Sound the alarm! Code 3 is worth paying attention to.
Directed by Christopher Leone, Code 3 tells the story of Randy (Rainn Wilson), a veteran paramedic who has been broken by the stresses of his job. Working with his best friend, Mike (Lil Rel Howery), Randy forces himself to resign after his next 24-hour shift. However, as he trains his replacement, Jessica (Aimee Carrero), they find themselves locked into another shift fueled by tough patients and even tougher choices.
But Code 3 works at a level that fully surprises. Backed by strong performances, Code 3 is dryly funny in some moments and compellingly dramatic in others. Despite the weight of its comedic talent, Code 3 rarely uses them for goof-offs and brash laughs. And that’s for the better. In doing so, Leone allows his cast to challenge themselves and create something new.
As a result, Wilson, Carrero and Howery accept the challenge. All the key cast members deliver genuinely memorable performances. They’re gritty but genuine; broken but intentional. And, for Wilson especially, Code 3 marks his best work since The Office closed its doors. Stepping into the uniform as Randy, Wilson has a furious rage within him that feels earned. Having worked the beat for some time, he has seen the system at its worst, leaving him bitter and angry. And Leone allows him the freedom to unleash upon the audience with ferocity, breaking the fourth wall with fire and brimstone.
Yet, at the same time, Wilson ensures we feel the character’s compassionate heart. Despite being beaten down by the politically-driven agenda of health care and callous co-workers, Randy never forgets that he’s not the one that’s suffering.
It’s the average people around him that do.
Each call reveals that the challenges of their patients as the highest priority of this team. Randy barks orders in ways that others can’t stand but it’s because he knows what it takes to get things done. Their prospective patients are handled with care, with their needs in the forefront of Randy and Mike’s mind. (In fact, one moment that features a stand-off between a mentally-ill gentleman and the police results in the most compelling and powerful performance of Howery’s career.) In essence, Randy and Mike understand the world around them and the ways that people truly need care. And it makes them better at their jobs.
If only other people would notice.
You see, Code 3 also highlights the ways that EMT’s are consistently taken for granted. Caught between the scene of the accident and the hospital, the viewer becomes acquainted with the red tape that they can be caught up within. (For example, Mike notes that ‘nobody dies in our ambulance’ but only out of legal reasons.) As a result of the position that they find themselves in, they are treated with disdain (and borderline contempt) but the system and doctors who view themselves as the real heroes.
But Leone’s script wants to give Randy, Mike and the other EMTs their long-overdue flowers. Without giving any spoilers, Code 3 works hard to ensure that the team is held up in the highest regard. They may be paid poorly and treated worse but they are shown to be people of sacrifice and integrity. Although they go relatively unnoticed by the larger community, they still give everything they have to keep people safe.
And, frankly, it’s that tension that makes Code 3 work so well. This isn’t an overly sentimental story that pulls its punches. Instead, Leone takes us into the trenches in a world of unsung heroes. And it still shows them at their most human. Randy, Mike and Jessica are far from perfect. But they show up for work and do what they need to when called upon, even when those around them treat them with disrespect.
In the end, when the opportunity arises, accept the call of Code 3. Christopher Leone has delivered a film that will slide under many people’s radars but, maybe that’s appropriate. After all, these characters have been fighting for well-deserved respect for a long time. It makes sense that the film itself might have to do the same.
Code 3 is available on VOD/Digital on Friday, December 19th, 2025.
