After the crushing disappointment that was Elysium, Neill Blomkamp delivers a much better film, even if it still falls short of his debut feature, District 9.
This is where I get unnecessarily distracted by the casting. Ninja and Visser, of course, are from Die Antwoord. For whatever reason, their character names are the same as their ‘real’ names. Okay, fine. But then their characters seem to be listening to Die Antwoord frequently during the film. *Squints…takes a step back. Furrows brow* I guess that makes sense; after all, Ice Cube’s character in Anaconda listened to Ice Cube at one point. But then we see that Visser and Ninja are also wearing Die Antwoord merchandise. With their names and faces on their clothes.
So are they also superstar rappers? If they are, why are they desperate to scrounge up enough cash to pay back the money they owe to gangster Hippo (Brandon Auret)? And why aren’t there really robot police officers in Johannesburg? I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S REAL ANYMORE.
Okay, so perhaps I’m thinking about this a bit too much. If this kind of meta stuff doesn’t bother you, then their performances still might. The fact of the matter is that Ninja and Visser aren’t actually that good, and too much of the film rests on their shoulders. The opening 20 minutes are painful, with some really awful exposition delivered by the rappers-turned-actors (scenes which could have easily been excised.)
The good news is that I eventually adjusted to their performances. And the general tone of the film too, for that matter. Chappie has far more comedy that one might expect, and it works rather well.
Towering above these admittedly minor concerns is the film’s true asset: the character of Chappie itself. Played by Sharlto Copley and then brought to life with the help of computers, the character is incredible.
Overall, the film is one classy looking and sounding package. Hans Zimmer’s score is…well, derivative, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad per se. If the TRON: Legacy score sounded like Daft Punk doing Hans Zimmer, the Chappie score sounds like Hans Zimmer doing Daft Punk doing Hans Zimmer.
Finally, the supporting cast do an excellent job (and outshine Ninja and Visser). Dev Patel proves that he’s once again a fantastic actor, whilst Hugh Jackman has fun with an over the top accent, ridiculous colloquialisms and a non-ironic mullet. Sigourney Weaver is sorely under-utilised, but apparently her turning up for filming means we’re getting Alien 5 with her and Blomkamp, so it’s hard to complain.
A definite step up from his last effort, Chappie is a much more enjoyable film if you ignore a couple of dodgy performances and a less than stellar script.