CHAPPIE Trailer

Technology in the last few decades has grown by leaps and bounds. Very few could fathom the thought of a wireless telephone or even a smart phone during the lifetime of Alexander Graham Bell. Now we have the internet, various devices that require the internet, and soon enough, replacements for those who use the internet and related devices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a desirable concept for those who don’t want the hassle of dealing with people. You may recognize them as anyone working in customer service. In this instance we have Chappie, a robot with advanced AI who meets various challenges when dealing with people.

Chappie is written and directed by Neill Blomkamp and stars high profile actors like Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel. The movie sells Chappie as a newborn child who is eventually kidnapped by people who become his surrogate family. From the beginning, you’re given a sense of how the film’s world is going to treat our protagonist. He starts off life being given definition from his “family.” They tell him his options such as, “do anything you want to do…write poetry…have original ideas.” Later on, they indirectly label him as a “black sheep.” All of this is intended to have the robot become a man, to humanize Chappi by having him make his own decisions.

Blomkamp seems to always create a slums vs. city dynamic in his films. This is apparent in the shots featuring the dressed-down family in contrast to the shots featuring Vincent, Jackman’s character. When Chappie is out speed-painting with Patel’s character, there is an exterior shot with a salvaged car on splotchy Earth marked with patches of crab grass. Furthermore, they’re surrounded by worn-down walls decorated with peeling chips of paint. Vincent, representing 1984-style order in at least one scene of the trailer, is in front of clean white backgrounds with bold black letters. He even wears immaculate matching tan colored clothing. An argument can be made that Jackman just has better fashion sense, but this is my observation.

Seriously though, it is admirable how often the concept of classism comes up but directors should challenge themselves in terms of delving into new themes. District 9 and Elysium had that same theme apparent in their narratives. Once was enough. This was just a trailer and you can already tell classism is involved. Despite that, Neill Blomkamp films are worth watching because he’s one of the few big budget directors that actually tackle socially relevant subjects. They’re especially relevant when you live in one of the big cities of the world. As a film though, it looks solid. You have notable actors, an interesting concept, and action scenes where Chappie is set on fire and endures a barrage of bullets. All of this works in tandem to make a robot child into a robot man. Follow him on his journey.

Chappie comes to theaters March 6, 2015 for both U.S and U.K audiences. For a list of international release dates, please click here.

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(top image source: Sony Pictures Entertainment)