Review of Chappie (2015) by Shane B — 03 Jul 2015

My favorite thing about Chappie is Chappie himself,I honestly felt for his character throughout the entire narrative. This is largely due to Sharlto Copley's motion capture performance. He conveys heartfelt emotion and expresses a real sense of curiosity in his role as Chappie. Also some of the action scenes are great and Blomkamp has really proved himself in making his films feel realistic. The special effects look as fantastic as they do in District 9 and Elysium as well.

However Chappie himself and Blomkamp's visuals do far from save this film. The main problem I have with the film is the unlikeable lead characters of Ninja and Yolandi who apparently play a version of themselves. I don't know what Blomkamp was thinking when his cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, and Dev Patel and the film focuses entirely on Chappie's relationship with Ninja and Yolandi. Their acting is terrible and there characters have absolutely no connection to the audience whatsoever. They are the gangsters that steel Chappie and manipulate him throughout the story. Ninja uses Chappie to hijack cars and seriously injure policemen in the process. This accompanied by a weak script, not enough Dev Patel, and Hugh Jackman's laughable villain turn what had an exciting promise into a forgettable Sci-Fi experience.

The under-utilized protagonist Chappie really does deserve a better story than what Blomkamp serves up.