Review of Chappie (2015) by Tyler R — 29 Sep 2016

The interesting thing about Neill Blomkamp's films is that they are futuristic, but in a future that seems like it could be right around the corner. Chappie is no different. What makes Chappie different, however, are the deep questions about life and the human soul.

This film explores themes that are surprisingly thought provoking for his films, but much like Elysium, there are some narrative blunders that bring the film down hard in the final act. Acting wise, everyone does a decent job.

Hugh Jackman does the best with the cookie cutter bad guy role he was given, and the two rappers, Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser, are surprisingly good at times, but do drop the ball in some scenes. Visually, this films boasts the same dystopian look that Blomkamp's other two films have, which isn't a bad thing, but it would be nice to see something different.

As for the pacing, the film actually stumbles and slogs when it doesn't focus on the themes and decides to go for the action. This is a huge problem in a third act which feels like it was ripped right out of a discarded Robocop sequel.

Overall, Chappie isn't terrible, just not what it could have been, which is something very special.