Justen Smith, Staff Writer
It’s ironic that a story about a sentient robot ends up being Neill Blomkamp’s most human film yet.
After directing the excellent political sci-fi film “District 9,” which he then followed up with the well-received action film “Elysium,” Neill Blomkamp continues his trend of impressive sci-fi drama with “Chappie.” The plot involves a robotics designer in a near-future company that manufactures semi-intelligent police droids. Played by Dev Patel, the designer creates completely sentient artificial intelligence, and uses a defunct police droid as a host body. While he returns home to test it, he is ambushed by a group of small-time gangsters that order him to make a droid to help them in their criminal prospects. He succeeds and they name the resulting child-like droid Chappie.
The crux of the film is watching Chappie develop in much of the same way a human child would. He imitates words, forms basic moralities and even develops some moral conflicts by the end. It’s very charming and these segments are the high point of the film.
Blomkamp has a few recurring traits in his films, such as a fondness for portraying slums, the use of actor Sharlto Copley, this time as the motion capture and voice of Chappie. There are also sudden instances of over-the-top violence and gore, and some anachronistic music choices, this time starring Die Antwood as the musical set piece. He also has a knack for incorporating not-too-subtle metaphors for real world issues. In “District 9,” it was immigration. In “Elysium,” it was healthcare. In Chappie, it seems to be religion, or denouncing of religion. This comes to fruition through Hugh Jackman’s character, which is easily the weakest point of the film. He has zero depth outside of having a moral quandary against artificial intelligence for religious reasons. His character is shoehorned in for the sake of having a real villain in the third act. But to me, this does not detract from the best parts of this film.
I loved “Chappie,” and I would totally recommend it to any science-fiction fan.
