On paper Chappie sounds reminiscent of movies like Short Circuit or A.I., which normally would be enough to turn me away from the movie. Short Circuit has its comedy moments, but it's a little too cute, whereas A.I. breaks the cute meter and keeps smashing it on the ground with Haley Joel Osment's wide puppy eyes, the friendly robotic teddy bear; hell even Jude Law comes off as cute. Thankfully Chappie is co-written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, whom has been making the news a lot lately thanks to the release of his amazing and somewhat intriguing concept art for a new Alien movie that could rewrite the chronology of the franchise. While his last movie Elysium was a tad on the predictable side narratively, I am a big fan of his breakout movie District 9. Alien themed movies tend to fall in to three categories; enemy, friend or neighbour, but with District 9 Blomkamp gave us a fourth option - the hobo refugee. And the conclusion of the character arc for Sharlto Copley's character is one of those cinema moments you'll never forget.
Another element of Blomkamp's movies are the amazing robotic effects used; be it the robotic alien mechs in District 9 or the patrol droids in Elysium, they look real. And the way Blomkamp films them using harsh daylight adds to the reality, making his movies look like pseudo documentaries of the near future. It is this element of his movies that Chappie seems to relish within. Add to that the movie has been officially rated R in the US and reported to be running for 121minutes making it Blomkamp's longest fim to date, Chappie is definetly going to be one of more impressive science fiction movies of 2015.
Article Published:
2015-02-14 06:23:56