Chappie (2015)
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A sentient law enforcement robot is captured by a gang of criminals who teach it to survive in a dystopian world.
The story
In a dystopian city plagued by high crime, the government replaces human police with a fleet of advanced, autonomous robots. When a scientist creates a prototype artificial intelligence capable of feeling emotions and having opinions, he is forced to hide it from the corporate authorities. The robot is subsequently captured by a gang of criminals who, instead of destroying it, decide to reprogram it and teach it to navigate the streets as a member of their gang. The robot, whom they name Chappie, must navigate a dangerous world while its creators and the corporation that built it seek to reclaim or destroy it.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the dystopian city of Johannesburg, a high crime rate leads the government to deploy a fleet of autonomous 'scout' robots. A scientist, Deon Wilson, creates a prototype AI with human-like emotions but is forced to hide it from the corporation, Tetravaal. The robot is captured by a gang led by Ninja, who re-programs it and names it Chappie. While the gang treats Chappie like a child, they also use it to perform criminal acts. Meanwhile, a rival engineer, Vincent Moore, seeks to sabotage the scouts to promote his own project. After a series of events leads to the destruction of the original scout fleet, Chappie manages to transfer his consciousness into a system that allows him to switch bodies. Following a violent confrontation where several characters are killed and Deon is mortally wounded, Chappie and Deon eventually swap consciousnesses into new robotic bodies. The film ends with Chappie creating a robotic body for his friend Yolandi, whose consciousness he had previously saved.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States; South Africa
- Original languages
- English; Afrikaans
- Directors
- Neill Blomkamp
- Writers
- Neill Blomkamp · writer; Terri Tatchell · writer
- Cast and characters
- Sharlto Copley · Chappie; Dev Patel · Deon Wilson; Hugh Jackman · Vincent Moore; Ninja · Ninja; Yolandi Visser · Yolandi; Jose Pablo Cantillo · Amerika; Sigourney Weaver · Michelle Bradley
- Genres
- dystopian science fiction action; action thriller
- Themes
- artificial intelligence; consciousness transfer; identity
- Tone and mood
- action; dystopian
- Premise and plot tags
- robot; cyberpunk; survival
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on the 2004 short film Tetra Vaal.
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its visual panache and others criticizing its narrative shortcomings and character development.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 32% · scale: percentage · review count: 227; Metacritic · score: 41 · scale: 100 · review count: 39; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F; IGN · score: 7.6 · scale: 10
- Production trivia
- The name 'Tetravaal' is a reference to Blomkamp's 2003 short film.; The film was shot using Red Epic cameras.; The script was written in just two weeks.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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