REVIEW: Chappie (2015)

How do I describe Chappie?  Picture a scientist, who develops a program capable of thinking for itself, learning faster than a human can,and the story of how he bonds with a robot he tests this program on....then throw in a crap ton of gangsta rap, ridiculous gangsta dialogue, gangsta crime sprees, gangsta gun poses, gangsta walking, gangsta bling bling, gangsta gangsta gangsta and even more gangsta!  Yeah if you can't already tell this is a pretty silly film.  It has some fun concepts, and a lovable robot, I can't lie there, but Chappie does have a lot of shortcomings, and the resulting creation, is a film that has much more forgettable elements than memorable ones.  Side characters that contribute little to nothing in the story, actors that cannot act, story elements that are poorly explained, and music that is out of place here.  And the fact that this has come from a director, who has given us two films that I very much enjoy, I gotta say I was slightly disappointed by this film.

It's 2016, and we're in an South Africa, which I personally found odd as Africa was where "District 9" took place, but I won't nitpick too much.  One year into the future and all law enforcement has been replaced by these humanoid robots, with hack-proof systems and titanium bodies that make them very hard to penetrate.  Crime rates go down, and all human officers are relieved.  We are introduced to the mastermind behind these robots, an inventor named Deon Wilson, who is developing a program to run artificial intelligence that will think for itself, learn for itself, develop emotions, opinions, a personality.  Thing is when his boss refuses to let him test it on a robot set to be destroyed (which I will call BS, the guy behind his robots isn't allowed to perhaps further his research?), he jacks the robot to do the test anyway.  We are also introduced to these absolutely laughable gang members who run into a financial crisis.  They are planning a heist, and decide to kidnap Deon to see if he can deactivate the robot law enforcement.  A thing he cannot do, claiming it not to be possible.  Instead they decide to build the robot with that AI program he developed, in hopes that he can be taught to perhaps help them in their big heist.

And Chappie is born...or created, which I will say is a lovable robot almost immediately from the start. He's curious, nervous, and acts very much like a child, as we are told he would start out as.  And he quickly learns how to do impressive things such as painting, and whatnot (even though I will say they took the painting style from "I, Robot").  He's told by Deon that he shouldn't let others tell him what to do or decide what he can do, that he has a free mind and that he should use it.  Thing is, and this is a thing I really like about this film, he's around bad influences.  He is almost forced how to shoot a gun (in a ridiculous scene, I must say [there was NO WAY that gangster would have as much accuracy as he did with that ridiculous pose]), he's around people counting drugs, and talking in nonstop profanity...which itself can get ridiculous, and you can tell how it affects him.  This is the thing that holds this movie together.  Chappie is lovable, and wonderfully developed...even if it can be a bit over the top.  I never thought I'd see a robot wearing gangsta bling bling outside the cartoon Futurama.

You've noticed how much I've used the word "gangsta" in this review?  Well there's a reason for that.  That's because the amount of stereotypical gang culture in this film is ridiculous.  And it doesn't help that the two main gang members are played by two members of a rap group I know nothing about.  In fact, apparently their music is heard throughout the film.  I'm not really one for gangsta rap as a music genre but the acting choice of these two and the inclusion of their music makes this film seem more like a selling point for music than an actual story.  Their roles in this movie are a near complete joke, and they're only surpassed in the roles that are a joke by the people out to get them.  The antagonists in this film are forgettable and contribute nearly nothing to the story other to remind us that they do bad things.  Theres a scene in this movie where a corrupt coworker disables all the police robot units (despite Deon earlier in the film telling us that this wasn't possible, hence the creation of the Chappie robot), to field test this "Robocop" enemy robot ripoff.  But before they field test it, there's endless rioting in the city with zero law enforcement, and the enemy gang members just kinda pull the card that the city is now theirs.  No other gang in town?  No explanation why everyone just goes along with him?  Seriously it makes me think like I'm watching an online session of Grand Theft Auto than an actual movie.  Oh and on that note some of the weapons in this movie look like they came straight out of Call of Duty.  Who fights with a schoolbus yellow machine gun?

But honestly, the biggest thing that gets me wrong about this movie is again..,like Transcendence...the ending.  Now I will give it credit, it's no where near as stupid and annoying as the ending in Transcendence, but it's still very silly.  If you don't want a spoiler, skip this and the next paragraph.  The biggest thing in Chappie is the fact that Chappie is tested on a damaged robot, damaged beyond repair.  They cannot replace his battery and it's near failing.   Chappie goes on this quest to try and find a new body and find a way to transfer his consciousness into that body.  Which is all well and good.  And he apparently finds a way to do that through this neural helmet which was made to help control the robot that was supposed to be tested.  The thing is, it would make sense for him to be able to do that in a sense.  He's a machine.  I copy and paste date in flash drives all the time.  I'm sure AI can find a way to do that.  But they jump the shark and once Deon is fatally injured, Chappie finds a way to transfer his consciousness into a blank body of a robot!  What?  

First of all, human consciousness isn't that simple I'm guessing.  Transferring something from an actual organism to a machine in the way that they do it is just silly.  "Transcendence" at least put some thought into how they did those same ideas.  Secondly, they threw out so much potential with this dumb move.  Chappie in this movie is very much like a learning child.  What could have been a really hard lesson of life for him, was just brushed away. Why not have a dying Deon tearfully explain to his finest creation that there are just some things in life that a machine can't fix?  Why not help make Chappie a stronger character overall with him having to emotionally deal with not one, but two deaths in this movie?  Yeah, one of the gang members he calls his mother and grows really close to dies.  And that would be sad, but the thing is they frigging bring HER consciousness back too!  And the way they did it is even more irritating because when they transferred Dean's consciousness, his body was instantly killed.  Earlier, we see Chappie and "Mommy" playing with the neural helmet, but she is killed onscreen by getting shot repeatedly.  Then the film brings up this "twist" of how Chappie backed her consciousness up on a flash drive.  Yeah.  A flash drive!  Why didn't it kill her when he did the transfer there?  If this movie wanted me to feel bad about this character's death in the first place, why would they bother bringing her consciousness back?  This movie literally killed any sense of remorse you're supposed to feel with the death of a character, when it could have been a much stronger movie if it had left death in as a factor of life.  

When all is said and done, most people can watch this movie and see how silly it is.  Again a lot of the stereotypical gang culture in this movie tends to give that away, and in fact it almost turned me off to this movie at all.  But the movie isn't terrible.  Yeah it suffers from plot problems and again, the ending is one I really don't think I approve of too much, but unlike "Transcendence", this movie did have a bit more to offer.  As much as I didn't like the gang stereotypes, they made me laugh at just how ludicrous it got.  And of course, the robot Chappie is a very lovable character, and executed well.  I just feel like he doesn't belong in this movie.  He seems out of place almost.  There was a lot of potential here and a lot of it was not met.  The film does succeed in hitting some points home that would make this movie fun, but it's far from a masterpiece, and at times, it's just laughable at how bad it can be.  At times, I'm wondering exactly what this movie wants to be.  The poster itself seems a bit misleading to me.  "Humanity's last hope isn't human." That's the tagline for this movie.  But never in this movie is the fate of mankind even played upon.  What the hell?  

Chappie is a two and a half out of four stars for me. It's slightly above average.  Slightly.  Despite some wonderful characters, the story isn't fully told.  I feel like it was thrown at us with no reason to question our believability.  Believe this because it's a movie.  No logic needed.  No rhyme or reason.  And that's just not how it works with me.  I want to know how they could have done some of the many things in this movie as they did.  It could have been something along the lines that "District 9" was, but it's just not.  My friend, who loves this film told me that it's probably meant to be taken as a the cheesy film it is, like "Robocop" was back in the day.  I don't know if that's the case or not.  What I do know is that it is watchable, and can be fun to watch.  But it's one I don't see myself watching again in the very near future.  With all that said though, I am happy to have seen it.  I just hope this little fluke doesn't become a norm for director Neill Blomkamp.

Please feel free to suggest any film I should watch.  Leave a comment down below telling me your thoughts on the film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 2.5/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Everyone knows the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.  Whether you were introduced to him in the recent 2009 film, the CBS Series, his book series, or even an awesome episode of Star Trek (I'm not joking there either), chances are, you've at least heard the name, and know that he's regarded as one of the best, if not the absolute best detective in mystery fiction.  My first take on the great detective however came in the form of a Disney cartoon, and when I first watched it, I didn't know the name Sherlock Holmes.  Some of you may be able to share the same experience.  "The Great Mouse Detective" is a very charming take on Sherlock Holmes, and probably one of the most underrated films of the Disney animated movies.  There are many things in this movie that make me smile, and just so many things that are done right in this film.  From the charming adaptions of the Sherlock and Watson roles, to the mystery, to the villain.  It's all done splendidly.  

The film takes place in London, 1897, where we follow the case of a disappearing father.  Though originally just shown to be a classic case of a parent gone missing, the film pulls a classic "it's not as simple as you think" card on the viewer and goes into a case that involves the fate of the entire Kingdom...or "Mousedom" and the Queen herself.  One can look at this and say that it's been done a hundred times before, and that it's probably been done better, but with the fast-paced yet very followable storytelling, and nonstop thrill ride, it is a mystery movie that is very much fun to witness.  Several points attribute to this.  The film knows how to show a scene in which quiet is needed.  The film knows how to pull a surprise that no one expects.  And the film knew how to cast.

The only character that I thought was a bit out of place was the voice of the eight-year-old mouse of the film, Oliia.  She is voiced by Susanne Pollatschek, and I do believe she was a child voice actor.  As such, some of her lines I feel were out of place at times.  They were still believable, and her character was easy to relate to, but you can't help but wonder if maybe she spoke a little too loud into the microphone during some takes or whatnot.  Barrie Ingham does a great job at voicing Basil, really bringing the life out of the character.  His emotions, to despair, to joy, to sheer annoyance are so well done.  And the stuttering personality of Dr. Dawson is portrayed wonderfully by Val Bettin.  But let's be honest here...the real star of the voice acting goes to none other than the late great Vincent Price, who you can tell had a lot of fun voicing the film's antagonist, Professor Ratigan.  

Ratigan deserves a paragraph all on his own.  He is easily one of the best villains I've ever seen out of Disney.  I don't know if that's because of Vincent's phenomenal voice acting in the character, or whatnot, but he's such a unique villain.  He even made the number 3 spot on my all time favorite Disney Villains list (behind Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" and Claude Frollo from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame").  He's always fun when on screen, which is something you can't say about villains a lot of the time.  A lot of Disney movies will portray their villains as devious evil masterminds, who would make your skin crawl.  And though the film does a good job of describing Ratigan as such, on screen, he's always so suave, unafraid to crack a joke, be a gentleman, and then in the blink of an eye, he can transform into a terrifying intimidating character that makes you wanna jump out of your skin.  Vincent Price himself said that playing Ratigan was probably his most favorite role he ever did in his career.  And it really does shine in this.  With not one, but two songs in which he sings, and just amazing tones in his dialogue, it's probably one of the most memorable voice performances in a Disney movie.

Another thing that really keeps this movie rolling is the music.  Now I will say that some of the musical numbers in this film, I feel didn't need to be included, such as a number that is done in a low-life pub, in which a drugged Dr. Dawson accidentally starts off a drunken brawl, but the score in this movie is energetic, and easily fits the film's pacing.  That opening theme after we see the disappearance of Olivia's father, is beyond catchy, and can easily get stuck in your head.  The theme is played in various styles in the movie, quiet in the quiet scenes, and fast during a wonderfully done, even if a little over the top chase scene.  

The final thing I wanna point out about this film is the climax.  This climax I highly believe is probably the absolute best climax scene that a Disney movie has ever done.  I will not spoil too much of it, but even if this movie wasn't as fun to watch, this climax would have made it alone worth watching.  It starts immediately after Ratigan's vessel crashes in to the face of the famous Elizabeth Tower, home of the famous Big Ben clock tower.  You are transported to the inside mechanics and gears of of the second largest four-faced chiming clock in the world, and a conflict between Basil and Ratigan begins, which is wonderfully paced, and very thrilling to watch.  Each blow that is struck sounds like it hurts, it sounds real, and the visualization of the gears and the clock tower just really sets this climax at a higher level than any other climax I've ever seen in a Disney movie.  It is 5 minutes that make up for ANY shortcomings this film has to offer, and there really aren't that many that I can find.  And it leads to an ending that can pull at the heartstrings just a bit.

"The Great Mouse Detective" is a very fun film for both children and adults, and a great way to perhaps get introduced to the Sherlock stories.  I'm not the biggest follower of the great detective himself, but I cannot deny that the writing of his mysteries is very much always a treat to watch, read, or whatnot.  This film is no different.  Is it maybe a bit simpler, with some plot elements we've seen before?  Yeah, but none of that detracts from the quality of this film's writing, and performance.  There is life in this film, beyond the animation drawings and voice talents.  Life that in many other disney movies, just isn't there.  It's a true gem to have come out before the Disney giants that we're all familiar with today.  And many people who worked on this would go on to help make those great movies we all know from Disney.

All of this put together makes this film near legendary in my own personal opinion.  A masterpiece.  An underrated masterpiece.  There is something for everyone to enjoy in this film, and it's not hard to find.  That is why, I am awarding this film, the highest rating I can give, a full on four stars out of four.  Again, there may be some shortcomings in this film but nothing so bad that it would detract the quality of some clever mystery writing, that is easy to follow for all ages, and memorable characters that are brought to life in more ways than one.  Coming from a time when Disney movies were coming out of an era that was not that strong, that really does hammer the point for me.  While many films of the disney era before this or even slightly after this were forgettable, this first step was a great step in the right direction to giving us some of the many films we know and love by Disney today.  And it still holds up today.  A jolly good show indeed.

Feel free to request a movie for me to watch and write my thoughts about.  Leave a comment expressing your own thoughts on the film here, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 4/4