I'd heard nothing but bad things from people, so only saw Chappie recently.

It's a great movie, a gem like WithADoveInOneHand said. It's science fiction with heart.

I have to say, I hated it. After DISTRICT 9, my hopes were high for this and I felt crushing disappointment with the result. I found it unpleasant with director Blomkamp rubbing your nose in the dirt far too much. His anti-human message is as subtle as a sledgehammer! The more cloying aspects, regarding Chappie’s child-like personality, clash fiercely with the film’s overall dour tone. Top notch production design is the only plus point for me. See (either version of) ROBOCOP instead of this exasperating slog!

The scene where Ninja first leaves Chappie to fend for himself, and Hugh Jackman's whole character were abrasive, sure, but only because of the painful truth behind them. It was certainly no slog.

Chappie is a great movie, the only thing that puts a dent in it is Hugh Jackman's mullet. I kept looking at it thinking how bad hair can screw up an otherwise handsome man.

@elliotthomas97 said:

I have to say, I hated it. After DISTRICT 9, my hopes were high for this and I felt crushing disappointment with the result. I found it unpleasant with director Blomkamp rubbing your nose in the dirt far too much. His anti-human message is as subtle as a sledgehammer! The more cloying aspects, regarding Chappie’s child-like personality, clash fiercely with the film’s overall dour tone. Top notch production design is the only plus point for me. See (either version of) ROBOCOP instead of this exasperating slog!

Have to agree. I was expecting a lot more from Blomkamp after District 9. The whole role reversal - Jackman's police officer character, Moore as the cartoonish bad guy and the scum bag villains as not only the good guys, but as "mommy" and "daddy" - along with plot twists you could see coming a mile away, cringe worthy dialogue ("I am authorizing launch of the moose! Repeat! I am authorizing launch of the moose!"), a main character who fits more in a kid's animated movie and Blomkamp's general "people suck" message is what earned this a thumb's down vote from me on Netflix. As you mentioned, very nice visuals, but like anything else in life, looks will only get you so far.

cringe worthy

That term is pure projection.

@WithADoveInOneHand said:

cringe worthy

That term is pure projection.

Worse than that. It's a stupid, overly used, worn out, wanna be buzz word that is most often used by the same unoriginal pilers on that say "it's x number of hours that I'll never get back" Lame from start to finish. There. I feel better ;)

I liked Chappie, and it introduced me to Die Antwoord's music (which I've been a fan of since, they're such great characters and Yo-Landi's voice is amazing). The only problem I had with it was the disassociated feeling I had between the villains and the other cast. You don't really see them in scenes together so the conflict felt more like a mashup instead of jelling as well as they could. I hear it's due to Ninja being hated by the more seasoned actors in the movie (especially Hue Jackman) so were kept apart, and that's a shame because that dislike could have been used to enhance the performances if the actors had scenes together. Still, I appreciate what's there, but couldn't help feel it could have been better.

As for what I mean about enhancing performances, I remember doing a scene from Barefoot in the Park in an acting class in college. Me and my partner were the last people to perform the same scene (an argument between Paul and Corie), but only our performance got a standing ovation from the class. That was because I had just broken up with my girlfriend just an hour before class. Instead of bowing out from the assignment (as I really wasn't feeling up to it), I decided to use it to enhance my performance and the rest of the class and our professor felt what I was actually feeling.