Chappie (MA)
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman
NEILL Blomkamp, you magnificent so and so.
The wunderkind South African director has again presented a dazzling vision of the future with “Chappie”.
In this follow-up to his other triumphs, District 9 and Elysium, Blomkamp again has his eye on super-cool science fiction.
And robots. Heaps of really, really cool robots.
“Chappie” the hero of the title, starts life as robot police droid 22 in ultraviolent Johannesburg, where a mechanised police force is keeping the peace.
Dev Patel plays the lead developer for robot manufacturer, Tetravaal, and has been working on a new artificial intelligence program.
He installs the program into the broken police droid and gives birth to … Chappie (voicing and motion capture by Blomkamp collaborator, Sharlto Copley).
These early scenes, as the newly awakened intelligence learns, like a child, are among the film’s best.
But it’s only just beginning.
Chappie is kidnapped by criminals, who want to turn him against the police as the ultimate gangsta.
Enter a tug-of-war with his maker … and Hugh Jackman, an ex-SAS Tetravaal worker pushing a huge, weaponised military robot as the answer to Johannesburg’s security needs.
Throw in some big ideas about identity, consciousness and life, stir in some state-of-the-art action sequences, and you’ve got another Blomkamp masterpiece.
Some critics just don’t get this film. Pay no attention whatsoever to these fools.
Chappie is a wildly enjoyable ride, not least for its action, its exceptional motion capture, and its big ideas. It will stay with you for days after you’ve watched it. See it once, and see it again.
– Jason Beck
