To fight crime, Johannesburg has implemented humanoid robots called Scouts, which were developed by a company call Tetravaal, headed by Michelle Bradley. Behind the invention is Deon Wilson, a gifted inventor largely ignored by the company, who is secretly working on a new form of artificial intelligence. He steals a damaged Scout to test his new creation, which he plans to educate like a child, pushing the boundaries of technology. But his plan goes awry when the Scout is kidnapped by thugs who want to use it in a robbery, and when his competitor Vincent Moore decides he wants it to sell as a weapon of destruction to the police…

Picture gallery

Neill Blomkamp does have a certain directorial talent, as evidenced by spectacular footage stuffed with memorable images. But each of his movies also prove his inability to organize the story and the characters – which he himself admitted after Elysium with Matt Damon turned out to be a flop. Adapted from a short in the same way as his debut District 9, Chappie is a new variation of his style. Unfortunately, this third project is even weaker than its predecessors. On the one hand, there is Chappie, who Blomkamp spends a lot of time developing, helped along by his favorite actor Sharlto Copley, and a great soundtrack by the innovative band Die Antwoord. But in contrast with this punk energy, there is an enormous chunk of standard action, with caricatures supplied by Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver. In the end, things go bang and blow up in this banal wannabe blockbuster, which should worry Alien fans, as Blomkamp is scheduled to direct the next installment in that franchise.