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.

If a movie has a robot in it, that is part cop, the comparisons with Robocop won't be hard to find. But this is a different beast altogether. Trying to get into a discussion about machines, souls and after-life. Not everything gels in perfectly and nicely. But the director does a good job with a lot of elements. Something that might have spun out of control, but it didn't.

While the name Chappie might remind some of dog (food) and I can only guess that was intended, there is more to Chappie than just being a "pet". Chappie is getting and learning things fast as you'd expect and the lines between good and evil blur at times, if not through the whole movie. That might be tough to handle or accept for some, but if you do roll with it, you'll see a very entertaining movie, that can give you food for thought ...

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.

I really liked this one. There's some obvious '80s influences here, from the criminals looking like something out of a Mad Max movie to the Short Circuit and Robocop elements. There's even a bit of a He-Man cartoon shown at one point. It's an intriguing and certainly entertaining movie, if not an overly original one. I think some critics are unhappy with the lack of pretentiousness that was present in Neill Blomkamp's previous work. Here the "messages" are more universal and less political. Some people only like their sci-fi if it carries with it an obvious metaphor for a topical social injustice. You can even find such metaphors here if you try but subtlety is not a zealot's cup of tea. Overall, I thought the script was good and I really liked the upbeat ending. Another nitpick I have about the modern critic is that they think the only good sci-fi story is one with a downer ending. The special effects are pretty amazing. The acting is solid all around. Dev Patel, Yo-Landi Vissir, Ninja, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Sharlto Copley (voice & motion capture for Chappie) are all great. Hugh Jackman has a rare turn as the villain here and does a terrific job, even if I do hate the obligatory clichés his character is saddled with. That haircut, though...

Maybe it's not for everybody. I have friends that haven't seen it yet that I'm fairly certain will bitch about it and pick it apart, like I see from many reviews on here. But that's their loss. I'm happy that Blomkamp tried to make a movie that's not dumb by any stretch but also isn't just aimed at the elitist film snob crowd or soapbox bloggers.

In Johannesburg, the police department reduced the high rating of criminality using robots from the Tetravaal Company, designed by the engineer Deon Wilson (Dev Patel). The former military Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is envious of Deon, since he has developed another project called Moose, but neither Tetravaal nor the police department is interested. Deon has just developed an Artificial Intelligence but the Tetravaal's CEO Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) asks him to abort the project. Deon decides to bring the damaged Robot 22 that was sent to be crushed to test his A.I. However he is kidnapped by the criminals Ninja (Ninja), Yo-Landi (¥o-Landi Vi$$er) and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo) that want him to stop the robot cops. When they see the damaged robot in the van, they force Deon to program it to heist banks with them and they call it Chappie. However, Chappie acts like a child and need to be trained to learn and grow. Meanwhile Vincent follows Deon and plots an evil scheme to activate his robot.

"Chappie" is a flawed but entertaining film with "robocops" fighting against crime. However, Tetravaal is totally unbelievable as a security company with the easy access of employees to the facility and software. Considering that all Johannesburg is dependable of the robots, it is ridiculous the lack of protection of the company and how easy Deon Wilson and Vincent Moore go there during the night and access the systems using only a key. The concern of Chappie with mortality and the discussion with his creator is taken from "Blade Runner". The corny decision of Deon, running after Chappie instead of activating the robots in the chaotic city is also silly. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Chappie"