Review: Chappie delivers entertaining, fast-moving experience
“You’ve taught us so much more than I can ever have imagined.”
– Deon
Chappie
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Stars: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1823672/?ref_=nv_sr_1
★★★
Neill Blomkamp is no stranger to science fiction films. His films District 9, Elysium, and Stargate SG-1 have given us his view of the future, and that view is usually rather bleak. Chappie, released this week, takes us into a technologically advanced world where artificial intelligence is commonplace and necessary to control the baser human element, which is apparently mostly made up of violent and sadistic criminals.
This violent human element is controlled by a robotic police force, the Scout robots, possessing a level of artificial intelligence that allows each robot to respond to any situation with strength, efficiency, and force. When one of those robots, Scout 22, is irreparably damaged when its battery port is welded shut, it is sent to be disassembled and disposed of.
Step in Dev Patel playing the Scouts’ creator, Deon Wilson. Like all good computer nerds, Deon is working on a new project, and this one is a game changer in the realm of artificial intelligence. His new creation is a software program that will allow a robot to develop real intelligence, creating a sentient being with emotions and the ability to learn and feel. Taking the flawed and damaged body of Scout 22, Deon intends to test his program. Complications arise in the form of a misfit band of criminals and Chappie is born.
The usual action film violence and bloodshed occur as Deon struggles to get Chappie away from the criminals, criminal bands fight each other, and the robotic police force crack down on crime. And when a competing robot creator played by Hugh Jackman is thrown into the mix, all hell breaks loose. However, these standard action film tropes are not what make this film worth seeing. What makes Chappie worth the ticket price is the blending of misfit bonding, the good-hearted intention of its star robot, and the charisma of both Chappie and his creator.
Dev Patel is his usual charming self on screen, and his character Deon is just the right blend of likeability, heroic action, and naiveté, but the film is stolen by Sharlto Copley. Copley, aided by some good special effects, plays Chappie as a likable innocent, schooled to be a bling-wearing gangster and an unwitting accessory to a crime spree. We care for Chappie in all his vulnerabilities, and we’re pulled in by his long expressive ears and blinking LED eyes.
That vulnerability and naiveté softens the harsh reality of what a robot could do if it were really able to think and judge, but Blomkamp, while addressing those fears, never dwells on them. Instead he swings attention to questions of consciousness and where it resides – perhaps a consideration inescapable when dealing with the creation of an artificial sentient being.
These various questions and ideas are never really resolved, and if you’re looking for answers to deep questions or a world that makes sense, this film doesn’t deliver. But what it does deliver is an entertaining, fast-moving few hours, offering likeable characters, identifiable villains, and a robot that seems more like a sweet, naïve child than a cold, ruthless killing machine.
Chappie is now playing at Sioux City’s Promenade Theatre. For showtimes, CLICK HERE.
View the official trailer below:
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Leslie Erickson is an avid cinephile and bibliophile living in Sioux City. From September through May, when not watching films or reading, she teaches literature and writing at Western Iowa Tech Community College. In the summer, she spends her time hiking and backpacking through the wilderness in one or another of the western states, occasionally taking breaks in air-conditioned theaters to catch a new release.
About the Author
Leslie Erickson Leslie Erickson is an avid cinephile and bibliophile living in Sioux City. From September through May, when not watching films or reading, she teaches literature and writing at Western Iowa Tech Community College. In the summer, she spends her time hiking and backpacking through the wilderness in one or another of the western states, occasionally taking breaks in air-conditioned theaters to catch a new release.
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