Chappie Movie Review

CHAPPIE

From the director of District 9 comes a science fiction tale told mostly from a robot's point of view. The year is 2016, and robots have taken over the human side of the police force. But what happens when one Scout robot gets beaten up? You’re about to find out.

Positive Elements: Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is the creator of Scout robots. He is an intelligent thinker and often comes up with creative ways to think outside the box. When he creates an A.I. program, the film shows us his creative side. Deon sacrifices a great deal to keep Chappie (his new creation) safe from harm. He also cares for him, teaching the robot words and actions.

For his part, Chappie is a likeable robot. As he gets adjusted to the world around him, his interest peaks. Chappie shows sympathy to one police officer and a dog. His innocent personality rubs off on other characters, though it takes a while. Chappie also puts his life on the line for Deon and a couple of gang members.

Yolandi, Amerika and Ninja are gang members who come to care for Chappie. At first, they only care about using the robot for money. Over time though, their hard hearts soften and they do their best to keep Chappie alive.

The film teaches viewers that even though the world is super cruel, you must keep going. For instance, when thugs bully Chappie, we sympathize with him. He’s forced into the cruel world without a clue as to how to defend himself. However, Chappie learns to stand up for himself. He also expresses displeasure at humans who kill for their own gain.

Spiritual Content: Vincent Moose (Hugh Jackman) crosses himself in a few scenes. Yolandi and Chappie discuss death and how the soul goes to “the next place.” Chappie uses a neural transmitter to transfer a few people from their physical bodies into robot ones.

Sensual Content: One thug watches a porn movie when meeting with Ninja and Amerika (we briefly see a woman’s bare breasts on the TV). Yolandi and Ninja are (implied) living together, though we never see them having sex. Yolandi wears outfits that bare quite a bit of skin throughout the film.

Violence: The Scout robots take their jobs seriously: they shove criminals and handcuff them. Several thugs open fire on Yolandi, Amerika and Ninja. When the scout robots are taken offline, multiple people loot Johannsburg, breaking windows and going crazy.

Deon shoves papers off the table a few times. Vincent threatens Deon by slamming his head on a desk and putting a gun to his head. Later in the film, Vincent fires up Moose (his own robot creation) and wreaks havoc. One guy gets ripped in half (the camera spares us the gory details by a herky-jerky snippet). Some others are shot while blood sprays the walls. Chappie uses a high-powered gun to destroy the Moose, but not before Vincent fires a cluster bomb.

Ninja threatens Deon at some junctures, and slams his fist on a table. He pours water on Deon to wake him up. Some thugs bully Chappie: they repeatedly throw rocks and set the robot on fire. A bit later, Vincent captures Chappie and removes the Guard Key from his CPU. Vincent’s guards hold Chappie down as this happens, despite the robot’s pleas. Chappie is shot at, and learns how to throw ninja stars and knives. Chappie also throws Vincent repeatedly until the guy dies (we see blood on his face).

Language: Multiple f-words are followed by a huge smattering of a—, p—, h—, the s-word, b—ch, and d—n. God’s and Jesus’ names are also abused as well.

Drugs/Alcohol: Yolandi, Ninja and Amerika all smoke cigarettes. They also count drugs in front of Chappie a few times too.

Other Negative Elements: Chappie and his teammates steal from the police and damage people’s cars in a few separate scenes. Some characters lie. Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) is portrayed as a greedy boss and refuses to listen to Deon’s creative ideas.

(Spoiler Warning): Vincent is the one who takes the Scout robots offline. He grows increasingly jealous of Deon and gets his revenge when firing up the Moose and almost killing him. Vincent is also corrupted by power and thinks he’s a hot shot.

Conclusion: Chappie is a well-crafted film that reminds me of a few other movies too. The film is a mix of Robocop meets Terminator with a twist. Instead of humans against the machines, they fight with them. Indeed, the story is visually stunning with great acting, excellent fight scenes and life lessons.

Yes, Chappie has loads of foul language, some intense scenes and brief nudity. Viewers may be concerned with how a robot has human emotions. There are also some plot holes that need explanation too.

But besides those problems, the film is more thought-provoking than at first glance. Viewers watch as Chappie grows from scared to tough. He doesn’t always make the right choices, but cares about his human friends enough to save their lives. In one scene, Yolandi tells Chappie that the outside is temporary, but the heart isn’t.

It’s a powerful statement, one that hit me hard. You see, we all want to be liked and loved by people, but they won’t always accept us. The truth is, that’s okay. 1 Samuel 16:7 states “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (NLT). Chappie encourages viewers that even though the world is a dark place, we don’t have to stop being ourselves.

Another lesson this film teaches is unconditional love. Deon loves Chappie as does Yolandi, Amerika and Ninja. One scene pictures Chappie with no arm as he walks back to the gang’s home. Yolandi and Amerika stay with Chappie as they fix him, speaking soothing words over his troubled heart.

This scene is a clear picture of how God loves us. He sends the right people into our lives so we can comfort or be comforted by them. That doesn’t mean our problems will be solved. However, having friends and community is important. Proverbs 18:24 says “There are friends who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother” (NLT).

Sure, Chappie is (as mentioned) marred by some problems. But the story it tells is so compelling, you might need to view the film with a different perspective. Chappie is brilliantly directed, well-acted and visually stunning. Please watch, you won’t be disappointed