''Code of Honor'' is a 2016 American

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written, produced, edited, and directed by Michael Winnick. The film stars

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th- dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

and

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film '' A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed'', Joe Kane in the film '' The ...

and was released to

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

on May 6, 2016.

Plot

Colonel Robert Sikes is a stealthy, one-man assault team who takes on a city's

street gangs A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...

and politicians until his mission is complete. His former protégé, William Porter, teams up with the local police department to bring his former commander to justice and prevent him from further

vigilantism Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

Cast

Production

Writer-director Michael Winnik said he wanted to make "''

First Blood ''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mento ...

'' meets '' Death Wish''." Seagal liked the script and an earlier film of Winnik's, ''

Guns, Girls And Gambling ''Guns, Girls and Gambling'' is a 2012 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Michael Winnick. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Megan Park, Helena Mattsson, Tony Cox, Chris Kattan ...

'' and agreed to make the film. The film was shot in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

in March 2015 on a budget of $8 million. The shooting schedule was 20 days. Winnik said of Seagal, "he's definitely the real deal... he really knows his guns, his Aikido, his martial arts, his fighting skills. You know, he's teaching you weapons, he's teaching you moves. He’s been around a long time, but his arms, his hands, they’re still lightning fast." In the movie, Seagal's character dies. Winnik says the actor was not pleased with this and "if you ask him, he didn't ie He escaped. That said, the implication, the way the film is structured, is that he does. Obviously you can interpret it as you wish, but yes, he does go down. And that’s kind of what he’s been saying throughout the film. 'Would you give your life to save the world if no one knew you did it?' is the question he keeps posing. He's completed his mission and he's even made the other character take the fall for it."

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics. In a review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', Robert Abele called it "dreadful" and "laughably awful".

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

wrote in ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' that the film includes almost every B-action cliché, and stated that "the latest effort from the bloated, aging star is... as bland as its title."

References

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, code_of_honor_2016 2016 films 2016 action thriller films 2016 crime drama films American action thriller films American crime drama films Films shot in Salt Lake City 2010s English-language films 2010s American films