Chappie

Concerns over the use of drones to kill people and the use of military equipment by police make Neill Blomkamp's "Chappie" more relevant. The use of an all-robot police force recalls "RoboCop", while the concept of a droid who has human qualities brings to mind "Short Circuit" and "AI: Artificial Intelligence"*. Although some scenes in the movie come across as silly, I interpreted it as a warning about over-reliance on technology for law enforcement. The South African setting makes sense: four decades of institutionalized racism gave way to one of the highest crime rates in the developed world.

In the end, I recommend the movie. It's understood that Chappie simply wants to be able to live like everyone else. The plot holes don't drag the movie down at all. Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel (of "Slumdog Millionaire"), Sigourney Weaver and Hugh Jackman put on fine performances.

*Another movie focusing on a robot with human qualities is "Robot & Frank", starring Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon.

As may really happen soon(and this is set in the not too distant future, somewhere in time…), and yet goes completely unexamined(and it's not the only compelling concept it fails to do much with), humanoid robots, Scouts(or, y'know, Homeland), largely replace regular police. One falls into the hands of a rather unlikable and one-note trio of criminals whose protagonist status is trying our patience, because of the former, not the latter. Chappie(Copley, sweet and charming, doing both well-integrated motion-capture and voice-work) is granted consciousness, and this innocent, childlike(yet rather powerful, able to kick through brick walls like it's nothing) being deals with different influences and goes through the range of human emotions with us finding ourselves touched, cheering him on, or scared… for or of him.

Blomkamp delivers on both his good and bad tropes, and we end up with something in some ways better than Elysium, and it is thankfully less simplistic, mainstream and ridiculously one-sided, left-leaning(and I say that as a major Liberal). There are major problems with the characters. Moore(Jackman's mullet being as badass a presence as usual – yet here, we're afraid of who he'll hurt and how, instead of hoping he'll get there soon and get one of the really bad people that way), a former soldier who's… Christian? Or is that a joke…? Anyway, he's built a remote-controlled mech suit which is completely overkill for crime fighting(which may be satire of the recent militarization of such) which has been turned down. He has fun, and we vicariously enjoy the taste of the scenery. The other names are wasted, Weaver in particular. And that leaves us with earlier-mentioned obnoxious ones.

The action, whilst largely free of cool guns(don't get me wrong, the various bullet delivery systems on display, especially with how tricked out they are, are badass) is great. The ending and the opening are from different movies – to each other and to this one. Unpredictable and fast-paced to the point where it forgets its own plot threads… the entire climax feels tailored and sacrifices scope in the name of focus, when a few rewrites could have addressed that much better. I do get a bad feeling that Neill is running out of ideas. With all the similarities between his three films, he almost should have pulled a Sin City and placed them all within the same universe.

There is a lot of brutal, violent and disturbing content, as well as a little sexuality and full frontal female nudity(because it can) in this. I recommend this to fans of the subgenre. 7/10

Another user made a point that this movie is essentially a blend of "RoboCop" and "Short Circuit". Of course, that is a great combination of movies, but Chappie manages to add it's own charm to the mix. I think the South African characters that have divided many viewers' opinions actually adds to the uniqueness and charm of the movie. The movie raises questions about morality, and about the value of a life, even if that life isn't human. Perhaps the science behind this movie might be unrealistic, but if you suspend your disbelief and focus on the main themes of this movie, it's a really heart-warming movie.

While this movie isn't necessarily one for the history books of cinematography, it's certainly a good film and definitely worth a watch, in my opinion.

If there was ever a movie that needed a sequel more than another, it's Chappie.

It's literally probably the best movie I've ever seen, still (and it's 2021 as of this update/writing).

I thoroughly enjoyed Chappie. I usually don't write reviews, but after seeing the brutal rating this movie is getting I felt compelled to write this review.

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.

Please go see this movie and make up your own mind. I almost didn't go last night because of the negative reviews, but I'm so happy I did. I'm very excited to see this movie again. You leave this movie feeling like you've become friends with Chappie, and I hope the bad reviews don't prevent the sequels from being made.

If you like Neill Blomkamp's directing and style you will love this movie.