Chappie (2015)

Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Thatchell
Starring Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser

In the future, crime is patrolled by an oppressive mechanized police force. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with pure artificial intelligence; the ability to think for himself.

The only problem with Neill Blomkamp as a director is that he struck gold with his first film. "District 9" was a masterpiece with a heart that no science fiction film will ever duplicate. At least not for a long time. What all critics need to realize is that Blomkamp is a science fiction film director. He will never NOT make a Sci-fi movie. It's his genre. It's his trademark.

Because so many critics have the cynicism of a film student who thinks that just because AFI says "Citizen Kane" is the best film ever made, he has to agree with it, they are especially critical when it comes to Science Fiction. Apparently, it's a law or something. And with the political tones of "District 9", many of them decided to overlook the foundation of it's genre.

Unfortunately for Blomkamp, for the rest of his career, critics will be expecting him to surpass, or at the very least, meet the brilliance of his first film. The chances of that are slim to none, and everyone needs to realize this and watch every single on of his films as if it's a new director. They need to disassociate it with the 2009 Best Picture nominee all together. Then perhaps, a decent film like "Chappie" will get the chance it deserves to be given a fair review.

But I digress…

As I said, this is a decent movie. While it's outer shell reveals a plot about a robot who can think for himself, at it's core it is so much more. It is a movie about the importance of life and how we must use the time we are given to be ourselves, never let anyone tell us how to be and overall, be good to each other.

One of the biggest stories behind this film is the inclusion of South Africa's hip-hop duo Die Antwoord. They were much of the inspiration for the story, as they played themselves as the two parents who raise Chappie. And while there are mumblings of turmoil on set caused by Ninja, it was not noticeable on screen and the two gave surprisingly good performances, regardless of their lack of experience. 

They weren't ground breaking or even amazing for that matter. But they were decent. Over the top, yes, but I believed them in their surroundings and expected MUCH worse from them and I've seen much worse from people who actually call themselves actors. I'd give them a C+ Overall.

But that hair, though…

I guess in all of these potentially incoherent ramblings I'm trying to say is that it's not as bad as everyone  is saying. It is a fun movie with good action sequences and great comedic relief. It may not be "District 9", but what did you really expect from a movie released in March ("Grand Budapest Hotel" excluded)?

My Rating: 6/10