Neil Blomkamp makes the same film for the third time?
You’re watching Beyond The Trailer’s review of Chappie...
Just last week, Neil Blomkamp made headlines admitting that Elysium was a crappy movie.
Will he say the same of Chappie a year from now? Those who starred in Elysium might say
Blomkamp has a big mouth, but it’s that big mouth which has already landed him his
next gig - a new Alien movie! Yes, while he was promoting Chappie, he decided to use that
time not to talk about the film but to show off concept art for the Alien film he’d
like to make. Fox and Ridley Scott saw the headlines, and Blomkamp’s dream became a
reality. But if Blomkamp and the media are already focused on his Alien film - Sigourney
Weaver says she’d love to do it! - where does that leave Chappie? Weaver, by the way,
co-stars in Chappie, as do Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel. That’s a pretty awesome cast,
yet the trailer focuses more on Chappie - voiced by Blomkamp’s real life friend and creative
partner Sharlto Copley - and Die Antwoord - the South African rap-rave group who have
a cult following, yet surely Sony isn’t looking for cult following level box office
here. Perhaps Yo-Landi Visser would be more of a draw if she hadn’t turned down the
lead role in David Fincher’s The Girl with Dragon Tattoo - which she says they offered
her when the film was first coming together. It is admirable that Blomkamp hasn’t given
up on trying to shine a spotlight on his South African roots - filming in his homeland as
well as casting local talent like Copley and Die Antwoord - but it undeniably gives all
his films a “same-ness” about them. Surely there’s more to South Africa than a bleak
dystopian future? Maybe he should ask the South African tourism board to come onboard
as a consultant for his next film, Alien, which will likely also take place in South
Africa and feature Copley. But perhaps a good sign for Chappie is that Blomkamp’s screenwriter
wife, who worked with him on District 9 but sat out for Elysium, returns here. But the
question remains - what’s exactly makes Chappie stand out from Blomkamp’s other
work, as well as all the recent artificial intelligence movies? So far the trailers don’t
seem to be able to answer
that question. Can
the
movie itself?