No stranger to making quirky, action-packed spectacles, Neill Blomkamp’s “Chappie” is the highest-profile movie about a robot designed for destructrion who finds its humanity since 1985’s “Short Circuit.” And while Johnny 5 isn’t the only 80s reference “Chappie” brings to mind, either intentionally or not (a key moment in the trailer has Chappie emulating Prince Adam, the restless, flamboyant alter-ego of 1980s icon He-Man), whether the movie is a rip-off or not isn’t really the question.
Because indeed Blomkamp also has a history of taking a well-worn trope–class warfare and alien invasions begin the two more recent–and making them into something wholly original. So, too, does “Chappie” feel like a breath of fresh air, even as it recycles plot points. Look at the strange robot play fish-out-of-water! Look at him interact with hood rats…and make friends with them! Hell, 2012’s criminally forgotten “Robot and Frank” handled the innocent-robot-as-a-crook storyline.
What makes “Chappie” seem different is Blomkamp’s willingness–nee, insistence, on playing his movies gritty, and refusing to box them into one category. Depending on which trailer you watch, “Chappie” can come off as a searing drama, a sci-fi action spectacle, a heartwarming treatise on humanity or a straight comedy. And it is all of those things, which is why “Chappie” will most likely charm, thrill, touch, and tickle the servos right off of moviegoers.
