Chappie

While robots might be able to replicate humans in form and function, can they have the capability to both exhibit emotion and generate sympathy? That question is pondered with half-hearted sincerity in Chappie, a science-fiction thriller that plays like a bizarre hybrid of RoboCop and Short Circuit.

The latest effort from director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has plenty of artificial intelligence on display, yet unintentionally it appears to have been written by a cyborg.

It’s set in the very near future in South Africa, where the country is experimenting with a robotic police force to help solve its rampant crime problems. Its initial success is due in part to Deon (Dev Patel), an executive at a technology firm whose side project is re-programming one of the police robots with an experimental consciousness.

Those efforts are exposed by a gang of ruthless criminals who kidnap Deon and his robot, which they name Chappie (Sharlto Copley) and attempt to use to their benefit in an upcoming heist. Their actions also draw the ire of a rival programmer (Hugh Jackman) who further tries to interrupt Deon’s attempts to bond with his mechanical newborn.

For Blomkamp, the film feels like a misguided attempt to showcase a soft and cuddly side within a dystopian story of brutal violence and socioeconomic despair. That muddled tone is further hampered by an incoherent screenplay by Blomkamp and his wife, Terri Tatchell, which seems to make up the rules as it goes along, thereby canceling out any emotional investment.

The film aspires to be a cautionary tale of sorts about corporate greed and technology run amok, but it lacks subtlety and originality – dealing with themes that feel more familiar than fresh by now. Instead of provocative, it’s simplistic and obvious, with villains more cartoonish than menacing. The visual approach is more slick than gritty in its depiction of a bleak landscape of urban decay.

The audience is left to root for Chappie by default because all the human characters are weak, stupid, morally bankrupt or a combination of the three. However, the droid’s impressionable childlike innocence is more annoying than endearing.

The film completely flies off the rails in the final act, when all logic is jettisoned in favor of unrestrained mayhem followed by a desperate attempt at poignancy. By the end, there’s precious little humanity left amid all the nuts and bolts.

Rated R, 120 minutes.