CHAPPIE

It is not a subject that has much of novelty in it when you see the trailers and teasers. Chappie, right from the start, seems to deal with the concept of machines developing a brain and taking control of earth from human beings. That has been the premise of many films starting from Terminator and it no longer holds surprises because we know that humanity ultimately wins! That is where Chappie surprises you. What starts out as a routine human vs. machine stuff turns out ultimately as something else. When we saw the tagline of the movie that said ‘Humanity’s last hope is not human’, I bet no one would have guessed the way the movie would ultimately pan out.

Chappie has all the trademark stamps that the director has created over his last two movies. He has a liking for dry and arid places, almost bereft of any greenery. It puts us in a frame of mind where we think that the earth is fast dying and that the machines might actually take over. The idea (spoiler alert) of one life form metamorphosing into another also continues here. And he also creates very distinguish looks for his good and bad guys! The good guys are shaven with neat haircuts, and the bad guys have funky hairdos and strange mannerisms. It is as ‘black and white’ as it can get. But, the director wants to make black look like white towards the end!

The idea is no doubt interesting! But, the script doesn’t spend enough time on the central idea around which the film is built. You feel almost as if the writers were torn between two possible ways in which the story could have progressed and decided on one only after more than half the script had been written. The bottom line is, no matter how interesting a ‘one-line concept’ is, the script should successfully build up towards it. Here, it is as if Chappie abruptly changes track during the middle, turning a human vs. machine story into the biography of a machine. At first you are lead to believe that the central conflict is between humans and machines, next you think that it is between two machines, but finally you realize that there is no conflict at all, just survival. There are one too many knots in Chappie for it to fully do justice to any one of them.

 The best thing about Chappie is Chappie himself. The makers have managed to make a police robot appear cute and innocent, and those portions are very well written. The dialogues in many of those scenes are really top notch, ranging from hilarious to emotional. The progression of the robot from being a child to a self-aware individual is shown pretty convincingly. Sharlto Copley plays Chappie and definitely deserves an ovation for being able to convey emotions purely through body language, which not even for a second appears to be ‘un-machine like’. That is a good enough reason to watch Chappie. Hard core action fanatics might however feel a bit let down by the relative low dose of action. In fact there is just one action set piece close to the end, but that too is a bit predictable.

One big surprise in Chappie is Hugh Jackman. We never expected him in the kind of role that he does. To be fair, the role does not demand Hugh Jackman. His presence only serves to keep you guessing about the motives of the character, not because of the way the script is written, but because it is Hugh Jackman. And, his Wolverine persona is so attached to him that even when he is getting beaten to pulp you sometimes catch yourself expecting him to sprout the adamantium nails. Dev Patel though is a very good choice because he looks every bit the nerd who is willing to risk anything to see his new experiment getting a fair trial. Among others, Yolandi manages to create an emotional connect as ‘Mommy’.

Chappie does touch your heart because it gives a human touch to a robot without giving him a face. That is a first since Wall E. But, it is not all about that right from the start, which makes things a bit dilute overall.

Chappie the guy’s great! Chappie the movie is not so great!

2.5/5