# Chappie (2015)



## Culhwch (Nov 8, 2014)

Resurrecting an old thread here, I know. Neill Blomkamp's new movie _Chappie_. Didn't know what to think when I first heard about it but it looks good.


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## Brian G Turner (Nov 8, 2014)

I can't help but feel choked up when I watch that! Whispers of bicentennial man and 1001 sf plots about 'what it's like to be human'. But the execution looks very crisp. Looking forward to it - just hoping it's not a sad ending!!


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## Vince W (Nov 8, 2014)

I really, really hope it's great, but I have a terrible feeling that this won't end well for Chappie. I hope I'm wrong though.


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## Rodders (Nov 9, 2014)

Looking forward to this. 

There's another movie called "Ex Machina" that looks like it has a similar idea that I also want to see.


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## Droflet (Nov 10, 2014)

Definitely on my to watch list.


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## Ice fyre (Nov 10, 2014)

Looks amazing, yes shades of Bicentenial man indeed, a film I liked a lot more than the critics did. I personally thought it was one of Robin Williams better perfomances. I love the design of the robot. Looks a good film ndeed.


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## Dave (Mar 6, 2015)

Chappie is released in the UK today. 

There was an interview on _BBC Breakfast TV_ with Sigourney Weaver but Bill Turnbull only seemed to want to talk about _Alien_ and showed an ignorance of her career, and of Sci-Fi in general, when he thinks she has done 101 robot movies. 



Brian Turner said:


> Whispers of bicentennial man and 1001 sf plots about 'what it's like to be human'. But the execution looks very crisp. Looking forward to it - just hoping it's not a sad ending!!



I've read a long review of this in _Total Film_ but I do wonder what it can bring new to the table that isn't already covered in_ Robocop_ and _Short Circuit_ and as Brian says, "1001 sf plots about 'what it's like to be human'". However, it is Neill Blomkamp, so I'm willing to see his take on the subject.


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## Vince W (Mar 6, 2015)

Yeah, reviews are mixed, but I'm still willing to risk it.


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## Cli-Fi (Jun 17, 2015)

Chappie was a good film. The best parts were the beginning and the end. The boss of the company was an idiot and Hugh Jackman's character was an even bigger idiot! However, it had very touching moments and was at times pretty funny. It has very interesting ideas, wrapped up in a simple movie. Yeah as described here as 1001 sf plots about 'what it's like to be human' but I like the style in the way it was done. I have enjoyed everything Blomkamp has done so...


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## Brian G Turner (Jun 28, 2015)

If this was a student film, showcasing CGI effects for replacing a human figure with a robot avatar, I would have applauded it on technical grounds. Little more.

However, as a Hollywood film, it's nothing but a series of ridiculous and amateur plot cues, underlined by violence to children by proxy as entertainment.

A few script howlers IMO:

- Scientist discovers genuine AI, then leaves it in the hands of violent gangsters despite fearing for AI's life
- Corporation isn't interested in Nobel-prize winning idea of genuine AI, because they are too busy trying to sell a military platform with built-in cluster bombs to the neighbourhood police - and can't figure out why the neighbourhood police don't see the need for cluster bombs
- No one bats an eye at AI police shooting people, but hate the idea of robots controlled by humans with an ethical mandate - receives little comment
- Gangster needs to raise a few million for a drug lord, but never considers gifting multi-million pound unique police robot in lieu
- Gangster instead drops off multi-million pound robot alone somewhere where it can be damaged by another gang, reducing its value, and capabilities - despite the need to use said robot to raise money
- Newly sentient robot moves and behaves like an eight-year old child, despite the completely different physiological and cognitive structures
- Despite being shot at by police robots, female gang member hugs and kisses police robot like a child. Because that's what women do, right?
- Scientist who discovered genuine AI also discovers how to transfer human consciousness into a robot. Still works with violent gang instead of taking discoveries to wider scientific community
- Human consciousness can be immediately comfortable in robot host body

The script is awful, and there is no subtlety - the viewer is repeatedly banged on the head with a large instrument that: OMG, this police robot acts like a child! Then inflicts various acts of violence on it.

In fact, 'bunny ears' were added to try and make it look less like a robot and a little more cute. Because the film wasn't sure if it had sledge-hammered us enough with the need to like this robot.

The directing is flat and unengaging, too. Looks like Blomkamp shunted almost all of his budget and time from _Chappie _to _Elysium_.

All the characters are idiot cliches. Yet, for some reason, we're expected to care for them.

Oh - and _Appleseed_'s robot wants its ears back.


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## BAYLOR (Jun 28, 2015)

I skipped this one .  I wished I had skipped *Elysium* too.


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## Cli-Fi (Jun 28, 2015)

Brian Turner said:


> If this was a student film, showcasing CGI effects for replacing a human figure with a robot avatar, I would have applauded it on technical grounds. Little more.
> 
> However, as a Hollywood film, it's nothing but a series of ridiculous and amateur plot cues, underlined by violence to children by proxy as entertainment.
> 
> ...



I guess one must keep in mind that this is taking place as a trial run. In South Africa of all places. So it's not NYC, it's not LA. It's a much smaller scale, didn't they say 100 robots? and it remains to be seen from the plot if they were having trouble releasing the police force internationally. But that's what I would assume. The idiot CEO didn't want to even know about Deon's invention because she either was too focused on the policebots and simply wrote off that dead one, or couldn't possibly believe him. If you were CEO and some guy comes up to you and said that he created AI, during one of your most busiest times during a product roll out. That is the absolute worst time for a CEO to pay attention to you. If Deon spent some time trying to convince her, then I am sure she would have at least looked at it. But that's why Hugh Jackman's AI robot was the one that won her heart in the end. She needed an alpha type to convince her and the crisis helped. Deon was not that type of character. He was a regular geek with poor people skills. Which is probably why he created AI in the first place. This is highlighted in the film.


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## Brian G Turner (Jun 28, 2015)

Cli-Fi said:


> I guess one must keep in mind that this is taking place as a trial run.



Certainly those are reasonable arguments. I guess it's easy to rip into the plotting of many films.

Even still, _Chappie _didn't go down well with my wife or teenage daughter - specifically, the portrayal of Chappie as child-like, and then inflicting violence on him. They wanted it switched off halfway through, and I ended up watching the rest after.

_Elysium _wasn't the strongest story, but it had more in terms of visuals and character IMO. Sometimes _Chappie _felt like it was trying to be a children's film, but with adult themes, resulting in a real feeling of disconnection for me.

However, this is all only my opinion. If other people enjoyed it, I'm genuinely happy for them. It just didn't work for us in this instance.


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## REBerg (Sep 13, 2015)

Brian Turner said:


> If this was a student film, showcasing CGI effects for replacing a human figure with a robot avatar, I would have applauded it on technical grounds. Little more.
> 
> However, as a Hollywood film, it's nothing but a series of ridiculous and amateur plot cues, underlined by violence to children by proxy as entertainment.
> 
> ...


Chappie was a disappointment to me for many of the reasons you listed, but especially for the brutal treatment of an innocent child inside a police robot's body. The perpetrators understandably saw only an enemy at first, but how could they ignore its desperate cries for mercy and not realize they were dealing with something different?

The consciousness-transferring thing really irked me. A still developing AI so advanced that it could spend a few minutes on the internet and learn how to achieve this, then store the entire consciousness of a human being on a flash drive? That had to one enormous-capacity drive. 



Spoiler



Also a cheap way to smooth a rough road to a happy ending


The whole, frantic "Mommy" and "Daddy" exclamations as Chappie "learned" grated on my nerves. Whatever dire circumstances my own children faced growing up, they never produced anything like that.

I really liked District 9, so I was expecting better from Blomkamp here. My time would have been better spent re-watching _Short Circuit_.


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## Droflet (Sep 13, 2015)

REBerg said:


> *Chappie was a disappointment to me for many of the reasons you listed, but especially for the brutal treatment of an innocent child inside a police robot's body. The perpetrators understandably saw only an enemy at first, but how could they ignore its desperate cries for mercy and not realize they were dealing with something different?*
> 
> The consciousness-transferring thing really irked me. A still developing AI so advanced that it could spend a few minutes on the internet and learn how to achieve this, then store the entire consciousness of a human being on a flash drive? That had to one enormous-capacity drive.
> 
> ...



Yep, I found that particularly off putting, and found myself cringing as I watched it. But, you don't get a District 9 everyday. Right?


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## Rodders (Sep 14, 2015)

I really enjoyed Chappie. As for the point above, perhaps a single person might notice the cries for help as something different and stop, but a mob? No chance.


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## J Riff (Jan 16, 2016)

Aha, this is also called_ Humandroid_,(?) and I nearly watched it, it's on Netflix apparently, as_ Chappie_. Tx fer the heads up, I'll wait for Blomencamps hack at _Alien _and see how that goes.


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