Review: Chappie

[WillBrink]

Chappie is a movie by Neill Blomkamp, best known for District 9 and Elysium (Elysium review HERE). His movies attempt to examine heady topics such as what does it actually mean to be human, the nature of consciousness, and so forth. Since District 9, he's essentially used the same formula for each of his movies however. Their strong points are an attempt to examine interesting topics that make you think (vs just CGI and explosions, etc), great characters, and unique visuals.

The weak points is a serious need for the suspension of disbelief where physical, technical, and plot line issues are ignored in favor of the "big picture" topics (pretty much the same for each movie however...) he wants to examine that makes what could be a great movie, an OK movie. If you enjoyed District 9 and Elysium, you'll enjoy Chappie. If you didn't enjoy those movies, Chappie is more of the same from Blomkamp. For me District 9 by far his best movie, and he's been unable to re capture that magic of District 9 ever since. I liked Chappie more than Elysium at least, but it's time Blomkamp found a new formula as he's becoming very predictable. The ending of Chappie seems to take right from Robo Cop. Not sure if that was intentional or a mistake, but I thought it was very Robo Cop (talk about a great movie!) esk at the end.

I'd give this one a B, and it could have and should have been an A, maybe even a classic with some tweaks.

[SteyrAUG]

No. 5 is ALIVE....

[Moose-Knuckle]

No. 5 is ALIVE....

As a kid of the 80's I never could get into Short Circuit, I know . . . I know. What can I say my dad ruined me with Forbidden Planet and Robby.


Will, I stopped ready you review cause this is one I haven't had the chance to watch yet. Blomkamp has never disappointed me in the past and look forward to watching his latest venture.

[jpmuscle]

No. 5 is ALIVE....

Love that movie.

[WillBrink]

As a kid of the 80's I never could get into Short Circuit, I know . . . I know. What can I say my dad ruined me with Forbidden Planet and Robby.


Will, I stopped ready you review cause this is one I haven't had the chance to watch yet. Blomkamp has never disappointed me in the past and look forward to watching his latest venture.

I didn't give anything away in the review. If you liked his past stuff, you'll probably like Chappie.

[Moose-Knuckle]

I didn't give anything away in the review. If you liked his past stuff, you'll probably like Chappie.

Good to know, on both accounts. Thanks.

[Moose-Knuckle]

So I finally rented it.

The wife and I both enjoyed it. Lots of Vektor R4 porn through out (South African licensed copy of the Galil) for you gun geeks.

(Warning: some spoilers below)

I didn't feel the ending borrowed from RoboCop as much as the gangs hideout in the abandoned power plant and the Moose. The end however reminded me a lot of District 9, where the main character turns into a Prawn. In this the Master is uploaded into a robot as well as Mommy. This is a theme we will be seeing for some time in science fiction, what the world's leading futurist calls "brain uploading". Some other films of late have delved this territory as well like Transcendence. Blomkamp obviously is a big fan of the original RoboCop, as he is with the Alien franchise hence him casting Sigourney Weaver. At least that what he said in a documentary. Probably why he was selected to direct the next installment in the Alien franchise and bring back Sigourney Weaver as Ripley!

Interesting bit of trivia, the home the gangster Hippo and his gang is squatting in was the home Blomkamp grew up in prior to his family fleeing Joburg after Apartheid ended. In all IMHO this film hit on some very important topics that are reminiscent of the works of Philip K. Dick and Isaac Asimov. I really like how Blomkamp uses the same crew, Sharlto Copley a childhood friend as most of his leading men, and of course shooting in Johannesburg for his films.

On another note I feel that the robots in Chappie were very realistic and functional looking. I mean if you were to design a humanoid robot today to perform tasks currently being performed by humans such as LE, they would look very similar if not the exact same. I also see a reoccurring theme in Blomkamps films where he likes to portray the Military Industrial Complex as an evil empire, one that I have to say I agree with.

[cinco]

Movies of this genre tend to make me melancholy. I tend to sympathize more with the "spirit" vs. the organic.

[SteyrAUG]

Saw it and it seems to reconfirm that I hate Neill Blomkamp films and themes.

This one was largely a Short Circuit / Robocop hijack with newer tech effects. So far I have hated all of Blomkamp's films, I hated District 9 the least but I still hated it.

[Dave_M]

Saw it and it seems to reconfirm that I hate Neill Blomkamp films and themes.

This one was largely a Short Circuit / Robocop hijack with newer tech effects. So far I have hated all of Blomkamp's films, I hated District 9 the least but I still hated it.

Below be spoilers:

Chappie is the antithesis of Robocop. In Robocop, it was important that there be a human element to "maintain some control" and ensure abuses didn't happen. In Chappie, the robots controlled by the human operators were the evil ones. Regarding the effects, this is one of the first movies I've seen where the CGI was seamless and entirely believable.