Samuel Le Bihan (he of Brotherhood Of The Wolf fame) plays Dris, a Muslim living in France who recently been released from prison after doing some hard time for his criminal past. He's living the straight life now, trying to settle down with his pretty wife Lise (Marie Guillard) and thinking of starting a family.

When Dris' younger brother, Mel (David Saracino), and his friend Jose start working for an opposing gang lead by a snake in the grass named Feche, things get more complicated and Dris realizes he can't get out even if he wants to – at least not until he takes care of some business first.

The Code had potential. It's a stylish looking film with a nice gritty feel to it but ultimately gets more wrong than it gets right. Slick visuals and an interesting soundtrack aren't enough to compensate for inconsistencies in characterization and an inconclusive ending.

Probably the films biggest flaw is the lack of any sympathetic characters (save for Lise, the wife, who isn't given much to do in the film other than stand around helplessly). The film wants us to feel for Dris and while that would have made the film a more interesting character study, ultimately if you think about what's happening, you shouldn't have any sympathy for him at all. And I didn't. He deserved everything that happened to him and then some. Ultimately, he is responsible for what happens to his friends and family in the film.

Le Bihan is pretty good in the lead role despite the shortcomings of the script and the one major action set piece towards the end of the film is really nicely done with some great moments punctuated by some harsh violence and some interesting camera angles accentuating those scenes. But in the end, that's not enough to save it.

The Code gets a 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that, while not perfect, is at least decent. Some of the colors look a little muddy and the blacks are a little smeared looking in a few spots but for the most part it's not a bad looking disc. There's not much in the way of print damage worth noting save for a tiny speck here and there and the level of detail on the print is quite high.

You've got your choice of watching the film in its original French language via a slick sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 track, or checking it out in an English dubbed version in a not quite as slick but still decent Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Optional subtitles are included for the French version, and this is the way to see the movie. The dubbing on the English track isn't very natural sounding. Overall, this is a pretty solid effort. The shoot out towards the end of the film sounds terrific with plenty of bullets whizzing around from speaker to speaker. LFE is handled well and there aren't really any problems at all with this well constructed mix.

Columbia has supplied the film's original theatrical trailer as well as trailers for three other (unrelated) films. There are also three trailers that you are forced to watch at the beginning of the DVD before you get to the menu, but I don't consider these so much an extra feature as I do a hindrance.

While the movie looks and sounds ok, there aren't any substantial extra features and the film itself is overly long and not particularly good. The shoot out scene at the end is handled nicely but it's not enough to make the movie worth recommending. When it comes down to it, I'd say skip The Code.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.