Code 8 (3 Stars)

This is the second film in the Stuttgart White Nights Festival.

In the near future super powers have become commonplace. People can do things like generate electricity, float or heal. The general public is opposed to the "powered people", as they call them, so they aren't allowed to work. What sort of a stupid idea is that? Don't they realise that this will make the powered people turn to crime?

An additional subplot is that the spinal fluid of powered people can be used to create a highly addictive drug called Psyke. Powered people can make money by donating the fluid voluntarily, but weaker powered people are kidnapped and used against their will.

The film follows Connor Reed, a man who can generate electric currents. He wants to lead an honest life, but he needs money to pay for his mother's medical bills.

The film is exciting and visually appealing, but it's too superficial, compared to recent super-hero films and television series. There are too many people running around with too many powers, and it's not possible to get to know them well enough to empathise with them.