I've seen Short Circuit many times before, and it's hard to deny that Chappie is extremely reminiscent of that film. The biggest difference between the two is that the people who end up in possession of Chappie are the most annoying human beings in South Africa. I know that Die Antwoord is a thing down there, but I swear their faux "gangsta" personalities are even more offensive than Fisher Stevens playing an Indian man. Every moment they were on screen, I was annoyed and wishing they would shut up. Then at the end, for some reason, they expect us to fear for their lives. I was anxious for them to die and stop ruining the movie. The funny thing is Hugh Jackman is also delivering a ridiculously over-the-top performance, but I didn't mind at all. It works coming from him, and he's supposed to be the villain anyways.
The sad truth is, there's a decent film at the heart of Chappie. The visual effects of the robot are amazing, and Sharlto Copley's motion capture and voice work are brilliant. He embodies the innocence of a robot with an infantile mind to perfection. I also thought Dev Patel worked well as the brains behind the robots, and his conflict with Chappie made sense and created the one effective emotional arc in the film. It's just too bad that Neill Blomkamp decided to build the story around his friends Yo-Landi and Ninja instead of simply concentrating on what would make for the best film. I want to like this movie more, and it has a number of elements that I did enjoy. But I will probably just go back to watch Short Circuit or Robocop to get all the same story beats in a better film, despite the fact that Chappie had potential to be on par with one of those movies.
Chappie
2015
Action / Crime / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Chappie
2015
Action / Crime / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller
future artificial intelligence android artificial intelligence (a.i.) dystopia johannesburg south africa
Plot summary
Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings—some good, some bad—and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from any one else: he is a robot.
Uploaded by: OTTO
July 25, 2023 at 01:45 PM
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Die Die Antwoord, please
"RoboCop" meets "Short Circuit"
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.
Comparing
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 ...