Film review: Chappie (15)

I’m a bit of a sucker for Neill Blomkamp movies.

District 9 (released in 2009) remains one of my all-time favourites of any genre, while 2013’s Elysium – although not quite as good – succeeded in bringing something fresh and interesting to the table.

With that in mind, Chappie has been on my radar for quite some time. As well as being a fan of Blomkamp, the idea of robots/machines becoming a bit too powerful for the human race’s own good is one that very much grabs my attention too.

There are exceptions (I still remember Short Circuit), but we’re used to seeing machines play the bad guys. See The Matrix trilogy, any Terminator film and I, Robot to name but a few. But Chappie, voiced superbly by Sharlto Copley (District 9), has to be the most likeable robot ever created in film.

His story plays out in the not too distant future, in a grimmer version of Johannesburg. Here, the use of robotic police droids (known as Scouts) is considered normal.

They’ve brought crime rates crashing down and we’re told that they are “unhackable”, meaning the criminals can’t turn them against the police.

This army of “robocops” was created by Deon Wilson (Dev Patel – The Newsroom), who works for a sizeable corporation named Tetra Vaal.

Not content with his successful Scouts, Wilson wants to take things to the next level and believes he can make robots that think and feel for themselves.

Naturally, that goes down like a lead balloon with his boss Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver – Alien). And naturally, Wilson ignores her.

Enter Chappie, the fruits of Wilson’s labour. Without wishing to ruin the story, he’s like a child in need of an education – and grows up in just about the worst place imaginable.

Like a young kid, Chappie is innocent and impressionable. But he’s also strong and dangerous too, making him a coveted asset to those that would wish to lead him down the wrong path.

While Wilson tries to teach him to be good, he’s got Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser (two members of the South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord, who play future versions of themselves) and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo – The Walking Dead) teaching him the darker arts.

Watching Chappie develop is both amusing and enjoyable, but at the same time it’s pretty heartbreaking.

It is, though, a good job that Copley is as charismatic as ever in the lead role, considering the Die Antwoord duo are pretty poor actors (and get an awful lot of screentime).

Meanwhile, a woefully underused (and mullet-sporting) Hugh Jackman (X:Men) serves as a pretty generic bad guy. He’s got a sizeable vendetta against Wilson and poor old Chappie, but his angle doesn’t really pay off for me.

Likely to divide opinion, Chappie – like Blomkamp’s other work – does attempt to preach to the audience.

With that in mind, it’s pretty surprising that Wilson’s character doesn’t stop and think about what he’s doing before bringing Chappie into the world. A lot of questions that I’d have liked resolving go unanswered, too.

But for the character of Chappie alone, this is a strong addition to Blomkamp’s CV.

Voice Verdict: 7.5/10 (watched at West End Cinema, Boston)
+ Chappie is a great character
+ Surprisingly emotional
– Jackman wasted
– Lots left unanswered

THIS WEEK’S SHOWTIMES

West End Cinema, Boston (Fri, March 13 to Thurs, March 19)

EVENT CINEMA/LIVE EVENTS

SWAN LAKE
7.15pm (Tues)

FILMS SHOWING

**INSURGENT 3D (12A)
5.30pm (Thurs)

**HOME (U) (SPECIAL PREVIEW)
10.15am in 2D (Sat/Sun), 12.15pm in 2D (Sat/Sun), 2.30pm in 3D (Sat/Sun)

**RUN ALL NIGHT (15)
1pm (Sat/Sun/Wed), 3.30pm (daily), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (daily)

CHAPPIE (15)
1.30pm (Wed), 8.40pm (daily)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS (15)
4.20pm(Daily)

THE BOY NEXT DOOR (15)
6.30pm (daily)

FOCUS (15)
1.15pm (Wed), 3pm (Fri), 6pm (daily), 8.30pm (not Tues)

THE SECOND BEST MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG)
Noon (Sat/Sun/Weds), 2.45pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Wed), 5.30pm (daily), 8.15pm (daily)

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (18)
2.45pm (Fri/Wed), 5.30pm (not Tues/Thurs), 8.20pm (daily)

PROJECT ALMANAC (12A)
10am (Sat/Sun)

SHAUN THE SHEEP (U)
10am (Sat/Sun), 2.10pm (Sat/Sun)

BIG HERO 6 (PG)
10am in 3D (Sat/Sun), 12.30pm in 2D (Sat/Sun), 3.30pm in 3D (Sat/Sun), 3.45pm in 2D (Mon-Thurs)

KIDS CLUB

Sat & Sun 10.30am – Boxtrolls 3D (U)

SILVER SCREEN

Wed 11.30am – Chappie (15)

**denotes free list suspended

Spalding’s South Holland Centre

TINKERBELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST (U)
4.30pm (Fri), 2pm (Sat)

KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (15)
7.30pm (Fri and Sat)