I had only seen a handful of previews for Chappie but I still had little idea of what to expect. It looked like it was going to be District 9 with robots and, in a way, it was. Both movies took place in Johannesburg and revolved around a non-human who, as it turns out, is very human, and humanity is terrible. That, however, is where the similarities end. District 9 was a great movie and Chappie, well, Chappie was different.
I know that I painted a VERY broad picture of Chappie‘s plot. There’s more to the movie than what I said above but I don’t want to bore you with the details. You can get a good idea from any trailer or the IMDB page. On paper it looks like a great idea. A fool proof plan. But somewhere in the mix Chappie lost something. There wasn’t one major flaw but enough small ones to keep Chappie from being great.
Let’s start with the acting because we all know I’m going to go there eventually so let’s just rip the bandage off. There were quite a few good performances and they deserve a nod. Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sigourney Weaver, and Hugh Jackman all gave good performances and actually acted. Sharlto Copley (District 9, A-Team) provided the voice for Chappie and helped give life to the sentient robot. But even with their combined talents they couldn’t help Chappie get more than a “meh” in my book.
Okay, time to talk about the South African rap group Die Antwoord who starred in this movie and, in a way, play themselves. Remember Eminem in 8 Mile? Die Antwoord’s role is a good example of that with a less biographical feeling. Playing punky criminals doesn’t seem to be too much of a stretch for the rap duo especially if you’re familiar with their antics on Twitter. There were times where they were quite good but there were also times where their acting felt wooden and sloppy. I had a hard time connecting with them so whenever there was some heartfelt scene I was left cold. Yo-Landi Visser played the character… wait for it… here it comes… Yolandi and Ninja (That’s honestly what he calls himself) plays, you guessed it, Ninja. How oh how did Neil Blomkamp ever think of such original names for his characters? But I digress. Yolandi was supposed to have this maternal relationship with Chappie but I’ve felt more motherly love from Mrs Bates in Psycho and remember, she was dead the whole time.
The plot was predictable and tired. We get it Neil Blomkamp, humanity is terrible and Johannesburg is the real life Mos Eisley, now get off your butt and work on the next Alien movie already! If you haven’t heard, Neil CampCrystalLake is directing and writing the next Alien movie and has Sigourney Weaver on board. But I digress again… Chappie felt like Short Circuit if it was written by pessimist who had a hard on for Mad Max. It felt like the movie wanted so badly be a commentary on human nature but I couldn’t get past the rappers acting and the oddly paced story to enjoy the rhetoric. District 9 was everything that Chappie wanted to be. It did it better and six years earlier.
Chappie had impressive visuals, a few good actors, two interesting bad guys, and even a few touching scenes. There were some good action sequences near the end and even a tense moment or two but the rest of the movie was bland and under cooked. Since I’m hungry right now allow me to use a food analogy. District 9 is a dry aged prime angus ribeye and Chappie is a McDonalds hamburger patty. So if you haven’t guess already then allow me to wrap this up with my verdict. Don’t see Chappie and watch District 9 or Elysium instead. It’ll be cheaper and you’ll have more fun.
Chappie gets a 5 out of 11.