Chappie

If RoboCop and WALL-E had a baby it would be Chappie, a decommissioned law enforcement android secretly hardwired with consciousness. Forbidden by his corporate boss (Sigourney Weaver) to experiment with the damaged droid, IT designer Dev Patel gives Chappie artificial intelligence so that he learns like a human child. When Chappie is kidnapped by decorative criminals (among them South African hip-hop artists Ninja and Yo-Landi Visser), his endearing naivety makes him a nimble mimic but an awkward "gangsta" and soon he's torn between good and evil. This is a return to director Neill Blomkamp's old stomping grounds - the dusty South African oppression of District 9. While Hugh Jackman's appearance as a mullet-wearing bad guy is largely forgettable, there is something fresh in the drone's expressive facial grid, mime-like gestures and nervy chatter (voiced by Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley) with a single orange antennae telegraphing his moods. Shot on location, this futuristic thriller is pacey and perky, and the punkish production design looks very Mad Max.