Chappie

Back in the day, I thought the genre of sci-fi was only comprised of space travel with aliens as the bad guys and the astronauts as the good guys, but things have definitely changed, albeit slow, but changed. A sci-fi movie can be placed right here on earth, even in the present if it's written as such. One case in point is that of "Chappie". It takes place in practically present ,if not a year or two in the future.

In the near future, crime is patrolled by an oppressive roboticized police force compliments of Tetravaal Robotics. But now, the people are fighting back. When  one of the robotics designers, Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) steals one of the police droids, Chappie (Sharlto Copley), and gives it new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself-- a consciousness if you will. As another designer at Tetravaal, Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) starts to see Chappie as a danger to mankind and order, he along with his boss, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) and other forces will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo and ensure that Chappie is the last of his kind.

Others to round out the cast are Ninja as Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser as Yolandi, Jose Pablo Cantillo as Yankie (Amerika), Brandon Auret as Hippo, and Johnny Selema as Pitbull.

This was crafted with intense drama as well with poignant comedic moments by Neill Blomkamp ("District 9" '09, "Elysium" '13). With the gang that Chappie was getting involved with showing intensity to showing Chappie learning how to read or painting which was touching was so opposite, however was fitting of this character. Blomkamp has an incredibileness to show touching and moving moments in his films no matter how intense or gritty they are. This was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell. If Blomkamp didn't shine as a director (which he does), he has a distinct style of writing one does not see in most any high-intense sci-fi film, which is coupling intense grit and touching moments where not only do they connect, but makes so much sense as far as the storyline is concerned. And, like other films of his, has an ending you won't expect until the that time. This will blow your mine. With the exception of a few choppy areas where you're wondering what's happening to a strategic character while you're watching a particular scene is a bit perplexing, but all in all this is intriguing.

Besides the storyline of this, it also opens up the whole idea of a robot with consciousness which could be another film all by itself. This was as much about that as allowing politics to get in the way which you'll see in the film. Great visuals for a good look on the large screen make this even better than one might give it credit for.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: R                                  120mins.