Chappie (Review) - A Disappointing Waste

I really wanted to like Chappie. The third movie by sci-fi director Neill Blomkamp, Chappie tries to tell a story of human corruption and deal with issues such as the ethics of robotics, as well as grand ideas such as humanity itself. Instead, it presents you with a group of detestable characters and expects you to empathise with them, or at the very least, put up with their abhorrent personalities until the mundane climax and inevitable ending. 

The film begins with at least a certain degree of promise. Set in a futuristic South Africa, the film opens with an introduction to the new mechanised police force, who lack the ability to be corrupt or ineffective. After one robot is rendered useless from an explosion, engineer Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) decides to repair it and test out his recently created artificial intelligence, in hopes of creating the first fully-conscious machine. However, Deon is kidnapped by a group of desperate criminals who demand that he hands over the robot in order to use it as an accomplice to their crimes. Held at gunpoint, Deon agrees, but only if he can visit frequently in order to teach Chappie's child-like mind how to think. 

However, rather than showing the development of Chappie and allowing you to marvel in how similar robots could be to humans, Chappie then decides to show two hours of the criminals (played by South African rap-rave group 'Die Antwoord') corrupting Chappie and turning him into one of their own. This wouldn't be so bad if the criminals had any sort of on-screen presence, but they're as cliché as they come. The decision to cast real-life musicians in roles which have them literally playing themselves was a terrible one, as neither of these miscreants have any kind of acting talent, and neither are particularly endearing. Also, many of the scenes in which they feature are accompanied by a selection of their music, which is frankly appalling. The biggest problem, however, is that towards the end, the film then portrays supposedly 'dramatic' scenes in which you're meant to feel sadness towards the violence depicted, but this simply isn't the case. 

In fact, Hugh Jackman plays a rival to Deon who is meant to be seen as the villain, but you're left hoping that he will succeed in wiping the scum off of the Earth. This is definitely not a good sign, and leads to you not caring about anyone in the film whatsoever. If I had to pick one character I warmed to, it would probably be Chappie himself, but even he is let down by poor character development and a lack of good supporting roles. Sure, there's some early scenes where it seems like Chappie may be going a certain path and truly questioning what is right and wrong, but then this is squandered by some terrible acting, dialogue, characterisation, and just general issues. 

If it seems like I completely resent Chappie, that's not quite the case. It is indeed a bad movie, but is far from the worst I've seen. I'm just bitterly disappointed, because it had such a good concept that was thrown aside in favour of a mundane, predictable story delivered by dreadful individuals. There's plenty of films which have the antagonist in a central role, so this isn't why I disliked the film so much. Movies such as No Country for Old Men, for example, have a bitterly evil character at their core, and yet still succeed based upon the performance of said character being excellent. Chappie fails this, and then some. 

Verdict
I honestly couldn't recommend you go and see Chappie, even if you're a huge fan of District 9 or even 2013's Elysium. It strives to tell a meaningful story about humanity and how easily a child-like mind could be influenced, but does it through such inane means that it just comes off as boring and lifeless. After about an hour I was already waiting for the film to end so that I could leave, which should speak far more than anything else. If you're craving some artificial intelligence sci-fi, go and watch the brilliant Ex Machina instead. 

"People are always fearful of something

they don't understand"

House of Cards: Season 3 (TV Review) - Frank's Back...Again

If you had told me that House of Cards would be one of my favourite TV shows back when the first season aired, I probably would have laughed in your face. Sure, it was good, but it was far from spectacular. Now, two seasons later, and I can firmly stand behind this statement. Not only is season 3 of this incredible show the best yet, but it ends on a cliffhanger which is shockingly unfair in the excitement it creates. 

Francis & Claire Underwood
(Kevin Spacey / Robin Wright)

Elevated from merely Mr. Underwood to Mr. President, Francis Underwood is a scarily powerful man. Not everybody agrees with him, and in fact most of this season shows just how controversial of a figure he is, but he's a powerful entity nonetheless. The season begins with Francis (Kevin Spacey) striving to nationalise his 'America Works' programme - a system which plans to raise employment exponentially across the United States. Early on however, Frank is driven to withdraw from the presidential vote in 2016...though this is only a minor setback in the Underwood's grand scheme. Meanwhile, Frank's wife Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) is determined to achieve power of her own, and hopes to do this by becoming head of the U.N. If season 1 was about uprising and 2 concerned treachery, then this instalment most certainly revolves around the absolute corruption of power. 

For anybody who has seen the show before, you'll know what I mean when I say that the previous season began with a fairly brutal episode. It dived head-first into the deep-end, and didn't pull any punches. Now, while this chapter of the Underwood story is definitely anything but slow, it doesn't feature quite the same level of intense suspense found previously. What this does contain, are countless moments of gripping conversation and subtleties which rival any number of scenes depicting high-octane action. Yes, this fuse is a slower burn than before; but it's one which leads to an extremely satisfying explosion at its climax. 

In terms of a television series replicating the same cinematic flair of a movie, House of Cards is easily miles ahead of most other content available right now. The cinematography is beautiful and aptly sinister, the acting is beyond entertaining, and the multiple, intricately linked story lines are as engaging as ever. Obviously, Kevin Spacey's performance as President Underwood is the stand-out for the series, but Robin Wright as Claire has more of a presence this time around than ever before. For every action by Frank, there's an equally interesting reaction from Claire, all of which bubbles to a shocking conclusion setting up season 4 - no doubt to be released this time next year. 

In terms of things I didn't like with this season, they're small but still worth mentioning. Some plot-lines which flow seamlessly in the earlier half of the season eventually dry-out and disappear later on, which is a little disappointing, as they are as interesting as anything else - such as the rivalry borne between Frank and the Russian President, Victor Petrov (Lars Mikkelsen). Also, particular moments which are intended to shock and surprise fail to do so because they're so apparent early on, but the truly sinister twists hit their mark where intended. 

Verdict

Season 3 of House of Cards is an interesting predicament: It's book-ended by episodes which aren't quite as thrilling as the previous instalment's, and yet the chapters within these manage to escalate it beyond anything that has came before. Yes, I believe it to be the best season yet and some of the finest television I've seen, but that's because I have such an investment in these characters after two prior seasons building their characters. For an outsider, the plot of season 3 may seem comparatively weaker to at least the second season, but the brilliant monologues delivered by Frank and the insidious tone maintained throughout still mean that it is well-worth a watch. 

"You wanna know what takes real courage? 

Holding it all together, when the stakes are this high."