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If Morgan Freeman is in a movie, I don’t care if it’s a hit or a box office flop; I’m watching it. He’s simply one of my favorite actors, if not my most favorite—even if he’s playing a bad guy or a thief.
In The Code, renowned art thief Keith Ripley (Freeman) shadows Gabriel (Antonio Banderas) as he pulls a small-time jewelry heist on a subway train. Later, Ripley approaches Gabriel with a proposition: help him rob Romanov’s, one of the most heavily guarded jewelry wholesale stores in New York. But Ripley doesn’t really want to steal diamonds; he wants to steal two Faberge eggs, worth forty million each.
Once Gabriel discovers just how difficult it might be to get to the eggs, he’s ready to drop the whole thing, but Ripley is persuasive, and Gabriel soon finds himself helping plan a job that could end in disaster. After all, the NYPD and the FBI are on their backs, and a vicious Russian KGB crime boss is willing to do anything to get his hands on the two priceless eggs. He even goes so far as to kidnap Ripley’s goddaughter, Alex (Radha Mitchell), threatening to kill her if Ripley and Gabriel don’t come through.
At first, I thought that The Code was just going to be a mediocre crime movie—like a few I’ve seen recently—but, deeper into the story, things aren’t exactly as they seem. Little plot twists and astonishing developments kept me glued to the movie—and I wanted to see how Ripley and Gabriel planned to get inside the vault where the Faberge eggs are kept. I love to see how the impossible becomes possible, and The Code delivers in a smart and clever way.
I’m not a great Antonio Banderas fan, but his attempt at playing a wisecracking thief actually made me laugh a time or two. As for Morgan Freeman…well, I consider him one of the most likable thieves in movie history, and his role in The Code proves it two-fold—but I can’t tell you why without giving away the ending. I guess you’ll just have to watch it to see what I mean.
With its hold-your-breath-wipe-the-sweat-off-your-brow scenes, The Code is definitely a suspenseful, mind-busting movie that you don’t want to miss. The climax will startle a laugh of delight and surprise from you, and that alone is worth two hours of your time.
