Movie Review - Chappie

Chappie ***½ (out of 5) (R) We may still be huddling against winter’s chill, but the first summer-style sci-fi action blockbuster has arrived ahead of the tulips. And it came all the way from South Africa in the footsteps of its recent popular kinsman, District 9. That one concerned extraterrestrials living in Johannesburg; this one serves up robotic cops maintaining order there ter the human ones were overmatched by criminals with greater numbers and firepower. Sigourney Weaver heads the company that made them; Dev Patel is the genius nerd behind their success. But he yearns for the next level of creation - artificial intelligence, allowing his ‘bots to learn, think and feel, developing their own personalities.

Well, no way that’s gonna go smoothly, eh? Patel has to swipe a damaged ‘bot to implant and test his unsanctioned self-awareness program. Before he can do that, he’s snatched by some thugs who want to force his help with a major heist. That’s when Chappie is “born”, awakening as a blank slate; essentially an infant who learns quickly, but is highly impressionable. The female member of the gang becomes quite maternal, while the others try to teach and manipulate his understanding of the world for the planned caper. Patel tries to keep Chappie legit, but stronger forces hold too much sway. Some of Chappie’s development is sweet and funny, reaching out to those who didn’t show up for the splashy CG mayhem moments. The net effect is an odd mix of E.T., Robocop and every action flick based on technology gone awry with unintended, if not disastrous, consequences.

Tastes will vary on this one, depending on how much sentiment viewers wish to have stirred in with the slaughter. I would have preferred more of the latter. Weaver’s screen time is disappointingly brief. Sharlto Copley, who seems joined at the hip with writer/director Neill Blomkamp in this third joint genre venture after District 9 and Elysium, has far more fun with this title role, calling for quite a range of growth stages and accents in the whirlwind rate of his character’s evolution. Overall, it’s a fine start to the imminent season of superheroes, space operas and other excuses to blow stuff up real good. (3/6/15)