Chappie

Chappie is a dramaturgically failed hybrid of Mad Max, Robocop and Short Circuit, with the worst casting disaster in many years (Hugh Jackman). All of the characters are totally unbelievable, regardless of who plays them. And that includes the motivation and actions of the robot Chappie. Neill Blomkamp had an top-tier budget, technology and actors, but his directing skills here are at the level of the guys from The Asylum. (03/17/2015)

Why? Because Die Antwoord, that’s why. Throw in a bit of wacky comedy, a bit of fatalistic sci-fi drama, add a dash of Deus Ex Machina and a few ideas from The Matrix on top, season it with a pinch of clichés, stir it up and you have a fun, inconsistent mashup of genres that one moment is laugh-out-loud hilarious and the next is naturalistically ripping your body in half. Blomkamp is a misunderstood filmmaker doing things his own way, the antithesis of the California dream factory of today. And that’s good. And one thing is certain: Die Antwoord are aliens whose cute non-acting is amusing. Although I believe those two didn't have to play much, they're fucked up in real life añready :o) (03/20/2015)

Neill Blomkamp lived up to his standard and finally added a static camera, which makes Chappie his best movie in terms of technologies. The fact that he cast the gang from the band Die Antwoord into some of the leading roles is also a big plus for me. I cannot think of anybody else from Johannesburg who could play bigger gangsters and creeps than Yolandi and Ninja. They are so extremely crazy, rotten and their music is so aggressive that nothing could fit into this movie better. I am a bit surprised that the director once again portrays Johannesburg as the worst place to inhabit, where not even the craziest Scandinavian murderer would want to live, as in Scandinavia, they treat murderers in prisons better than what the inhabitants of this town get on a daily basis. That is the only thing that bothered me about this film and the only reason why I didn’t rate it with five stars. Watching this city full of cement lots overgrown with thicket, teeming with human filth, is not really the peace and quiet my brain needs. Everything else was almost flawless. (05/20/2015)

Those who like Neil Blomkamp's style will love Chappie and even want to be friends with him. The film beautifully illustrates the problems of today's society and what it is like to bring life into the wrong hands. The very ugly and unlikeable villains, the ugly and dirty housing estates, the landscape, all come across as very ugly and you tell yourself I wouldn't want to spend the night in this ghetto. Fortunately, Chappie is a sweetheart, cute, sweet, innocent you can't help but love him, so the empathy works 150%, and many times you want to shed a tear. The action is decent (even bloody a couple of times), accompanied by a great soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, the humour and the emotions work here, so for me a really decent film with a very nicely thought out ending. Even though it's more of a grittier fairy tale, it's great to watch and there will be a sequel will be here, of course. 80% (03/16/2015)

An unusual sci-fi, especially these days. The dramaturgy is screwed, but in any case Chappie works like an indie R-rated comedy about how No. 5 picked up a gun and in the finale gives the Robocop chicken a piece of his mind. This is a fan movie with a massive budget where Blomkamp breaks loose from his fetters and had some fun with his friends from Die Antwort, Ripley and the robotic Sharlto Copley. Much more than crazy action, this is about how a gangster raises a child and about machines becoming human and the other way round too. P.S.: Hugh Jackman is incredible, he reminded me of an former workmate... But to go against such a cool image and create such an unpleasant bastard is almost the most remarkable acting performance of the whole movie, apart from Copely. That’s concussion, Mommy. (03/23/2015)