NewsWatch Interview
Neill Blomkamp, our favorite South African robot geek/scifi filmmaker, tells us about his new film Chappie. Blomkamp wrote and directed the movie and is very proud of the topics it touches on. His interest for the nature of consciousness and artificial intelligence inspired Chappie.
Unfortunately the film didn’t get the best reviews. Many critics grumbled about the film’s lack of character development for most of the human leads. One theory is that the human characters are intentionally awful people to draw attention to how hard the world can be on kids growing up. Chappie is the only character who changes and grows the most during the film. He represents the little kid inside all of us dealing with the trials and tribulations of growing up, while the human leads symbolize the positive and negative forces that push and pull us along our path to adulthood.
Theories aside, the movie is filled with Blomkamp’s signature intense action he is known for, along with a lot of over the top shenanigans thanks to the rap duo Die Antwoord, who play themselves in the film. You will grow to love the film’s robot main character while you contemplate the heavier themes the film touches on.
