Chappie – Movie Review by Conor MacNamara

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Stars: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman

Neill Blomkamp’s newest film Chappie has us revisiting the sci-fi neo slum of Johannesburg, and sadly that is the common theme here; revisiting. When District Nine leaped into the Box Office it was praised for its unconventional approach, with deeper themes of class warfare and apartheid society overlaid with visual ecstasy. Thus the bar was set, and Blomkamp has spent the last six years failing to climb over it.

The major drawback of Chappie is its repetition with District Nine and Elysium, as well as its lead characters, Rap group Die Antwoord. Fanboy or not, Blomkamp’s script has the duo thrust into the viewer’s faces from the get-go, and no lack of talent or penchant for overacting will get them out of there. Whilst good for a few humor scenes, the melodrama and garish over the top performance of the duo, particularly Yo-Landi, smothers the baby Chappie in its crib before the viewer can connect with any of them on anything resembling a personal level.

Blomkamp’s initially ingenious use of the Sci-Fi genre as a sardonic lens to analyse deeper themes and societal issues now has him employing the same formula again and again, with diminishing returns on each attempt. Weak plot and vapid characters are propped up by ludicrous levels of edgy Hip-Hop culture and anaemic action scenes, with the ‘deeper’ theme of sentience seemingly tacked on as an afterthought.

This fluctuation between a Grand Theft Auto seizure and reflective analysis on the nature of consciousness is only highlighted by the characters own bizarre motivations. Hugh Jackman (while giving one of the better performances and clearly loving the role of a villain) exists solely to nudge the plot along, appearing at opportune times to sabotage our punk protagonists with little reason other than the plot demands it. Die Antwoord themselves simply act as if in their own promo for most of the film, with motivations and actions that are equally bizarre, explained away in a 5 minute reference to crime boss they must repay.

Sigourney Weaver also makes a shoehorned appearance, mainly to remind us of Blomkamp’s upcoming Alien film and little else. Ultimately this mish-mash of half formed ideas and half cooked characters leaves us poking at a film that has the stench of salvaged past work and forced inserts, lamenting the days of District Nine with tinged nostalgia.