Netflix's new no.1 movie sequel has fans divided – but it won't be top spot for long

Code 8 Part 2 is the Netflix sequel to the 2019 original, and its Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews are contrasting

Code 8 Part II screengrab
(Image credit: Netflix)
Mike Lowe
By Mike Lowe
published

Welcome to March, a month in which superpower-themed movies and series are all the rage. We've got Extraordinary returning this week for a series sequel (one of Disney+'s forthcoming must-watch shows), while the new Netflix no.1 movie is a superpower-themed sequel – although I don't expect it'll stay on the top spot for very long – that has fans divided.

Code 8: Part II is, as the title makes more than clear, the second part in the Code 8 movie double whammy, and it's quickly risen to the top spot since exclusively becoming available on Netflix since 28 February. The Rotten Tomatoes score isn't too pretty, with just 67% from critics – but fans typically jump between awarding  1-star and 5-stars in their assessment on the same site (giving it a current 72% average).

Thing is, irrelevant of the movie's divided fanbase, Adam Sandler's new Chernobyl-directed movie, Spaceman, launched on 1 March and that's a shoo-in for the Netflix heavyweight title (despite its clear lack of superpower depiction... unless psychosis counts?). I think that will rise the ranks over this weekend – especially as its peculiar Paul Dano-voiced spider character piques viewers' interest.

Code 8: Part II, meanwhile, doesn't yet seem to have lived up to the original movie's more settled score – which landed a respectable 81% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes – although, again, fans were equally if not more so divided about the 2019 original. It seems like one of those movie series where you're either going to love it or leave it. 

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Code 8 Part II screengrab
(Image credit: Netflix)

As I mentioned up top, there's also plenty of choice right now: the top movies on Netflix for March 2024 deliver a whole variety of quality (well, arguably, it'll as ever depend on your taste ), although personally I'm more enticed by forthcoming series – with The Gentlemen, in particular, looking like a highlight of the month. All goes to show why Netflix continues to be one of the best streaming services going.

So what will you be watching? Will it be a Code 8 and Code 8: Part II back-to-back (both are currently in the Netflix Top 10 movies)? Will you be creeping out over Spaceman instead? Or will be you switching your best TV over to PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X for a nice gaming session over this rainy weekend? The options seem limitless...

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Mike Lowe
Mike Lowe
Tech Editor

Mike is the Tech Editor and AV Editor at T3.com. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 and, as a phones expert, has seen hundreds of handsets over the years – swathes of Android devices, a smattering of iPhones, and a batch of Windows Phone products (remember those?). But that's not all, as a tech aficionado his beat for T3 also covers tablets, laptops, gaming, home cinema, TVs, speakers and more – there's barely a stone unturned that he's not had a hand on. Previously the Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for a 10 years, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more. In addition to his tech knowledge, Mike is also a flights and travel expert, having travelled the globe extensively. You'll likely find him setting up a new mobile phone, critiquing the next MacBook, all while planning his next getaway... or cycling somewhere.

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