Chappie movie review (trailer)

There is very little that is innovative or remarkable about this laboured endeavour concerning the antics of an advanced android with human feelings named Chappie, which gets mixed up with the wrong crowd. The production also goes out on a limb to promote Die Antwoord with two of its members, Ninja and Yo-Landi, given lead roles – even though they have no semblance of acting ability.

The plot revolves around Johannesburg in the near future where crime is kept in check by an oppressive mechanised police force. These robots know their job and are almost indestructible. But the criminals are fighting back.

Dev Patel plays Deon Wilson, a techno-fundi who created the ground-breaking Scout programme. He is lauded by his company’s CEO, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) – much to the chagrin of Vincent Moore (Jackman), a rival developer. He is angry and sets out to destroy Deon and the Scout programme.

He commits an act of sabotage but there is a basic real-world flaw here that damages the film’s credibility – did they not use security cameras in 2016?

Meanwhile, Chappie, who has been transformed into a real live boy thanks to Deon’s new programming, falls into the hands of a gang of inept, but violent gangsters, Ninja (Ninja), Yolandi (Yo-Landi Visser), and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo). They want to use him in a major heist that will nett them the money they owe to crime boss, Hippo (Brandon Auret).

Chappie, given Artificial Intelligence, is conflicted between two moral codes: Deon’s non-violence and Ninja’s shoot-to-kill. Where does he go?

DEVELOPER. Hugh Jackman stars as Vincent Moore in local sci-fi.

Sharlto Copley, a frequent Blomkamp collaborator, provides the voice (with its Cape Flats accent) and motion capture work. Chappie misfires on several fronts. In the end, however, Chappie’s story never draws you in because the material is not compelling enough and the robot is an exercise in pure irritation.

Hidden among this mess is a good idea waiting to be explored.