Review of Chappie (2015) by Alonso V — 07 Aug 2015

Upon my initial viewing I gave Chappie 2/5, mostly due to my profound confusion upon exiting the theater, but after watching for a second time the film is starting to grow on me, due primarily to the alternate ending. While it is certainly a much dumber movie than it would like to be, like Elysium before it with its muddled and hamhanded allegories, Chappie is a very entertaining action movie carried by fantastic production design and a likable (if... eccentric) cast.

Much of the enjoyment of the film comes from its cast. While Deon is far from the most interesting character in fiction and Sigourney Weaver's character exists for the sole purpose of teasing Blomkamp's Alien project, Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, and, surprisingly, Die Antwoord steal the show. Sharlto Copley is, as usual, the highlight of the film, being the body and voice of the title robot. He is tasked with portraying a gangster robot with the personality of a 3 year old and the IQ of Einstein and pulls off his performance with energy and plenty of laughs. Hugh Jackman plays a rather ridiculous caricature of right wing gun nuts, at one point holding Dev Patel's character at gun point in the middle of an office, claiming it was all a big prank, and inviting him to go to church next Sunday. The two unlikely stars of the film (unlikely considering they are essentially the South African answer to ICP) are Ninja and Yolandi of Die Antwoord. While Blomkamp's casting choice seems obviously motivated by nepotism and they aren't Oscar winning actors by any means, you can't help but laugh at their onscreen portrayal of their real life rap personas and admire their enthusiasm.

While I initially gave it 2 stars because of the awkward pacing, piles of confusing moral messages and philosophical questions (AI is good or maybe bad? Why does god create life only to die? Probably something about the impending totalitarian police state? Who knows what else), and the bonkers ending where *SPOILER* Yolandi's consciousness is transferred into the body of the robot from that one Tokio Hotel album. Oddly enough, the alternate ending included in the Blu-Ray, which is by all accounts even MORE bonkers, seemed far more fitting to me. Spoilers ahead as I explain it.

The ending is the same up until the moment where (in the theatrical cut) Chappie's mind in transferred into a random Scout outside the Tetravaal building. In the alternate cut, Chappie's consciousness is loaded into EVERY Scout unit, showing hundreds of Chappies roaming the streets of Johannesburg. The Chappies then proceed to produce an army of tens of thousands of Chappies, creating what is presumably a nation of Chappies. This ending is better, in my opinion, because it actually brings about a real question about the dangers of artificial intelligence, instead of a couple of offhanded mentions in the theatrical version. It also takes away several minor annoyances in the final scenes of the film, such as taking away the convenience of Chappie happening to be in his new body right outside the building (as he is in ALL Scouts) and making the news reports about the suspension of the Scout programs and the interviews with scientists about Chappie's A.I. that bookend the film make much more sense.

So, while Chappie isn't the most competently told story and it has many elements that are derivative of other films like Robocop, E.T., and Short Circuit, it is as a whole a entertaining, if a bit ridiculous, science fiction film that should at least be given a pat on the back for being different.