas) steals some diamonds. Ripley watches Martin work with interest because he’s formulating his next job and needs a partner, so he approaches Martin and asks him to fill the bill.
Ripley’s next job is to steal some priceless Faberge eggs, which were thought lost, that have resurfaced and are being kept in an impregnable vault in the Russian jewelers Romanov’s. The haul for the job is a cool 40 million, split two ways.
Martin seems reluctant to help Ripley out as it’s revealed that he’s doing the job for some Russian mafia types, but when he gets a look at Ripley’s goddaughter Alexandra (Radha Mitchell) he sticks with him for the job and begins to romance Alexandra.
Lt. Weber (Robert Forster) also sees something he likes on the video of the subway diamond robbery when he spots Ripley in the crowd. Weber has been after Ripley for a long time and now knows that he’s in town for a job and this is his opportunity to put him behind bars once and for all.
When Alexandra is held hostage by the Russian mob with the message of get the eggs or she dies it spurs Martin to get the heist done so that Alexandra can survive.
The Code was originally titled Thick as Thieves, but has been saddled with the new, vaguer title. I suppose it makes some sense since there’s talk of a Russian thieves’ code, but that’s more of a McGuffin. If you’re expecting some “DaVinci Code” type antics involving the Romanoff family you’re up for disappointment (though that might make an interesting film).
The film makes reference to both Rififi (1955) and Topkapi (1964), but it made me want to go back and revisit those better films after viewing this one. It’s not that The Code is terrible - it’s just that it’s so predictable. You just know that there is going to be an attempt at the old trick ending, it’s so obvious its coming.
This isn’t exactly you’re normal direct-to-video film either as we’d expect Wesley Snipes, Jean Claude Van Damme or Steven Segal in roles, but we get higher quality actors like Freeman, Forster (wasted in a bit part though), and Banderas.
The production design is very good as well with the vault being a highlight. The problem though is the predictability. You want to have audiences gasping with surprise as the plot it revealed, not as I thought “well, I saw that one coming.” It’s a decent time killer of a film, but it’s nothing outstanding.
The Code offers a good cast; good production values, but lets us down when it comes to plot and screenplay. The mystery isn’t so mysterious as the plot twists are clearly telegraphed, but it does offer a decent way to kill 90 minutes but you’ll be hungry for a better heist film afterward.
The Code [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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