Review Tuesday: CHAPPIE

Continuing with robotics reviews from last week...

CHAPPIE

When an engineer comes up with the algorithm that makes a robot self-aware, he ends up getting the attention of some bad people, but you'd be surprised who the villain really is.

Neill Blomkamp brings to us another one of his distopian sci-fi flicks about a not-too-distant future in South Africa. 

Of course, what's the first thing you think about when you hear South Africa? DIE ANTWOORD. They are South Africa's Insane Clown Posse, and it appears that Blomkamp is a fan and cast Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser in starring roles. By far, those two have been the largest complaint about this movie. It's understandable. You love them or hate them and Ninja comes across as especially vile in this movie. 

But I digress...

Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) worked out an algorithm that gives sentience to a "retired" police robot. This unit is named Chappie played by Blomkamp's good luck charm, Sharlto Copley. 

When Deon crosses paths with local gangsters, Chappie's "life" ends up on the line, and not only by thugs, but also by people at the corporation. 

The movie is a series of twists and turns and ends up very much like District 9 in many ways.

I found the movie more entertaining than annoying. Ninja is a disgusting individual and his screen time is vomitous. However, the interactions of Deon and Yo-Landi with Chappie are compelling. If you can deal with the accents and Ninja's Popeye face, you might agree with me.

On IMDB
On Amazon: Chappie