Summary
When the engineer behind the world’s first robotic police force goes against orders to crack the code for Artificial Intelligence he is forced to enlist a group of gangsters to help him ‘raise’ his new creation into adulthood.
Context
I was a big fan of “District 9” from the moment I saw it in theaters. Unfortunately, Blomkamp’s next outing “Elysium” (2013) was poorly received and, in general, a complete mess of a film. When Blomkamp’s next movie “Chappie” was slated for release, I was pretty excited because of my love for “District 9” but felt it wise to temper that excitement considering “Elysium.” As the reviews began trickling in and people I knew started seeing it, I got the feeling that the consensus was that it wasn’t very good. With only so much time and money at my disposal during that period of my life, I decided to skip it.
O Boy, did I make the wrong choice. In fact, I think I might like “Chappie” more than “District 9.”
The Film
This film, while I found it incredibly moving, is not exactly an original outing for Neill Blomkamp. Structurally the film is very similar to “District 9.” We get some incredibly well done world building which explains how the main novelty of the film, in this case a robotic police force, came to be and also the ways that it has affected various people groups and their opinions of that novelty. Then, we get some inciting incident brought on by a naive individual transgressing in some way. Next, some soul searching and personal growth as large corporate interests are trying to take advantage of the new revelations brought on my the inciting incident,. In this case, The corporation seeks to destroy Chappie because of the liability he presents to them. Finally, we arrive at a bittersweet ending which culminates in a large action sequence or two.
I can definitely understand why, if someone connects to “District 9” they may not feel the need or attraction for this film since it has so many similar beats. For me, however, I think I prefer “Chappie” not because any of the above mentioned similarities but because of the thematic difference in the films.
Thematically, “Chappie” focuses primarily on a compressed view of human development in the form of an incredibly powerful Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) who goes through those stages incredibly quickly. As a result, I found that it connected with me on a far more individual human level than “District 9” which focuses primarily on group dynamics and prejudices. In that film, I am already on the ‘side’ of the film saying that the refugees need to be treated with respect and understanding so it all has a bit of a ‘preaching to the choir vibe’ that felt, to me, more like someone saying ‘don’t you see this is wrong?’ over and over for a couple hours, albeit in an incredibly entertaining and layered way, even though I already agreed with them.
With “Chappie,” I don’t feel like there are sides that I am being asked to be on or grow out of and into another. Maybe that’s because I’m reading too much into the mind of Blomkamp’s intentions in “District 9” but I think it’s because he had grown since making that movie. “Chappie” Feels more like a meditation, at times, on the mysteries of what it means to be human. Nature and nurture, personal responsibility and societal responsibility, self determination and respect for the freedoms of others; all are deftly handled in a film which, from the previews, looks more like and action thriller with a bit of heart.
Another reason that I like this film so much is its treatment of the characters. Don’t get me wrong, Wikus from “District 9” is a brilliant, richly developed, complicated character whose arc is one of the most interesting parts of that film. “Chappie” however is that times 5 since every character feels more fleshed out and powerfully realized. This is certainly due to some fine writing and directing, but also is helped tremendously by a larger, more talented and experienced cast.
Instead of a standard White Guy CEO as the villain we get Sigourney Weaver (“Alien,” 1979). Instead of a by the numbers generic mercenary we get Hugh Jackman (“Logan,” 2017)as a jealous rival engineer (who has power armor.) Dev Patel “Slumdog Millionaire,” 2008) is tapped to play Chappie’s creator/father/god and Sharlto Copley (“Hardcore Henry,” 2015) performs a great bit of voice acting and motion capture as Chappie but the real standouts for me are Chappie’s foster parents played by Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser of the South African Rap/Rave group Die Antwoord. These poor, disorganized, hardened gangsters will have you looking at everyone you encounter and asking ‘what kind of parents must that person have had?’
All in all, I was happy to add “Chappie” to my list of modern Sci-Fi classics and am certain I’ll be revisiting it for years to come. If you are a sci-fi fan and haven’t gotten around to this one yet, it’s time.
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