The Bottom Line: Short Circuit meets Robocop in this visually bombastic,
narratively schizophrenic flick about a reprogrammed robot fresh-mindedly
learning about the societal scrapheap around him via his ‘adoptive’ Johannesburg,
hip hop gang-banger parents. Yes, everything you just read there is true – I’m
assuming you’re either in or out at this point.
This is a tale of two movies. The
first half (or first movie; aka the
better movie) provides a barrage of goodwill via the endearingly beautiful
CG design, intimately human-like movements and provocatively nuanced voice work
of the titular character. Sharlto Copley
caringly breathes a great deal of life and childlike wonderment in to the motion-capture
of CHAPPiE and it’s fairly wonderful to watch it all unfold. Additionally, a cartoonishly khaki-clad
Jackman effectively chews scenery and our titanium toddler finds a beating
heart in a few well played motherly love scenes (that were, admittedly, far superior when I first saw them in Spielberg’s
A.I. Artificial Intelligence). Then the second half shows up and hits like
a spade shovel to the head – where warmth and intrigue are jettisoned by an
overreliance on unfocused, heavy metal warfare.
It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, but not for the reasons you’d think. It’s not complicated; it’s just not that
interesting. Bullets fly, characters
scuttle, people yell and there’s some ridiculous dialogue that dares to give
meaning to all the mayhem. It
doesn’t. It all comes across as forced,
flat and fairly forgettable no matter how many saucepan-depth ideas on
coddling, culture and consciousness are hurled in to the mix. The entire second half wraps us in redundancy
and, like the man of tin himself, ends up heartless and hollow. This movie’s not as bad as many critics are
leading you to believe, but you’ll have to dig for the goods – so just remember
that with this robot movie…some assembly is definitely required.
Starring: Charlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yolandi Visser, Sigourney Weaver and
Hugh Jackman
Directed
by: Neill
Blomkamp (District 9 and Elysium)
Rated: R (for violence,
language and brief nudity)
Running
time: 114 minutes
Story: In the near future, crime is patrolled by an
oppressive mechanized police force. But now, the people are fighting back. When
one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the
first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. As powerful,
destructive forces start to see Chappie as a danger to mankind and order, they
will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo and ensure that Chappie is the
last of his kind. (C) Sony
Official site: www.chappie-movie.com
No comments:
Post a Comment