Neil Blomkamp has quickly become one of my favorite directors. The South African filmmaker burst onto the scene in 2009 with his science-fiction take on apartheid, District 9, based on his 2005 short film Alive in Joburg. Despite its low-key marketing and virtually unknown cast, it became a sleeper hit and was even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. His follow-up, 2013’s Elysium, was somewhat of a disappointment. I’m not sure whether it was because it moved away from Blomkamp’s native Johannesburg or because he elected to cast an A-list Hollywood actor in the lead role (Matt Damon), but the movie just seemed to lack much of the unique charm that made District 9 so great. Fortunately, Blomkamp has learned from these mistakes with his third film, CHAPPiE. Based on his 2004 short film Tetra Vaal, set once again in Johannesburg, and prominently featuring native South African personalities, CHAPPiE resurrects much of the independence and spirit of District 9.
Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is a brilliant engineer and scientist working for the successful South African defense contractor Tetravaal. He designed the Scout Robotic Police Units which have been sold in large numbers to the Johannesburg Police Force. But in his off time, he works on his passion project: creating the world’s first true, self-aware artificial intelligence. Denied resources to compete the project by Tetravaal’s CEO (Sigourney Weaver), Deon elects to complete the project himself by stealing a Scout Droid scheduled to be scrapped; however, before he can do so, he is kidnapped by a gang of thugs (played by South African rap group Die Antwoord). As a result, he is forced to bring his creation into the world under threat of their guns; this new being (voiced by Blomkamp’s frequent collaborator Sharlto Copley) quickly takes on a life of its own and comes to be known as Chappie.
Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is a brilliant engineer and scientist working for the successful South African defense contractor Tetravaal. He designed the Scout Robotic Police Units which have been sold in large numbers to the Johannesburg Police Force. But in his off time, he works on his passion project: creating the world’s first true, self-aware artificial intelligence. Denied resources to compete the project by Tetravaal’s CEO (Sigourney Weaver), Deon elects to complete the project himself by stealing a Scout Droid scheduled to be scrapped; however, before he can do so, he is kidnapped by a gang of thugs (played by South African rap group Die Antwoord). As a result, he is forced to bring his creation into the world under threat of their guns; this new being (voiced by Blomkamp’s frequent collaborator Sharlto Copley) quickly takes on a life of its own and comes to be known as Chappie.
In many ways, I see this film as a sign of Blomkamp’s growth as a creator. While his previous films were full to the brim with awesome ultra-violence, CHAPPiE is surprisingly subtle. If there’s one thing that Neil Blomkamp is certainly not known for, it’s subtly; a frequent criticism of his work is that it tends to bash over you the head with its moral message. Although it does possess a much smaller amount of (still awesome) ultra-violence, the majority of CHAPPiE is a coming-of-age story, just with a robot instead of a human. It’s actually surprisingly cute, which I wasn’t at all expecting. This film also moves in a more humorous direction than District 9 or Elysium, with Die Antwoord playing hilariously exaggerated versions of their gangster-rapper personas, leading to amusing scenes such as where one of them teaches Chappie to walk with swag and hold a gun properly (you know, sideways, properly). Although some will certainly find these scenes ridiculous, to me they were both highly humorous and provided much of the South African culture which helped make District 9 unique and which Elysium suffered for the lack of.
This film does certainly have its problems. There are more plot holes than I would prefer; for example, why is Hugh Jackman’s character (another engineer at Tetravaal) trying to sell a robot equipped with anti-aircraft weaponry to the Johannesburg Police Force? Sigourney Weaver’s character was severely underutilized, being on screen for ten of fifteen minutes tops, while Jackman’s character lacked much characterization. All these problems seem to stem from the fact that there seemed to be a good chunk of the film that was lost to the editing room floor; the theatrical cut runs for a mere 120 minutes, very short for a science fiction film. I can’t wait to get my hands on the Director’s Cut, though.
But overall, these are minor problems. CHAPPiE is fun, it’s funny, and sometimes it’s even heartwarming. It possesses a fantastic mixture of action, humor, and earnestly tender moments as Chappie learns and grows-up. But most importantly, it feels unique. Where Elysium just generally felt like a generic Hollywood blockbuster, CHAPPiE feels like a Neil Blomkamp film. Even with a story which admittedly has already been told many times in various forms in science fiction, this film feels special. It’s different because it possesses that same charm, independence, and infusion of non-American culture that sets Blomkamp apart from the crowd. And adding on to that, he has now learned how to write good comedy and create a heartwarming coming-of-age story. It’s not as quite as good as District 9, but it’s really damn good. And it might be even more important, showing that if he puts his mind to it, Neil Blomkamp can make anything.
Grade: A-
This film does certainly have its problems. There are more plot holes than I would prefer; for example, why is Hugh Jackman’s character (another engineer at Tetravaal) trying to sell a robot equipped with anti-aircraft weaponry to the Johannesburg Police Force? Sigourney Weaver’s character was severely underutilized, being on screen for ten of fifteen minutes tops, while Jackman’s character lacked much characterization. All these problems seem to stem from the fact that there seemed to be a good chunk of the film that was lost to the editing room floor; the theatrical cut runs for a mere 120 minutes, very short for a science fiction film. I can’t wait to get my hands on the Director’s Cut, though.
But overall, these are minor problems. CHAPPiE is fun, it’s funny, and sometimes it’s even heartwarming. It possesses a fantastic mixture of action, humor, and earnestly tender moments as Chappie learns and grows-up. But most importantly, it feels unique. Where Elysium just generally felt like a generic Hollywood blockbuster, CHAPPiE feels like a Neil Blomkamp film. Even with a story which admittedly has already been told many times in various forms in science fiction, this film feels special. It’s different because it possesses that same charm, independence, and infusion of non-American culture that sets Blomkamp apart from the crowd. And adding on to that, he has now learned how to write good comedy and create a heartwarming coming-of-age story. It’s not as quite as good as District 9, but it’s really damn good. And it might be even more important, showing that if he puts his mind to it, Neil Blomkamp can make anything.
Grade: A-
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