Chappie

(MA15+) ★★★

Director: Neill Blomkamp.

Cast: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yolandi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver.

Fashionbot 3000 had failed. 

AFTER his debut with modern classic District 9, South African director Neill Blomkamp went bigger and bolder with the Matt Damon-starring sci-fi film Elysium.

Audiences and critics predominantly liked it, but Blomkamp wasn't terribly pleased with the end result, saying he "just didn't make a good enough film".

It's going to be interesting to see what Blomkamp has to say about his new movie Chappie - a much more personal project based on his own short films that is nowhere near as good as Elysium.

A patchy, tone-shifting tale of artificial intelligence, Chappie has plenty going for it and is quite enjoyable for large stretches but - unlike its robotic hero - it doesn't fit together very well.

Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley provides the voice and motion-capture work for the titular droid, who is built by gifted engineer Deon (Patel) but kidnapped by Johannesburg gangstas Ninja and Yolandi (rap duo Die Antwoord as fictionalised versions of themselves).

Chappie, the first truly sentient piece of AI, is torn between keeping a promise to his maker not to commit crimes and helping his new "mummy and daddy" commit crimes.

Meanwhile, Deon is being targeted by a disgruntled co-worker (a mulleted Hugh Jackman) who sees Chappie as a way to rise through the ranks at the weapons company where they work.

The main problem with this film is its inconsistency. The opening act is poor, bombarding us with unnecessary news reels, clumsy character set-ups, and bad B-grade dialogue.

The trick is to persevere because the second act is great. Ninja and Yolandi's performances suddenly improve out-of-sight, the story gets better, the dialogue goes up a notch, a much-needed sense of humour starts to trickle in, and Blomkamp's typically weighty social themes start to appear.

But best of all the lead (and most interesting) character dominates the screen. Blending Copley's clever voice and motion-capture performance with some top-notch CGI, Chappie is a wonderfully fascinating character and gives everything a central radiant point to revolve around.

Unfortunately there are not enough of the weighty social themes nor enough humour as Chappie slides downhill in its final act, which switches back into B-grade mode for its big bloody showdown. It reaches a satisfying-enough conclusion, but each act feels like it has come from a different draft of the screenplay.

As a result, there are some very odd elements in this film, including some real "what the?" moments - i.e. how bad is the security at this weapons company? - and some parts which seem out of place. Jackman and Weaver - the nominal villains of the piece - are strangely cartoonish, and while Jackman's obviously enjoying himself and relishing the opportunity to play a bad guy (and wear a mullet), it's not one of his better performances.

Thankfully Chappie the character is endearing enough to elevate Chappie the movie and help overcome some of the film's deficiencies, but not enough to rank this in the same category as Elysium, let alone District 9.