Neil Blompkamp's Chappie

[Octoberist]

I think Neill also caught wind of Tom Rothman, a guy in whom he dislikes, who is now in charge of Sony, so he's jumping ship to Fox from this point on, beyond Aliens.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Oh yes, most probably.

 

[terry78]

If he goes to Fox, he could technically get in on the Marvel stuff.

 

[TheVileOne]

At the very worst, the movie will break even, fact is: Sony botched the marketing, remember the first posters with Chappie writing Mommy, Daddy, Chappie on a wall, or other early posters that kind of gave the impression that this was a family movie, then they went back & forth between the different trailer variants.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter, I'm grateful that the movie exists, thanks Sony & Neill, D9 was a huge hit, Elysium wasn't a big hit but did well, Chappie will at the very worst break even, at the very best, turn in a small profit (it's not looking like it's going to break out overseas), it's a tough sell considering the subject matter.

@Octoberist: but the movie IS quirky & surreal, is it not?

How is it a ****ing tough sell at all? The movie blatantly rips off the plot of several better more successful films?

 

[Drz]

I don't understand this "Blompkamp must hate the military" talk, it's simply a good way to set an antagonist, you might say he's pro-crime based off Elysium + Chappie and anti-government/military based off Elysium, District 9 and Chappie lol.

 

[TheVileOne]

I don't understand this "Blompkamp must hate the military" talk, it's simply a good way to set an antagonist, you might say he's pro-crime based off Elysium + Chappie and anti-government/military based off Elysium, District 9 and Chappie lol.

I'm not saying definitively he is, but something rubbed me the wrong way about that particular line of dialogue.

I definitely do get a sense of anti-authoritarian, anti-government, anarchic nature from his work. Not that it is a bad thing. But why is it funny to suggest that? He'd hardly be the first filmmaker to exhibit those sensibilities on film.

However, yeah, that one bit if dialogue I found to be off-putting, and it makes me especially glad he didn't write and direct Halo if he has that type of contempt for soldiers.

 

[flickchick85]

I found this to be quite underwhelming, I'm afraid. Hugh Jackman's character was very poorly conceived, imo, and choosing Die Antwoord as the leads was really a fatal mistake for the whole production. I'll be happy to see Blomkamp taking on the Alien film because I think he seriously needs a change of pace from this type stuff.

 

[bullets]

I thought it was a lot of fun. I agree with a lot of the criticism though. It's fun to watch but had potential for greatness. I'm sure hardcore fans of Die Antword will be pleased. They did ok , but Ninja's character was completely unlikable. Yolandi actually turned down The Gorl with the Dragon Tattoo remake. I don't think we'll see them in any more films after this. The visuals are outstanding though and Blomkamp is still a good choice for Alien.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I really liked it. The visuals were stunning and Chappie was such a likable AI character. At first I was concerned because it felt like a Robocop ripoff, but then it morphed into more of a Short Circuit type of thing. Jackman was such an a**hole in this movie. I have to give him credit; I absolutely hated his character, haha.

 

[Dave McFly]

I saw it this afternoon I agree with the rapper/actors being out of place. but what I did like was the visuals especially the FX I honestly could not tell when a robot was CG or live.

 

[DeadPresident]

I'm not saying definitively he is, but something rubbed me the wrong way about that particular line of dialogue.

I definitely do get a sense of anti-authoritarian, anti-government, anarchic nature from his work. Not that it is a bad thing. But why is it funny to suggest that? He'd hardly be the first filmmaker to exhibit those sensibilities on film.

However, yeah, that one bit if dialogue I found to be off-putting, and it makes me especially glad he didn't write and direct Halo if he has that type of contempt for soldiers.

You obviously didn't grow up in Apartheid South Africa like he did. If you asked him I highly doubt he'd say he has contempt for soldiers, he probably just frames them as antagonists when they're being used as pawns by the government to subjugate civilians. Coincidentally that happens to be the case in District 9 and Elysium, I can't speak for Chappie. It's obvious his nationality and experiences are massive influences on the films and narratives he likes.

I'm not sure where you're from, but there are probably people with first hand experience of oppressive military regimes that quite like the angle he provides; Argentinians, Spaniards and Syrians probably appreciate it. Every year we get about 20 movies where soldiers and the military are posed as society's saviors in one way or another, offensive though it may be to some people a different perspective is valuable. As nice as it would be, the army isn't always on the public's side, movies can show it more often.

 

[TheVileOne]

You obviously didn't grow up in Apartheid South Africa like he did. If you asked him I highly doubt he'd say he has contempt for soldiers, he probably just frames them as antagonists when they're being used as pawns by the government to subjugate civilians. Coincidentally that happens to be the case in District 9 and Elysium, I can't speak for Chappie. It's obvious his nationality and experiences are massive influences on the films and narratives he likes.

Just say it was a poorly conceived line of dialogue.

I'm not sure where you're from, but there are probably people with first hand experience of oppressive military regimes that quite like the angle he provides; Argentinians, Spaniards and Syrians probably appreciate it. Every year we get about 20 movies where soldiers and the military are posed as society's saviors in one way or another, offensive though it may be to some people a different perspective is valuable. As nice as it would be, the army isn't always on the public's side, movies can show it more often.

I'm from America. Also, a scientist saying a soldier can't be an engineer sounded prejudicial.

 

[rnewbz]

Here's my review of Chappie for those interested: http://newbyfadeto.blogspot.com/2015/03/chappie-review.html

 

[Matt Mortem]

Everyone go pick up Die Antwoords Discography on their way out of the theater? Pretty sure that was the point of the ENTIRE film. I like Die Antwoord, I've got one of their albums, but they ruined the film. They ruined the whole film.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

I liked them a lot in the movie, it's a love it, hate it situation pretty much.

 

[LEOZZTT]

I was surprised how many kids were in the theater...

A lot of them started crying during the most violent scenes, specially the "CHAPPiE has feels" one.

 

[Drz]

I've never heard of Die Antwoords but i don't see how they ruined the movie, they we're different and i liked that.

 

[DeadPresident]

Just say it was a poorly conceived line of dialogue.

Fair Enough.

I'm from America. Also, a scientist saying a soldier can't be an engineer sounded prejudicial.

Different people have different histories with their militaries. So I can understand from your perspective that having that view or saying something like that towards someone in the service will be poorly received.

I've never heard of Die Antwoords but i don't see how they ruined the movie, they we're different and i liked that.

I think it depends on how much exposure people have had to Die Antwoord that might influence their feeling about them in the movie. Their personas are pretty stupid and they've been on TV a lot where they behave like asshats. Some of the people that dislike them in the movie are probably people that've seen way too much of their faces in general.

They've got a music video where a woman that's supposed to be Lady Gaga gives birth to a cockroach. **** like that either wins them a lot of fans or puts people off them completely.

 

[chaseter]

One has the character persona of a mentally challenged alien wearing a human disguise that can't speak clearly and the other is a mentally challenged white gangster that can't speak clearly....definite movie star qualities that any director should strive for.

 

[Matt Mortem]

My beef with Die Antwoord is that I wasn't sure if they were the rap group in the film, and if they were why it was never even so much as mentioned. Their music is playing constantly and we hear lyrics clearly referencing those two characters. Their album art is taped to the walls and the logo of their 2nd album is spray painted on Chappie. The best though was Ninja wearing a shirt with his face on it. Their supposed to be these down and out criminals, but this moron is wandering around with his face and name on his shirt? Just felt like a long ass, expensive music video for Die Antwoord.

 

[DeadPresident]

My beef with Die Antwoord is that I wasn't sure if they were the rap group in the film, and if they were why it was never even so much as mentioned. Their music is playing constantly and we hear lyrics clearly referencing those two characters. Their album art is taped to the walls and the logo of their 2nd album is spray painted on Chappie. The best though was Ninja wearing a shirt with his face on it. Their supposed to be these down and out criminals, but this moron is wandering around with his face and name on his shirt? Just felt like a long ass, expensive music video for Die Antwoord.

That's surprising and disappointing. They've received way too much air time already, if there are all these little product placements and easter eggs it would annoy me. So they're breaking the 4th wall but also not at the same time because it's never explicitly referenced?

I was really looking forward to this but I'm not sure I can get past Die Antwoord's inclusion to such a large degree. As side characters I might have bought it, but the amount some people are mentioning is concerning.

 

[Matt Mortem]

I'm pretty sure Die Antwoord has more screentime than Dev Patals character.

 

[BatmanFanboy]

My beef with Die Antwoord is that I wasn't sure if they were the rap group in the film, and if they were why it was never even so much as mentioned. Their music is playing constantly and we hear lyrics clearly referencing those two characters. Their album art is taped to the walls and the logo of their 2nd album is spray painted on Chappie. The best though was Ninja wearing a shirt with his face on it. Their supposed to be these down and out criminals, but this moron is wandering around with his face and name on his shirt? Just felt like a long ass, expensive music video for Die Antwoord.

What the heck? I haven't seen this movie yet and I still might out of curiosity.. but this all sounds incredibly.. distracting? That's not a complaint i'd usually lobby around as i've seen some pretty self referential movies but this just puzzles me. Is Blomkamp that big a fan or something? What the actual hell was he thinking?

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Blomkamp came up with the idea when he was doing Elysium, he was listening to a lot of Die Antwoord tracks, and he came up with this idea (I quote from the artbook): "All of a sudden I got this idea, for this robot -like the Elysium robots, it was a kind of police/security machine - being hijacked by this band that I was listening to. I don't know where the hell that idea came from, but that was the genesis for Chappie."

It's not a reason to bash Blomkamp by saying "what the hell was he thinking", he's the director, it's his concept, you either like it or you don't, but actually, putting blame on the guy for that, what?

 

[Sithborg]

I didn't know who they were when I saw it. I was surprised to see that those were their actual names in the credits. I actually liked them.

To me, Jackman's character was the big problem for the finale. It seems we was there just to give a big, bloody, action packed finale to the movie. And it seemed like they were all over the place with his motivations. Was he desperate for his project to succeed? Was AI against his religious beliefs? Was he just a violent soldier? He was all over the place. Whereas I think seeing Chappie with other Scouts would have been fascinating.