Review: 'Chappie' (2015)

Sony Pictures India

PLOT: In a futuristic South Africa patrolled by police robots, one defective model is given human emotions by his creator (Dev Patel). Now known as Chappie (Sharlto Copley) the robot falls into the hands of a group of thugs who want to use him to help them pull off a violent heist, while the deranged engineer (Hugh Jackman) of a rival robot wants to use this outlaw model as a way to make his own machine king of the streets.

REVIEW: Before I begin, let me tell you how much I love Neill Blomkamp. I love Blomkamp a lot. He is one of the most creative minds working in Hollywood today. District 9 is one of my all time favorite films, and Elysium was in my opinion another piece of incredible work by a very talented man.

"I think, therefore I am Chappie." Third times the charm. South African sci-fi director Neill Blomkamp is back with his third feature, titled Chappie, While he is certainly adept at building one-of-a-kind science fiction worlds, and crazy characters to inhabit them, the stories in each of his three movies have been completely different and often times, unfortunately, the weakest link. Chappie, while on one hand a violent R-rated action film, sorta seems like RoboCop-for-kids designed for teens to go crazy over whenever they finally somehow see it. It's a lot more fun, totally wild at times, occasionally absurd, and much more charming than I was expecting. And I mean that in a good way.

I had high hopes for Chappie but those all came crashing down 30 minutes into the film. As you may know, Blomkamp cast the rap duo Die Antwoord for the film because he is a huge fan. This was mistake number one. Just because you're a huge fan of a musician and have the ability to make a film doesn't mean you should cast them in it. They overacted on such an insane level it made what should have been heartfelt or serious scenes incredibly campy and laughable. On top of that, the plot is set into motion by a plan the duo cook up that would have failed in any other reality. 

Sharlto Copley gives an amazing "poor man's motion capture" performance as Chappie but is undermined by his two obnoxious costars. There is a weird amorality that is present throughout the film, which makes it incredibly hard to root for anybody, and I never found myself rooting for Chappie as much as I felt bad for him, as Die Antwoord basically take advantage of him throughout the entire film. This amorality is so prevalent that I found myself rooting against the two main characters. I just wanted them off screen! 

Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, and Dev Patel are all very underutilized in the film, which was really sad. Jackman has an intensity as a villain that goes unmatched in the film, but he's only given a handful of scenes to express it. Weaver has about three scenes as the executive of the robotics company, and she doesn't have all that much to do. Patel plays Chappie's creator, but he and Chappie barely interact. He is given a background role as Die Antwoord remain in the spotlight unnecessarily. I'm a fan of some of their music, but I certainly hope this is not the start of their film career. 

The movie was marketed wrong in my opinion, as the tagline "Humanity's Last Hope isn't Human" is a misrepresentation of the scope of the film. Humanity is never on the brink of annihilation, nor is there some world-changing conflict. Most of the world doesn't even know of Chappie's existence. 

The aesthetic of the film is very much in line with Blomkamp's previous two films, and I really did enjoy the visuals of the film, as well as the score by Hans Zimmer, but the plot doesn't move forward for most of the movie, and the action scenes are few and far between. I hope this is just a bump in the road for Blomkamp. I am still psyched to see what he does with the Alien franchise, but until then I'm left with Chappie, and that doesn't feel too great. And perhaps, like me, you'll discover just how lovable Chappie (even child-like) is. There's lessons to be learned, social ideas to discuss, and work to be admired in Chappie. It's not perfect, not much ever is, but it's a strong step forward for Neill Blomkamp.