"Chappie" mini review
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 10:33 am
This movie has been languishing on my server for a long time. I think it's because the title isn't particularly engaging. The critics also planned it back in 2015, although audience reviews were okay. I didn't know, until last night, that is was directed by the guy who did District 9, or I would have watched it a long time ago.
No spoilers, but the movie depicts very believable police robots that support live police officers in Johannasburg. The CGI work is fantastic. It makes me wish we had robots like this. These aren't slow plodding Terminators. These are spry, Boston Dynamics looking robots. There are some great scenes in a gang shootout with police where the robots go in ahead of officers and act as shields and support troops.
The major plot is that the inventor of these robots is more interested in a developing a self aware AI, while the corporation head (played by Sigourney Weaver) is just interested in selling the already smart enough robots to police forces.
The movie goes places I never expected it to go, with some real thought provocking plot ideas.
Don't let anyone tell you much more than this or they'll ruin it for you.
Hugh Jackman is also in the film as a rival engineer.
The only major criticism is that, like District 9, there's a lot of South African actors - mainly playing the gang members with street slang - and it's sometimes a little hard to understand them.
It's a strange combination of Robocop and Short Circuit, mixed with the exotically gritty flavor of District 9.
If you liked District 9, I think you'll like this. If you gave it a pass the first time around, like I did, I think it's worth looking at.
No spoilers, but the movie depicts very believable police robots that support live police officers in Johannasburg. The CGI work is fantastic. It makes me wish we had robots like this. These aren't slow plodding Terminators. These are spry, Boston Dynamics looking robots. There are some great scenes in a gang shootout with police where the robots go in ahead of officers and act as shields and support troops.
The major plot is that the inventor of these robots is more interested in a developing a self aware AI, while the corporation head (played by Sigourney Weaver) is just interested in selling the already smart enough robots to police forces.
The movie goes places I never expected it to go, with some real thought provocking plot ideas.
Don't let anyone tell you much more than this or they'll ruin it for you.
Hugh Jackman is also in the film as a rival engineer.
The only major criticism is that, like District 9, there's a lot of South African actors - mainly playing the gang members with street slang - and it's sometimes a little hard to understand them.
It's a strange combination of Robocop and Short Circuit, mixed with the exotically gritty flavor of District 9.
If you liked District 9, I think you'll like this. If you gave it a pass the first time around, like I did, I think it's worth looking at.