Chappie

Remember RoboCop? In a futuristic society, folks thought a robot would make a great policeman. In Chappie, a city's entire force is made up of robots, but one of the robot scientists (Dev Patel) thinks the technology can be improved. What if, he thinks, we could give the robots the ability to think? Well, the powers-that-be are against the idea, even though the scientist has developed a prototype, Chappie. Enter a couple of criminals, who steal the robot, kidnap the scientist, and demand that he re-program it to do their evil bidding. But how will a robot with a newly acquired conscience react to unlawful behavior.

ClearPlay In Action!

About 80 profanities, more than half of them the F-word, are easy work for ClearPlay. So are scenes of nudity and sensuality. Harder are scenes that have lewdness built into the fabric of the production design, with profane graffiti, vulgar painting and inappropriate tattoos (ClearPlay practically has to completely cut a character due to body art) making up the background of several scenes. Though violent scenes are trimmed, rampant mayhem and themes skew this movie toward mature audiences.

Is this film an answer to my pursuit of Chappiness?…

Director Neill Blomkamp specializes in violent sci-fi fare laden with social commentary (District 9, Elysium). I desperately wanted Chappie to be great, and it certainly raises interesting questions about good & evil and nature vs. nurture. But the story itself feels manipulative and contrived, keeping it from being totally successful.

Marty Nabhan, ClearPlay Bicentennial Man

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity; 120 Mins; Directed by Neil Blomkamp