Neil
Blomkamp
loves
robots
and
aliens
more
than
human
beings
and
maybe
that's
why
all
his
stories
so
far
have
had
something
to
do
with
the
man
versus
machine
concept.
After
making
his
smashing
debut
in
2009
blockbuster
"District
9",
Neil
became
a
much
sought
after
filmmaker.
But
the
overnight
success
didn't
last
long
as
his
big
budget
sci-fi
drama
"Elysium",
his
second
film
turned
out
to
be
a
disaster.
And
his
latest
outing
"Chappie" feels
like
it's
been
made
from
nuts
and
bolts
of
his
earlier
films
and
the
pieces
don't
fit
the
way
they
should.
In
"Chappie",
he
envisions
a
world
where
robots
aid
police
force
in
bringing
down
the
crime
rate.
They
don't
just
aid,
but
even
risk
their
lives
to
save
their
human
counterparts.
In
one
such
operation,
a
droid
gets
severely
broken
beyond
repair.
Deon
Wilson
(Dev
Patel)
is
the
chief
designer
of
the
robots
that
have
been
successfully
assisting
the
Johannesburg
police
department
in
fighting
crime
and
his
organization
is
proud
of
his
work.
But
Deon
has
been
secretly
working
on
a
programme
that
will
allow
robots
to
have
a
mind
of
their
own,
behave
and
feel
like
humans
with
the
help
of
artificial
intelligence
(AI).
When
he
pitches
the
idea,
his
boss
doesn't
approve,
forcing
him
to
illegally
test
it
on
the
broken
droid.
Deon's
ambitious
plan
goes
for
a
toss
when
he
is
kidnapped
by
a
group
of
gangsters,
who
plan
to
use
him
to
programme
a
robot
to
help
them
pull
off
a
big
heist.
Deon
reprogrammes
the
broken
droid
with
AI,
and
Chappie
is
born.
"Chappie"
has
very
little
story
and
whatever
it
has
doesn't
quite
engage
us.
But
what's
charming
about
the
film
is
Neil's
idea
to
treat
humans
and
robots
equally.
When
a
robot
can
behave
like
us
and
has
feelings
of
its
own,
thanks
to
AI,
why
should
it
still
do
whatever
it's
instructed
to
do.
With
a
mind
of
its
own,
a
robot
can
differentiate
between
right
and
wrong
but
it
needs
to
be
shown
how
and
that's
where
human
intervention
is
needed.
When
Chappie
is
first
brought
back
to
life,
it
reacts
to
its
surroundings
with
fear.
Deon
calls
it
a
child
and
says
it
needs
to
be
oriented.
When
you
forget
Chappie
is
a
robot
and
treat
it
like
a
child,
you'll
appreciate
what
Blomkamp
tries
to
address
here.
While
the
gangsters
want
Chappie
to
help
them
pull
off
a
heist,
Deon
wants
it
to
learn
a
la
humans.
In
a
touching
scene,
Deon
encourages
Chappie
to
paint
and
read
a
book
about
a
black
sheep.
Typically,
a
black
sheep
is
a
disreputable
member
of
a
family
or
group,
but
here
it
stands
for
someone
unique
and
different.
Chappie
is
the
black
sheep,
and
its
uniqueness
is
symbolically
highlighted
by
the
orange
coloured
ear,
which
is
quite
evident
even
in
the
film's
posters.
But
these
wonderful
moments
don't
make
up
for
the
lack
of
story.
And
there's
plenty
of
awe-inspiring
action
in
this
insipid
tale
which
like
Neil's
earlier
films
is
set
in
his
birthplace
Johannesburg
in
South
Africa.
For
reasons
nobody
would
understand,
the
director
had
cast
two
members
of
the
rave-rap
group
Die
Antwoord
in
the
lead
roles,
while
Dev
Patel
tries
his
best
to
do
justice
as
a
nerd.
Jackman
was
merely
cast
for
the
purpose
to
fill
in
the
shoes
of
a
bad
man
in
such
stories.
"Chappie"
has
lots
of
issues
but
it
definitely
isn't
a
bad
film.
Agreed
the
concept
is
archaic,
but
there's
something
oddly
charming
about
it.