5/10

Artificial intelligence for law and order is at the center of controversy in 2016 Johannesburg, South Africa. The site of acclaimed director Neil Blomkamp’s newest action thriller, “Chappie”. Mechanical police force has taken over the world, and now, the people are fighting back. A defunct police droid is stolen and given new intelligence. He becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. As powerful, destructive forces start to see Chappie as a danger to mankind and order, they will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo and ensure that Chappie is the last of his kind. With real life commentary in films like “Elysium”, and “District 9”, Blomkamp has become an instructor of sorts for an original vision when it comes to a post apocalyptic landscape of sorts, and “Chappie” is no different. It packs a punch with an electronic soundtrack (Mostly done by the film’s stars Die Attwood), and metaphorical meanings to compare Chappie to that of a little child whose mind soaks up the language and violent matter of the people he considers parents. When asked how i felt about this film, it’s kind of hard to say. I would say that the film’s scientific reach is exceeded by it’s factual group on how any of this is possible. In short, the movie has narrative flaws the size of France, and that is no evident than in the final half hour of the movie. Between how easy it seems to hijack these systems and databases, to SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS the transfer of human presence VIA hard drives. With a more thought out ending, the film would’ve easily been a 6/10 for me, and recommended. As it stands, this movie had arguably the worst and most far fetched ending that i have seen in 2015. An even bigger problem is that there isn’t just one bad ending, but several false finish endings that only drags the film deeper and deeper into a negative hole that is too late to ever crawl out of. It’s also never really explained how Chappie’s computer program intelligence enhances when his programming rests on what others teach him. He has trouble understanding the difference between life and death, but we are somehow supposed to believe that he can hack into a computer system and easily rework different computer software? The characters are mostly hateable. Leading to the film’s climax, i was hoping for terrible things to happen to a couple of characters in particular, and it was about 50% satisfaction. I understand that these characters have to be this way to get across how dangerous a world it is how there for someone with the intelligence of a five year old, but this didn’t make it any easier on my focus for the film. I know it sounds like i have only trashed the film from here, but i promise that there are some things that gave “Chappie” a near passing grade. The structure of it’s title character brought me fully invested in the terrible world he was encountering. Sharlto Copley does a wonderful job combining childish wonder and sadness to his tones while voicing the robot. It’s interesting that the look and actions of Chappie are completely CGI done, because Copley does such a great job that i found myself getting lost several times in thinking he was a man behind the costume. The supporting cast also does a great job, even if i found myself hating their actions in the screenplay. Hugh Jackman portrays the film’s central antagonist, and he makes the most out of a character who visually looks like he should be hosting a show on Animal Planet. His interractions with Dev Patel feel like the only solid human contact in the film, as Die Attwood’s acting is mostly laughable. I understand why they were chosen for these roles, but i would’ve much rather preferred two actors, and let Die Attwood supply the futuristic beat infused score that brought out the most in it’s action scenes. The fight scenes are done very well with lots of explosions done up close to the camera. It puts the audience in Chappie’s situation, as we feel like this whole violence thing feels foreign to him. Overall, i did like the film, but i wouldn’t say it was great, or even good. It’s length (Nearly two hours) is weighed down by several time filling scenes that should’ve been left on the editing floor. I really wish that ending would’ve been changed. It hurt so much from a good war scene that satisfied all of the build from the previous 90 minutes. If you are dying to see this one, i recommend a DVD rental. For me, “Chappie” hit closer to “Elysium” than that of the 2009 breakout hit “District 9”. Blomkamp has shown that he has some great ideas that may be ahead of their time, but narrative explanations are never grounded enough for the viewer to fully put two and two together.