Neill Blomkamp, the man who's done a lot to raise SA’s cinema profile in the past 5 years (along with Tsotsi’s Oscar and Yesterday's nomination) comes back with another sci-fi skop, skiet and donner in Chappie. Does it stack up? Let's dig in...
Chappie feels more like a companion piece to District 9 than Elysium did. Chappie and D9 are both set in SA, have SA actors as leads, blend SA issues with sci-fi and exploit the acting talents of Sharlto Copley.
Although D9 was more successful in translating the issue of xenophobia/racism via the Prawn versus human scenario, Chappie is less focused on what the big idea is. There’s the crime issue but it feels incidental rather than core to the story. The issues artificial intelligence being a threat to mans existence is not really mined well - feels more like a plot device than something the film is interrogating.
Yet Chappie is no train wreck. Blomkamp infuses Chappie with his particular brand of humour. Copley does some incredible voice work as the voice of Chappie and who knew Ninja and Yolandi Visser could deliver lines convincingly? So the guys from Die Antword can act. Then there’s Brandon Auret as Hippo, a hilarious character - well played in spite of his Cape minstrel/vaudeville influences. Which is also a bit evident in how Chappie speaks.
Which is another problem with Chappie - it plays too close to the line of falling into stereotype territory. Not just with the humour but also the actual story... there is not enough nuance and detail. Once in a while when you get it - like in how Ponte is transformed into a futuristic waste bucket. I would have liked to see more of that but it's not there.
Unlike District 9, Chappie does not really capture Jozi or even Soweto that well. Chappie could have happened in LA, it wouldn't have made any difference. One does not get a sense of the city and architecture or people in this possible future.
One thing though you can't fault Blomkamp on is the visual effects. Chappie and all the police droids known as scouts are photo real. Even the behemoth that Hugh Jackman’s bad guy creates - the Moose - this is also well realized.
Then there are the guns. Blomkamp is always good at action and adding flare to visual that reminds me of
Gameplay. From yellow coated AK-47's to guns that launch bombs and flame throwers, Blomkamp does not disappoint on that tip.
It’s a pity that Chappie does not have a single unifying and convincing theme to go with all the incredible visuals and laughs - it's more pop than substance and sometimes that’s not a bad thing.
Rating **
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*junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++