In Johannesburg in a future time, robots called Scouts have replaced the human police force. These efficient Scouts were developed by the young genius Deon Wilson. His rival in the company is war-freak ex-soldier Vincent Moore who is trying to push his own creation, the big, mean fighting machine he calls Moose. Moore wanted nothing more than to discredit Wilson by fair means or by foul.
One day, Wilson and a damaged Scout #22 (which Deon had enhanced with his experimental human-like artificial intelligence) were abducted by drug-dealers who desperately needed to pay off a $20M debt. Much to Wilson's annoyance, the low-lifes call #22 the undistinguished name Chappie. Worse, they train him in the violent ways of the 'hood in order to help them pull off a major heist.
Like director Neill Blomkamp's previous film "District 9", his latest film once again highlights his home country of South Africa. Aside from the Johannesburg setting, his favorite actor Sharlto Copley is again in the cast. This time Copley is playing the titular Scout Chappie via motion capture. Copley tended to exaggerate the child-like demeanor and the innocent voice by which he communicates his thoughts. Some of his lines were cringe-worthy in their over-sentimentality.
Moreover, for the key roles of the husband-and-wife gangsters whom Chappie learned to call his Daddy and Mommy, Blomkamp casts members of the local hip hop group Die Antwoord, even using their real names Ninja and Yolandi. I felt this was a major misstep as these two neophyte actors obviously were not up to the challenge their roles demanded. The way these two were delivering their dialogues were clearly and distractingly amateurish.
The characters of Dev Patel (as Wilson) and Hugh Jackman (as Moore) were pretty one-dimensional. Patel plays a character we have seen him play before, an idealistic good guy. The way his character was written was nonsensical in many of his decisions and actions. Jackman on the other hand, was clearly enjoying his rare chance to play bad guy, and was overacting to the hilt with evil relish. Sigourney Weaver was hardly even seen as the CEO of the weapons company these two guys worked for, so casting her was inconsequential.
The story draws from several other Artificial Intelligence films we have seen before, especially those where the robot actually becomes human- like. There was a bit too much going on, and furthermore it was weighed down by its own excessive melodrama, which may become mawkish. I liked what happened at the end, despite that it seemed to be impossible to pull off in the long term. The importance of proper influence and education of minors is also emphasized and I liked that as well.
One day, Wilson and a damaged Scout #22 (which Deon had enhanced with his experimental human-like artificial intelligence) were abducted by drug-dealers who desperately needed to pay off a $20M debt. Much to Wilson's annoyance, the low-lifes call #22 the undistinguished name Chappie. Worse, they train him in the violent ways of the 'hood in order to help them pull off a major heist.
Like director Neill Blomkamp's previous film "District 9", his latest film once again highlights his home country of South Africa. Aside from the Johannesburg setting, his favorite actor Sharlto Copley is again in the cast. This time Copley is playing the titular Scout Chappie via motion capture. Copley tended to exaggerate the child-like demeanor and the innocent voice by which he communicates his thoughts. Some of his lines were cringe-worthy in their over-sentimentality.
Moreover, for the key roles of the husband-and-wife gangsters whom Chappie learned to call his Daddy and Mommy, Blomkamp casts members of the local hip hop group Die Antwoord, even using their real names Ninja and Yolandi. I felt this was a major misstep as these two neophyte actors obviously were not up to the challenge their roles demanded. The way these two were delivering their dialogues were clearly and distractingly amateurish.
The characters of Dev Patel (as Wilson) and Hugh Jackman (as Moore) were pretty one-dimensional. Patel plays a character we have seen him play before, an idealistic good guy. The way his character was written was nonsensical in many of his decisions and actions. Jackman on the other hand, was clearly enjoying his rare chance to play bad guy, and was overacting to the hilt with evil relish. Sigourney Weaver was hardly even seen as the CEO of the weapons company these two guys worked for, so casting her was inconsequential.
The story draws from several other Artificial Intelligence films we have seen before, especially those where the robot actually becomes human- like. There was a bit too much going on, and furthermore it was weighed down by its own excessive melodrama, which may become mawkish. I liked what happened at the end, despite that it seemed to be impossible to pull off in the long term. The importance of proper influence and education of minors is also emphasized and I liked that as well.