Movie Review - Chappie

Chappie

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Brandon Auret, Anderson Cooper, Jason Cope, and more.

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp Written by: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell Cinematography by: Trent Opaloch Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: A scientist working on artificial intelligence takes a chance and steals a broken scout robot, but is in turn kidnapped. To placate his captors, he offers them the use of scout 22 once he's implanted him with his new AI program. Desperate themselves, the kidnappers take Deon up on the offer, hoping to use the scout for a big heist to get them out of trouble with their boss. But as soon as the scout robot is rebooted, it is obvious scout 22 is more than they bargained for. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Thumbs Up: Dev Patel was perfect as the geeky Deon Wilson. His emotional fervor shone through as the lamb became the lion. Hugh Jackman easily brought home all the frustrated emasculation of his character Vincent Moore. Sigourney Weaver was once more sadly underused.

Outshining everyone, whoever, was Chappie, played by Sharlto Copley. His vocal deliveries, and even more, his captured body movements which were transferred to the CGI character, made Chappie more human than the real thing. Really amazing.

2)  Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The CGI work on this film is utterly fantastic. It's hard to think of Chappie as a created image, he looks so real on the screen. The physical interaction between him and those around him totally complete the illusion. Truly some incredible work.

Even the big brute Moose, when finally used in the film, was darn impressive. Add in the explosions, rivers of bullets, and damage of all kinds, and the virtuous efforts of the special effects team are everywhere you look.

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: Though the whole concept of Chappie and his evolution is quite fascinating, the overall plot sadly suffers from all sorts of inadequacies.

Chappie as a character is developed with a lot of detail. But almost everyone else are cookie cutter cutouts. Hippo, for example, is the typical power mad, trigger happy, unthinking thug, putting pressure on his underlings for failing to meet his demands.

The theme of bullies is explored from several directions, which did add some interest and color, if you caught on. Lambs turning into Lions was another motif lightly explored.

Most of the science seemed viable - aside from putting your entire consciousness in a thumb drive, that is. And how secure is your programming when you only have one viable special flash drive and it requires no password? Those issues and some other items appeared somewhat contrived. And to be honest, for most of the film, 90% of the characters involved were not in anyway likable. The effort at the whole "being made better for those you've met" theme was hard to swallow after the ferocity evidenced by one or more of the characters.

And while Chappie gets some physical satisfaction against Vincent, nothing ever comes out about what he did, and all the people he endangered and who died because of his self serving actions (not to speak of the outright attempted murders of two unarmed men). The fact that at the end of the film they mention the scout robots would never be used again made no sense whatsoever. The information and videos of who and what crime was perpetrated at the factory easily available and what made Chappie, Chappie, not having anything to do with the standard scout class programming.

The R Rating should be taken seriously for younger viewers. Not so much for the physical violence, but the emotional ones. Chappie's first night away from home was pretty brutal.

They did move me. I'll give them that. But again, that was all Chappie and Deon for the most part.

4)  Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of action, violence, bullets, and explosions. They fill the testosterone quota quite nicely - especially the awesome fight at the beginning of the film. I wanted to see more of that!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: You see enough sci-fi films and some locations start becoming somewhat familiar, even when dressed up a little. A towering building used in Judge Dredd and the shantytown used in District 9 make appearances. They did pick some rather iconic locations, and ones the director has used previously. Still, the cinematography was lovely. And the odd, childish decor in the abandoned building where Ninja and Yo-Landi lived speaked of a childhood they'd never had, even as it served as a unexpected nurturing environment for Chappie.

Conclusion: Some superb CGI work - so good you don't even realize that's what it is. On the down side are cookie cutter characters and made to fit items. You'll be moved, but not excited. Sadly, nothing new was explored in the AI theme. And while the ending was slightly surprising, it doesn't make up for the rest.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better for Matinee)

Movie Review - Elysium

Elysium

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, William Fichtner, Brandon Auret, Josh Blacker, Emma Tremblay, and more.

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp Written by: Neill Blomkamp Cinematography by: Trent Opaloch Original Music by: Ryan Amon

Premise: Living on a polluted and overpopulated Earth, Max always dreamed of going to Elysium. But when he takes a fatal dose of radiation during a work accident, finding a way to get to Elysium is the only way he might be able to save himself from an ugly, agonizing death. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Matt Damon did a great job as the disillusioned and dying anti-hero, Max. Jodie Foster's portrayal of Delacourt, the head of keeping Elysium secure, was chilling. Sharlto Copley was beautifully manic. It was a total treat to watch the cast interacting.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects team did some truly detailed work on the film. Elysium itself was definitely a work of art. There were also plenty of fun gadgets and robots to drool over. The healing beds were cool. And I totally fell in love with John Carlyle's personal transport.

The Cherry Blossom trees in the heart of Elysium with their petals blowing in the breeze were gorgeous. But aside from the symbolism they were meant to evoke, the placement seemed incredibly odd, since it was deep inside the station and not one of the 'people' areas.

Kruger's reconstruction scene was as awesome as it was unnerving.

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: On the story arc itself there was much to like. The fact Max was an anti-hero, and staunchly remained so for most of the film, was an usual direction and made the film more realistic and the ending more poignant as a result. There's also a silent moment where Delacourt truly realizes what is about to come to pass and her role in it all - how she was the one to bring her worst nightmare to life - and accepts responsibility in the only way left open to her.

Sadly, however, though the story itself worked very well, some of the science and world building around it, did not. While exoskeletons will give the wearer more strength and the ability to hold up more - Max's suit was missing a couple of vital pieces to allow him to do much of what he does. He uses his hand to bend a car's metal doorframe - but since he is using his bare hand, and not one in a hydraulic glove, his fingers would not have been able to exert the necessary pressure on the metal on their own. His feet have the same issue with regard to his kicks. While the exoskeleton would give him the power to exert that much force, his feet are not protected, so he would have broken one the first time he tried it.

The medical beds, while totally cool, could be found in every household in Elysium. This implied the technology was easy to mass produce. No reason was ever given as to why they could only be used in Elysium. (Like huge energy costs, or the need for super rare materials - though that would still be hard to believe as prevalent as the units seemed to be.) Since it was likely an Armadyne product, it made even less sense they wouldn't use it at their factories on Earth. Those in power might believe life was cheap, but educated/trained workers are hard to come by. Training a replacement would cost them more than just healing the injured party and putting them back to work. It would have also done wonders in cutting back the resentment from those stuck on Earth, able to only watch as Elysium drifted overhead with medical wonders that could have been used to heal their loved ones.

4) Stunts - Thumbs Up: Some good fights and stunts were sprinkled through the film. Most looked great as well, except when they descended to using the shaky cam. My husband took points off major points for that. Luckily, aside from one battle, they were sparing with the technique.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Filmed at several locations, including Mexico City and Bear Creek Park in Surrey British Columbia, they found the perfect spots for conveying the subpar Earth living and the idyllic existence in Elysium. (This is also a sad thing, as people really do live in such impoverished places.) The spanning shots of the city, but more so the ones of Elysium, were stunning.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The makeup department did a spectacular job. Especially with Kruger's face and Max's head. For Kruger it was the ports and bits of tech he'd had embedded into his skin and seemed a part of him. Max's were obviously more of a 'hatchet job', which gave a nice subliminal contrast between the two men.

Conclusion: Great characters, good action scenes (except those spoiled by shaky cam), and cool visuals made "Elysium" quite entertaining. The bad science, bad world building, and shaky cam dragged it back from being a great film.

Rating: 3.75 out 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better for Matinee)