Story: In the near future, crime is patrolled by a mechanized police force. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.
Through out my years as a film geek there have been films I've loved, didn't mind and just plain hated. A few of my all time favourite movies would include Bond's 23rd outing, Skyfall, Spiderman 2 (from the Sam Raimi Trilogy) and Jumanji (one of Robin Williams best), now Chappie has been added to the list.
As far as his films go in quality, for me, I never was a fan of his films. District 9 and Elysium I had issues with, but the latter I enjoyed a little more so. With his new film, Chappie, Neill has brought in some top notch talent, namely Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel. Not to mention his comrade in arms, Sharlto Copley and Elysium's Jose Pablo Cantillo. But the main reason I was really drawn to his new film is how much effort he put into bringing to life the main hero, Chappie.
The film does draw inspiration from films such as A.I Artificial Intelligence. Sharlto plays Chappie, giving the best vocal performance since Andy Serkis made amazing performances as Gollum, King Kong, and Caesar. He plays the role with true heart, Sharlto pours everything into his vocal performance. It can be hard to make people feel for a machine when you have no facial expression. I loved his performance in this film, he was both the heart and humour of this film.
I should also note that a south african group called Die Antwoord makes their acting debut in the film. And it is not overblown like what other critics or fans have said, like they only took the role to give themselves more exposure. That was not the case. They were extremely believable, I felt they were perfect in the film.
As for its leads, Sigourney, Hugh and Dev are all terrific. Sigourney Weaver's role as the head of the high profile tech company may have a small role in the film but she knocks every scene she is in out of the part. She is just fabulous here, and I feel her performance is like the old saying less is more. Dev Patel plays the creator of Chappie. He is believable as the scientist who seeks to create machines that truly think for themselves. He shows that his character starts like someone who seeks the best for Chappie but comes to the realization that he is actually controlling Chappie (having made note to Chappie to not let anyone tell him what to do). His character has a good development as he goes from wanting to see what a self thinking A.I would be like to realizing that its a lot like raising a child, it takes a huge amount of work.
Hugh Jackman does a great job at bringing his villainous Vincent. He's not one sided, just jealous. His dark side reveal was very surprising and I was impressed at how Hugh was able to craft such a devious and compelling villain who under the skin was something way more dark and sinister.
What I see as the main theme of this movie is acceptance. I found that Chappie stands for all the different people in the world who feel like outsiders or outcasts. This is what really pulled my heartstrings in the movie. Chappie represents those who are different from everyone else wherever its the colour of your skin, your sexual preference or gender, Chappie stands for everyone who wants to be accepted in a world where some have trouble accepting new and different things. Thats where Hugh's character comes in, he stands for those who fear the unknown, who can't be bothered to understand.
The film deals in other themes too of course, parenting, job harassment, and intelligent A.I but its main theme of acceptance is by far a strong theme, especially today where issues with race, gender and one's sexuality is still an issue.
Chappie is a film that deals strongly with acceptance, it has a great cast, amazing visuals and exciting action set pieces and is one of my favourite science fiction films of the past 10 years.
Rating: A-
