A Robot with Feelings, a Film Without Much of Them

Chappie (Sharlto Copley) in "Chappie"

After only his first two movies, director Neill Blomkamp became a mixed bag for me.  I was immersed in the gritty world of his 2009 debut feature, “District 9,” which was then followed up with 2013’s misfire, “Elysium,” a film that became weighed down with its social messages, as well as by Jodie Foster’s bizarre choice of an accent, of which I’m still confused as to how Blomkamp allowed her to keep that up during filming.

He now brings us his third science-fiction action adventure, “Chappie.”  As with his last two films, he offers interesting ideas, but, just like with “Elysium,” presents them with a decreased effectiveness, another step down from his commendable first full-length film.

In Johannesburg, South Africa, Tetravaal is a weapons manufacturer whose latest success is the distribution of robotic police officers, which have proven helpful in reducing crime.  Inventor Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is praised for his work on the success, while Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is envious that his own law-enforcement robot, MOOSE, has had its funding cut.  Deon soon creates a prototype artificial intelligence that can feel emotions and plans to test it on a defunct robot officer (Sharlto Copley).  When Deon is kidnapped by a trio of gangsters (Watkin Tudor Jones, Yolandi Visser, and Jose Pablo Cantillo), they force him to program the robot to fight for them in order to help them steal money that they will use to pay back a local criminal for a job gone wrong.  Naming him “Chappie,” Deon and the three gangsters will soon experience the impact of this technological breakthrough, while Vincent will do what he can to bring it to a halt for his own gain.

The motion-capture performance by Sharlto Copley, who has collaborated with Blomkamp for all three of his films, is one of the only reasons to consider maybe watching this film.  The work he does as the titular character calls to mind the brilliant combinations of motion capture and voice acting from Andy Serkis, and Copley wonderfully communicates the emotions that his character is experiencing.  This is very evident in one scene where, as a method to help toughen him up, Jones and Cantillo’s characters drive Chappie to a rather empty section of Johannesburg and leave him there to fend for himself against a gang, and, despite being a robot, the pain he expresses is on a very human level.

Speaking of humans, the rest of the cast isn’t memorable at all, particularly Sigourney Weaver, who plays Tetravaal’s CEO, and Hugh Jackman, whose characters are both completely bereft of development.  Seeing superbly capable actors reduced to roles that are well below their talent is one of the film’s biggest flaws.  Jackman’s character, despite his threatening physique, comes off as a pathetic loser within the company, and Weaver’s role is just a depthless authority-figure role.  

Although Dev Patel does an okay job with his character, he needs another movie that can allow him to show the dramatic talent he displayed six years ago in “Slumdog Millionaire.”  

Then, there are South African rappers Watkin Tudor Jones and Yolandi Visser thrown into this, casting choices I still don’t entirely understand.  Sure, they have that urban aura about them, which is maybe why they were chosen to portray these gangster characters, but Blomkamp could have easily given these roles to actors who have experience in movies, rather than try to turn rappers into actors.

The screenplay by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, which is based on the former’s 2004 short film, “Tetra Vaal,” isn’t as thought-provoking as a film about artificial intelligence should be.  The fault of this goes to under-developed human characters and an uninteresting plot.  The only time I was somewhat invested in the story was in the last 10 minutes, but by then, it became too late for the movie to be saved. 

Given how his second and third films declined in quality after the wonderful “District 9,” I’m even more worried about him handling the next “Alien” sequel.  It’s probably too late to take the reins away from him now, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

At first, “Chappie” looked like it would be a worthwhile and emotional journey, but it just ends up running on a low battery.

Final grade: C-

After a Life of Crime, a British Youth Turns to Stopping Crime

Colin Firth (left) as Harry Hart and Taron Egerton (right) as Gary
"Eggsy" Unwin in "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

The spy sub-genre in film has enjoyed decades of popularity with movies, such as those of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Austin Powers.  Given how long this type of film has been succeeding in cinema, there isn’t any wonder as to why this sub-genre keeps on going.  Director Matthew Vaughn, having two superhero movies as his previous films, now gives us his own spy adventure with the outrageously fun “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”

Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) is a rebellious English teenager who spends his time committing petty crime.  When he’s arrested for stealing a car, he gets off the hook with the help of Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a member of the Kingsman secret service organization.  Having known Eggsy’s father and feeling responsible for his death during a mission years prior, he offers Eggsy the chance to be a candidate for the organization, in order to fill a spot for an agent who has been recently killed on the job.  Once in the training program, Eggsy will have to go up against a group of other candidates who are vying for the same position.

Meanwhile, billionaire Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) wants to stop global warming, but means to do so with dastardly and deadly methods.  It will soon be up to the Kingsman organization to foil Valentine before he can achieve his plans. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the character of Eggsy because I thought at first that he was going to be a purely comedic character.  Although he does have some humorous moments, his character also has some surprising dramatic depth, and Taron Egerton handles both sides of his character wonderfully.

One of the film's most entertaining aspects is Colin Firth's performance.  I never thought I would see him in a film such as this, especially after watching him in dramatically heavier films, like “The King's Speech” and “A Single Man.”  Seeing Firth involved in some of the film’s big action scenes puts him in a very fun and different light.

The screenplay by Jane Goldman and Vaughn, who both collaborated as writers for the latter's last two films, comes to us from the pages of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons' comic-book series, "The Secret Service."  We get to know the characters and see the training of the Kingsman candidates during the first two thirds of the film, and then we have the mission to stop Valentine taking place during the final third.  The film doesn’t rush us into seeing Eggsy saving the world, but rather takes its time to develop his character as we watch him change his life around.  The training portion allows us to see the growth of Eggsy’s character as he goes from a street thug to a respectful agent.  Having most of the film focus on Eggsy’s training and how he becomes an agent has us see a full transformation of his character, and we’re then able to become more invested in his journey when he finally sets out to bring down Valentine.

Director Vaughn has experience with comic-book movies, having directed “X-Men: First Class” and “Kick-Ass.”  He equips his latest movie with many intricately and dazzlingly choreographed action scenes, similar to what we saw in “Kick-Ass,” and these sequences also call to mind the frenetic action in the films of Edgar Wright, such as his “Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy and his 2010 film, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.”  Regarding the action scenes, there are some standouts, particularly a massive brawl at a Kentucky hate-group church and an exhilarating and tense skydiving scene during the training portion.  All of these are filmed with George Richmond’s energetic cinematography, which adds true visual vigor to these scenes.  

Although the film’s running time could have been cut down a little bit, the amount of liveliness that Vaughn injects into the film is so high that this minor flaw is easily forgivable.  

In what is shaping up to be an uncontrollably entertaining year at the movies, 2015 is already fulfilling that goal with “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”  This could be the most fun you have at the cinema until the summer movie season arrives, so do yourself a service and go on this wildly enjoyable mission.

Final grade: A-