You could easily say director Neill Blomkamp remade his major success District 9 simply by replacing aliens with a sentient robot. You wouldn't be entirely wrong, when it comes to tone, delivery and the look of the film. But you wouldn't do Chappie justice either.
The decision to have the first sentient police robot fall into the hands of gangsters who, of course, want to use it for a heist teach him how to talk like they do both has its perks and flaws.

Chappie is a lovable protagonist, especially in his "baby" moments, the entire gangsta behavior less so. Casting the South African musicians Die Antwoord turns out to be both a blessing and a curse. Yolandi fills her mother role with childlike glee, her husband Ninja is the stereotype of a dumb and violent gangsta, and his acting abilities are pretty limited.

Overall, one of the problems is the question of the target audience. The sweet misguided robot aspect may be too naive for the action fans, and bodies being torn apart by giant robot scissors are too violent for the kids, who could easily love the protagonist.

The film still works thanks to excellent special-effects, great pacing, a wonderfully manic bad guy (Hugh Jackman wearing the mullet from hell) and a kick-ass showdown. In the last half an hour, the movie does a lot of things right without getting too preachy or pessimistic. Overall I was not disappointed, just felt the entire concept had potential for even more.

Blomkamp has a lot of talent, but he now has to show that he can do more than re-tell the same story over and over when he takes on his next project Alien.

7 out of 10 police robots.