Chappie Movie Blurb by Shale March 7, 2015 This movie was a bit of a surprise. When I saw the trailers with Hugh Jackman and a anthropomorphic robot I thot of the 2011, PG-13 movie Real Steel and figured this would be similar. When I got to the box office I discovered this was an R rated movie and altho Chappie has human characteristics, being an artificial intelligence (voiced by Sharlto Copley), the movie is much darker and violent. The setting is South Africa (The screenplay, written by director Neill Blomkamp and his wife Terri Tatchell, who also co-wrote District 9). As with that movie, the special effects character of the sentient robot Chappie was excellent and you forget that he is not real. The story is about the success of a robotic police department in Johannesburg that has drastically reduced crime and taken out many gangs. The voiceover explains how the system controlling the robots is immune to hacking. Everything seems to be going well for Tetravaal, the company that makes the robots, run by Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver). The chief designer of the semi-intelligent robots, Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is working on an advanced artificial intelligence program that he wants to try. Not given the OK by his boss, he takes a damaged police bot to try his program. Deon, Designer of Semi-A.I. Police Robots Also working at Tetravaal is another designer, Australian Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman), whose cumbersome drone war machine called "The Moose," driven by an off-site human is too big and expensive to appeal to police departments. He appears to be a sociopathic asswipe who is getting more frustrated by his failures. Vincent & Michelle Argue About his Program Deon gets abducted by a small band of criminals Ninja and Yolandi (Ninja & Yolandi Visser) and Yankie (Jose Pablo). They are desperately trying to make a score to pay off a very murderous gang leader and want to use Deon's stolen police bot to help them in crime. Deon explains that his new program will be just like a child and the bot will have to be taught. Yolandi understands, names the infant bot Chappie and acts like a mother to it. Ninja is more impatient and tries to get it into the criminal activity immediately. Mommy & Chappie Paint This is where Chappie develops his anthropomorphic mannerisms and often misguided morality and where he is abused by humans and copes with an immature, lost child reaction. Lost Chappie & Dog Oh, but don't worry. Besides pathos there is some bloody action happening in this movie. Only about a third of critics liked this movie but two-thirds of audiences liked it, including me.
