Chappie Movie Review

Original Article on CultNoise: http://www.cultnoise.com/film-review-chappie/

Neil Blomkamp is quite the rising star in science fiction; after making the brilliant District 9, the director has gained a solid cult following. His newest film however is quite the misfire, dragging him away from the heights of the best science fiction visionaries in the film industry.

Set once again in Johannesburg, Chappie is the tale of Deon Wilson (Dev Patel), a young inventor who creates the first artificial consciousness. He plants it inside a broken down police robot and after a few run-ins with local gangs, aims to teach the childlike Chappie (Sharlto Copley) the difference between right and wrong. Despite taking place in a similar universe to District 9, Chappie is barely recognisable as something to be associated with the sleeper hit that came before; gone are the thought-provoking themes and creative scenarios that defined Blomkamp’s debut. In their place is a poorly devised mix of painfully annoying learning scenes juxtaposed against a scant few action scenes ripped straight from Blomkamp’s previous efforts. While the scenes with Chappie and the gangsters are irritating, the action sequences don’t have an original bone in their body. The mech sequence towards the end of the film is especially guilty of this, borrowing liberally from Robocop. I can see how the film was trying to make the audience care for Chappie and his innocence, but with such one-note dialogue and excessive clichés you’ll have a hard time caring throughout the film.

Characters were kept strong but simple in Blomkamp’s other films so surely we can expect that trend to continue in District 9? Rather than progress forward with characterisation, Chappie instead devolves its cast into one of two categories; paper-thin or frustratingly clichéd. Patel really isn’t very interesting as Deon Wilson as the film never bothers to examine the ethics of artificial intelligence in any real way. The relationship between him and Chappie isn’t very good either, failing to create a proper bond between the two. I can sum up the antagonists of Chappie in three simple words; “They want money”, there’s simply no blunter way of putting it. Underdeveloped villains were already a minor issue in District 9, but here it’s even worse; I’ve never seen gangster characters as clichéd as those played by rapping duo Die Antwoord in Chappie. Hugh Jackman is similarly miscast as Deon’s rival Vincent Moore, designer of the MOOSE mech; he’s the same old villain who wants to undermine his co-workers for his own personal gain with no depth or complexity whatsoever. As for Sigourney Weaver, her role is a laughable one, regulated to a soulless CEO who is just as miniscule as Samuel L. Jackson in the 2014 Robocop remake. The characters of Chappie really don’t have anything going for them, making it impossible for the film to put across any kind of whimsical or heartfelt tone.

The one thing Chappie can cling to for support is its visuals; Blomkamp’s gritty and dusty setting is once again an engaging backdrop, even if the action that takes place this around isn’t worth getting invested in. There’s plenty of run-down settings which highlight the criminal presence in the area and the motion capture effects on Chappie himself are very well done and believable. While the visual effects on the titular robot are just as detailed as the prawns that came before, the editing is fairly basic by comparison. The guerrilla, pseudo-realistic style of filmmaking featured in Blomkamp’s previous films can never make an impression here because it is quickly shoved to the side after the film’s opening moments. The sound design is loud and pulse-pounding which certainly works well to matching the hard hitting futuristic weapons but truth be told, this cannot serve a substitute for unoriginal action sequences. Chappie’s technical presentation mostly sticks with what works but it does little to make up for its numerous shortcomings.

Chappie is an enormous step backwards from District 9 in every way imaginable; I expected so much better from Neil Blomkamp. There’s nothing thoughtful, little that’s engaging and the film as a whole is just clumsily put together. It’s a rather suspicious case of how creative control can bring down a cinematic vision if placed in the wrong hands. My advice? Watch Blomkamp’s vastly superior works and steer clear of this lazy imitation.

Rating: 1.5/5 Stars