[Movie Review] Chappie (2015)

Posted on March 6, 2015 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Director: Niell Blomkamp

Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

Runtime: 120 min

Main Cast:

Sharlto Copley as Chappie
Dev Patel as Deon Wilson
Hugh Jackman as Vincent Moore
Sigourney Weaver as Michelle Bradley

Guest Review: by Erika T

Well, unlike several people I still enjoyed Neill Blomkamp's Elysium quite a bit. It wasn't at the level of District 9 for me, but it was still engaging. I know some were concerned that he was beginning to fall into a rut as a writer and director. Chappie would have proved it. As a Short Circuit and Robocop fan, I didn’t mind taking the plunge to see for myself.

Robot police forces in South Africa are on the front lines to protect and serve, patrolling the town and discovering criminal activity. A particular robot becomes a casualty in a shoot out. And as a young engineer discovers the potential, he provides a programming code that will turn the robot sentient. The robot, affectionately named “Chappie (played by Sharlto Copley),” figures out human behavior leaving law enforcement become wary, seeing him as dangerous and wanting to make sure nothing like this exists in the future.

What I Liked:

Chappie as a character is endearing, funny, and innocent. I thought he did well to humanize the inhumane characters around him. His design was a good choice to emulate human movement allowing us to connect to the character better.

I like that Blompkamp appears to enjoy working with Sharlto Copley as he’s made sure to include him in every one of his films thus far. He’s a really good actor that we don’t see enough of these days.

What I Didn’t Like:

Blomkamps need to highlight the risks and results of poverty are duly noted, but it came off as a contrived after using Johannesburg once again. I half expected this to be a legit sequel to District 9. While I do still want to see one made, films like these concern me that he’s ran out of ideas to make it good enough.

I tend to like Hugh Jackman’s characters when he plays as someone likable. Unfortunately that was not the case here. I also found his character a bit uneven. I understand that sympathetic villains are common, but I wasn’t sure as to how I was supposed to feel about him and if is he was onto something for a greater purpose.

The weird existential turn it takes toward the end lacked impact and proper built up. That angle should have been explored well throughout the film. In the end it made the moment feel a bit cheap.

I teased about this being an R-Rated Short Circuit! In reality the action was fun, though I will admit the R-rating left me expecting more. It didn’t feel like and R-rating for me until the end when it became a lot more graphic. Maybe it’s the language I missed that did it? Either way it comes off as a missed opportunity. An R-rated Short Circuit would be really cool. But I guess we’ll see that the day Power Rangers get an R-rated film. Oh wait!! ~_^

Summary

This one would have gotten one extra star if he said “Johnny 5 is alive.” While not bad, I think I would have preferred he did a Short Circuit reboot instead. He is tapped to direct the latest Alien film so it definitely wouldn’t have been below him to do it. Chappie is certainly watchable, but it still can’t tough the brilliance of District 9.

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