Chappie.

We have another piece of beautifully contrived nonsense from the South African writer and director Neill Blomkamp. Following the brilliant District 9 (2009) and the hell like vision of the future that was Elysium (2013) comes Chappie (2015).  This time we have a western disguised as science fiction based in dystopian Johannesburg in the very near future, like 2016!  Its basic story is about an artificially intelligent law enforcement robot that is captured by some badass gangsters who attempt to teach it their version of the facts of life with the implicit intention of it assisting with their criminal endeavours.  

 

Deon's heart to heart with Chappie.

In a world of slums, violence and economic despair it’s a robot that stands head and shoulders above the have not’s and the corporations that exploit the have not’s for profit. The Tetravaal Corporation provides the city police force with armed robots known as scouts who can carry out basic tasks like killing people but alas cannot think for themselves.  But it’s the young nerd type boffin Deon (Dev Patel) who has been secretly developing an AI system that will enable the robots to be programmed to think for them selves in the war against crime and civil unrest. Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver cast by the director because of her iconic role in Aliens) refuses to allow Deon to experiment further, she also tells Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman who makes a very believable over the top villain) that the Corporation will not finance further investment in his giant robotic war machine unless the civil unrest gets worse – now there’s an invitation! In the meantime Deon rebuilds a damaged robot installing it with Artificial Intelligence. But it falls into the hands of one of the street gangs, which consists of Yo-landi Visser and her boyfriend Ninja (played by the band members of Die Atwood who virtually play them selves but with added violence).

 

Yo-landi Visser....

....and her man Ninja.

It’s the inner childlike innocence of Yo-landi and Ninja, who become ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ to the robot they call Chappie (Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley) who at the same time as fighting back against a society, that no one in their right mind would want to be part of, is the most entertaining part of a very entertaining movie. Blomkamp and his fellow writer and spouse Terri Tatchell, who was also the co-writer on District 9, asks the viewer to decide what is human? Does a human consist of a recognised body and brain or does the transfer of consciousness to a robot already equipped with AI make that a human?

 

Villains come in all shapes....

.... and sizes.

Perhaps I could end this review by quoting Kim Nicolini: ‘don’t underestimate the political economics of this movie. While Blomkamp’s earlier films District 9 and Elysium very clearly showed the divide between those who have power and money and those who don’t, this film brilliantly shows life at the bottom of the pit, how those who are left with scraps survive, and how they ultimately maintain humanity in an inhumane world’[1]. A good summing up I would say. If you enjoyed Neill Blomkamp’s previous outings then I would suggest you make every effort to see this one.

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[1] Kim Nicolini – Counter Punch March 2015

Elysium

After greatly appriciating Neill Blomkamp’s debut feature film District 9 (2009) I was looking forward to another exciting romp through the neverlands of the future with his latest feature film, and I was not disappointed.

 

Max Da Costa.

It's the year 2154. The earth is over populated and polluted. The very rich and powerful live above earth on an idyllic man made space station called Elysium. While the privileged are residing in comfort, good health and tranquil surrounding Earths population are living in derelict shantytowns, most have no jobs, except those who work in nuclear factories, food and adequate drinking water are scarce. Crime is the norm and the population is brutally controlled by armed robots.

 

Armed robots.

Max Da Costa (Mat Damon) an ex car thief and parolee works on the assembly line for the company that built Elysium. Max has always maintained that when he has enough money he would transport his childhood sweetheart Frey to the luxury community above the earth. But while he working, there's an accident and he receives a lethal dose of radiation leaving him with only 5 days to live. A deal is struck with local smuggler Spider for Max to get to Elysium in exchange for transferring the stations constitutional data to his own brain. Once there he can cure himself of the radiation sickness and if he takes Frey and her leukaemia stricken daughter all will be well.

 

The hard nosed Delacourt. 

Meanwhile on the space station it's chief security officer Delacourt (a real hard nosed Jodie Foster) is plotting to take control and reinforces her border controls with the help of the gruesome Kruger (Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley) and his crew.

 

Kruger.

I really loved the noise and the power of Elysium (2013), It ticked all my boxes, the cinematography, the GC effects, the acting was all first rate.  Some sections of the movie reminded me of the later parts of Coppola's masterpiece Apocalypse Now (1979) with its hell like visions. The movie straddles the gulf between a socio political drama involving the criminal unfairness of the worlds healthcare system and a straightforward action packed sci-fi movie, it proved convincing in both camps. The difference between rich and poor is made very obvious, how the non-privileged class are deliberately kept down for the benefit of the rich. Similar to Blomkamp’s previous feature film deals with segregation but this time it’s financial. He said in an interview he believes the increase in population and decrease in resources means the whole planet will become one big Johannesburg of fortified communities nestling next to slums: will he be proved right?

Anyway it is nice to see our own countries leader getting a cameo as an android parole officer!

District 9

It’s rare to see a film made with such enthusiasm. District 9 (2009) combines horror and sci-fi in a South African / New Zealand co-production which presents a refreshing new approach for this type of movie. The feature debut of South African director Neill Blomkamp, who also co-scripted the film along with Terri Tatchell, was produced by the Lord of the Rings himself, Peter Jackson. Set in present day South Africa the film starts with a mockumentary, its 1982 a giant dilapidated spacecraft appears over Johannesburg: when the authorities force an entry they find more than a million unsophisticated, malnourished beings. The authorities are obliged to take responsibility and they bring the creatures to earth and confine them to a camp called District 9, a squalid slum where they are excluded from participation with large sections of the community and subject to violent raids by the authorities. (Analogy of apartheid?) The creatures are seven foot tall, similar to the creatures in Starship Troopers (1997) and are given the name ‘prawns’ Forward to present day, trouble starts when its decided to relocate the prawns because of the mounting opposition to the creatures from all forms of society.  The way the films been produced adds an authentic, gritty, documentary feel and this is helped by casting mainly unknown actors including Shalto Copley in his first major feature film. It’s emotionally stunning and gripping keeping you on the edge of your seat for its complete length. If you have the slightest appreciation for this type of genre, it’s well worth a look.