Chappie (2015)

Film review #682

Director: Neill Blomkamp

SYNOPSIS: The developer of a mass-produced robotic police force has been secretly developing a full conscious artificial intelligence. He tests it out on a robot due for destruction, but is kidnapped along with his test subject by a small-time gang who want to use the robot themselves to rob money they owe to a bigger gang. Thus Chappie has to learn to grow up influenced by both his creator and gang members who want him to use him as a tool for crime…

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Chappie is a 2015 sci-fi film directed by Neill Blomkamp. being a Blomkamp film, it should come as no surprise that it is set in the near-future in Johannesburg, where crime is rife. Robotic police officers produced by the company Tetravaal help maintain order, but the creator of the robots, Deon Wilson, is interested in other things: creating an artificial intelligence with a consciousness. While testing it on a defunct robot though, he is kidnapped along with the robot by a small-time gang who want to use it to carry out a heist and pay a much larger gang. The plot of the story touches on familiar ideas around A.I., things which you’ve probably seen before in films such as Short Circuit and RoboCop, although given the typical Blomkamp cinematic edge which adds in an element of loudness and chaos. While the story touches on the points you would expect it to, it doesn’t really provide any depth or originality and the film slides away from attempting to give any answers to the questions it raises as it goes on. Chappie himself is probably the highlight of the film: he is animated and spirited, and the CG is well done to give him life, but again he doesn’t really find any of the answers he is looking for as the film pivots away from dealing with the difficult questions.

There is a lot going on in this film: between the different people wanting to use Chappie alongside the robot himself, there’s little focus and everything is spread a little thin. Hugh Jackman’s character Vincent provides a antagonist role that doesn’t seem necessary, as he tries to get funding for his bipedal mech in place of Deon’s robots. The finale essentially just pivots to a direct confrontation between the mech and Chappie, and puts everything else set up throughout the film to the side. Even the events after it don’t connect to the film’s themes, and a bunch of new elements to consider don’t get any development before the film abruptly ends. The trailer of the film has an almost exclusive focus on setting up Vincent as the antagonist against Chappie, and really portrays the film as almost entirely action-based, which is wholly misleading; perhaps marketing didn’t think that a film about A.I. would be as interesting: but truthfully, it is more interesting than another film about CG robots fighting each other which the trailer suggests.

Chappie as a film has a very fragmented story that is tenuously held together by it’s robotic lead. The film sets up questions surrounding artificial intelligence but never provides a satisfying resolution, choosing to throw more plot elements in at the end instead and not really deal with them. The whole villain arc is again a big distraction that doesn’t really serve the film’s purpose to any degree. That said, it’s a technically competent film with good effects, and if you’re a Blomkamp fan, then you’ll appreciate him doing what he is known for; it’s just that his unique style doesn’t really allow a more interesting spin on the themes that are the backbone of so many other films.