Saturday, July 25, 2015

Chappie

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!
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This film is based off Neill Blomkamps 2004 short film Tetra Vaal. In the near future, police officers are assisted by a mechanized police force. Desperately wanting to test his new software, Deon Wilson steals a malfunctioning robot and updates him with the new software. This gives the robot, Chappie, the ability to think and feel for himself (A.I.). 

This film was directed by Neil Blomkamp. From start to end, it is apparent who directed this film. Fans of his previous works will enjoy this one as well. There are lot of scientific a philosophical concepts that get thrown out in single liners and questions. It opted for a senseless violence and comedy over a deep and understandable story. The comedy did work for the beginning of the film, but should've stopped halfway through. A lot of this film's story feels more like plot convenience than anything else. Parts get used to further the story in one direction until its no longer needed. So much of this film feels like watching a cartoon, which in large part is due to its cast choice and script writing. It is also odd that this film begins with no violence, but turns to it during its ending. But, there is no sexuality in the film. The animation in this film was great on screen. There is a potential for two sequels depending on things work out. 

The talented cast gets wasted while the average performances get the most screen time. Sharito Copley voiced and acted the character Chappie. He was great in this role of a confused robot fighting for its own survival. Its reactions to a harsh world were great. Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser played the roles of Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er. Okay, these are two popular rappers in the films location, and should not have been used as two of the secondary central characters. The entire thug life was based around their outlandish style and behavior. Their performance hurt the film badly. I also be honest in that Yo-Landi's character felt fairly useless in the gang situation. Dev Patel played the role of Deon Wilson. It is a shame that his character didn't get more screen time, especially since he created Chappie. Hugh Jackman played the role of Vincent Moore. His character is a disgruntled engineer of another type of a failed police robot. His character was too stereotypical military to be fully appreciated.

I give this film 2 out of 5 stars! There is a lot of great things that can be scraped from this film, but is casting choice brought it down. Perhaps the sequels will improve on its shortcomings.

This film can be seen on DVD.

Answer to last blog:

Que: How many films directed by Neil Blomkamp feature Sharito Copley?

3
1
2
4

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