Chappie (2015)

Artificial intelligent premise has been done so many times, the recent Transcendence and Automata come to mind. Most of them fail to utilize this classic futuristic formula. Now a lot of hope rests on Neill Blomkamp's shoulders to put unique twist, and although Chappie has some decent visual effects, it is excruciatingly bland, juvenile and overly quirky to establish any sort of emotional connection. It worked slick as hell in District 9, failed a bit flat in Elysium. But in Chappie, there really is no end to the logical flaws, extremely underdeveloped characters, rushed, fairytale of an excuse of a storyline to push events in the movie forward etc.

Let me start off by saying i'm a huge fan of Blomkamp. In my opinion, District 9 is one of the best films of the last decade, and I'll forever love him for that fine work of metaphorical beauty. Chappie on the other hand tries to deliver the same experience but with the director and writers' hands tied behind their back as they try to flesh this out.



Chappie is a funny, entertaining, and surprisingly sentimental movie about a sentient robot being raised by gangsters in Johannesburg. Most of the criticisms I've seen about one- dimensional characters and illogical character choices are valid, but Chappie's character, the CGI, the humor, and the overall aesthetic of the movie more than make up for these shortcomings.

 The movie is more intriguing when it keeps things smaller and slow, putting aside those bombastic battles and political conflict. The acting is alright. Sharlto Copley is in motion capture as Chappie and he brings a palpable full of energy, he decently captures the robot's growth in his environment, he may not be given a full character, but the performance keeps the character shine anyway. Dev Patel obviously does well as the film's serious heart of this weird world. Ninja and Yolandi plays the fictional version of themselves, which feels pretty self-indulgent, but does fine to the picture anyway, in spite of still wearing the merch of their Die Antwoord and the movie they are in.

Casting Hugh Jackman in an antagonist role might seem like a fresh idea, but his part quickly devolves into an entirely predictable template. His character does everything audiences expect, based on the commonplace behaviors of countless movie villains – the types thrown in simply to add extra adversity.

7.4/10·IMDb
30%·Rotten Tomatoes
41% - Metacritics
6.5/10 - Verdict