Chappie
2015 · Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Original language: English
- crime
- action
- science fiction
The story
Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings—some good, some bad—and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from any one else: he is a robot.
What it’s like
Gritty, sun-bleached Johannesburg in harsh daylight and dusty, neon-stained night, shot handheld and documentary-style with the jittery immediacy of mock-news footage, grain and grime everywhere. Metal sheen, scrap-yard browns and cold corporate greys dominate, while the robots themselves look like scuffed, expressive machines with glowing blue-white eyes that give Chappie a surprisingly tender face. The score pulses with synth and electronic thump during the action, then drops back to quieter moments when the robot's childlike voice and bewildered curiosity come to the fore. The vibe is restless and scrappy, a blend of cyber-thriller grit and warm, goofy sincerity, best suited to a loud Friday night in or a long-haul flight when you want something that keeps moving. The pacing is brisk and uneven, lurching between street-level chaos and small, awkward family scenes, and the emotional arc follows an artificial mind learning right from wrong from the people who shape it. Violence is frequent and fairly graphic, with gunfights, explosions, and bloody beatings, plus some crude language and a few tense, frightening sequences; it is not gentle. It is for viewers who enjoy action-heavy science fiction with a human heart and don't mind a rough edge.
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