Review of Chappie (2015) by Adpirtle — 20 May 2015

Have you seen Short Circuit? Did you wish it had more gang violence, carjackings, and gratuitous gore?

Chappie is a mostly enjoyable, somewhat cartoonish, surprisingly derivative effort from a director whose last two films were undeniably original. But just because something's been done before doesn't mean it can't be done again, and have fun doing it, taking some interesting (and one very ridiculous) turns along the way. The visual effects are great, particularly the rendering of the title character. The acting is also quite good, including a couple of entertaining performances by rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (and her pet rat) of Die Antwoord, playing fictionalized versions of themselves.