Despite a derivative plot, it can still play on our emotions

Director: Neil Blomkamp 

Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley,  Hugh Jackman, Watkin ‘Ninja’ Jones, Yo-Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo

Rating: 15

Running Time: 120 mins

Release Date: March 4th, 2015

Expanded from his 2003 short film, TETRA VAAL, Neil Blomkamp‘s near-future action adventure CHAPPIE see’s Johannesburg in the midst of a devastating crime wave. In an attempt reduce the shocking increase in gang crime, armed robberies and public riots; South African police force push forward a collection of armor plated attack robots, created by Tetravaal and inventor, Deon Wilson, played by British actor Dev Patel. While Deon’s robots continue to bring in huge success, fellow engineer and former soldier Vincent Moore’s (Hugh Jackman) own crowd controlling robot, The Moose, fails to gain any recognition as it’s technology to be controlled by a human, via a high-tech helmet, fails to impress the local police. 

As Moore’s jealousy brews, Deon continues to secretly work on an artificial intelligence prototype that mimics the human mind, building its own individual emotions and opinions. Deon is successful in his experiment and steals a robot from Tetravaal in order to test out his theories. His success is short lived as he’s kidnapped by a group of misfit gunmen (‘Ninja’, Yolandi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo) who are desperate to find out how to switch off Deon’s original police robots in order to steal enough money to get them out of a dangerous debt. As Deon’s Chappie is born in captivity, what follows is a tense game of jealousy, technology, fear and greed as this infant robot finds a home in the most unlikely of places. 

The general premise of Chappie is one that is so profoundly fascinating that Blomkamp already carves himself a truly difficult road to success form the very beginning, especially after the knock-out brilliance of his 2008 flick DISTRICT 9. With the societal issues, moral and ethical exploration and general entertainment that surrounds a narrative involving AI’s, there are many different routes that Blomkamp could have taken to weave his story. Unfortunately, instead of perhaps one or two clear and thought provoking themes, Blomkamp attempts to approach every possible avenue of genre exploration, making for a messy and discontented narrative. 

With DISTRICT NINE‘s Sharlto Copley playing an undoubtedly adorable Chappie, one can’t deny that Blomkamp has perfected the representation of this innocent and childlike artificial inelegance. Copley is absolutely charming as the sweet natured computer-come-kid, as the idea of what it is to be human is explored through mechanical eyes. With a genuine sense of innocence, Copley does a brilliant job at ensuring audiences feel empathy for Chappie as he’s cruelly manipulated by the wanna-be Johannesburg gangsters.

As Chappie identifies Yolandi and Ninja as his Mother and Father, what starts as a sweet story of finding family, turns into a completely frustrating ordeal as CHAPPIE’S  potential is crushed in a mix of bad acting and unlikable characters. Ninja is without a doubt utterly intolerable while Blomkamp attempts to make Yolandi a worthwhile character, but fails to truly capture a real sense of empathy, despite her emotional attachment to Chappie. 

Dev Patel is completely underused as Chappie’s maker and actually gets very little screen time within the first half of the narrative. What is generally missing from CHAPPIE is the communication and interaction between Deon and Chappie, creator and creation, as the film cries out for Chappie to gain some moral understanding of what is right and wrong. Blomkamp attempts at squeezing some content like this into the narrative but it is completely overshadowed by the over use of these unworthy and unlikable characters. 

Amidst the total destruction of Chappie’s moral fiber, Hugh Jackman’s character, Moore, continues to pop up, causing trouble and eventually aiding to the total destruction of Chappie’s makeshift family in the final act of the movie. While it’s obvious that Blomkamp is trying to create some tension between the characters, leading to an admittingly exciting and action-pact ending, Moore just feels utterly irrelevant within the entire narrative and the issues of what humans are truly capable of is lost within yet more disastrous characters. While this theme of destruction coming from the human race is one that’s interesting and relatable, it’s crammed into a hopeless plot that continues to bleed out until the bitter end.

CHAPPIE really is an utterly frustrating viewing experience, as the audience are promised a potentially phenomenal storyline, that’s snatched away from them in favour of throw-away characters, misused narrative themes and quantity of ideas. Blomkamp is undoubtedly a talented director whose idea’s tap into the unconscious fears and wonders of the human mind. Unfortunately; lack of structure and loss of potential stop CHAPPIE from reaching the heights of his DISTRICT 9 days. Saving grace comes in the form of Sharlto Coplay’s exquisite talent, something that saves CHAPPIE from being utterly forgettable and manages to stab a blade of emotion into the hearts of its audience. 

Verdict

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