Chappie (2015)

Chappie is a movie about raising a newborn mind, and it hands the parenting to two rappers playing gangsters under their own stage names. Ninja and Yolandi of Die Antwoord carry huge chunks of the story, and every scene where they teach a baby robot to act tough plays like a music video that wandered onto a film set. Sharlto Copley is the reason to watch. His Chappie flinches, sulks, learns to paint and begs for bedtime stories, and you believe every bit of it. Dev Patel is earnest as Deon, the engineer Chappie calls his maker. Hugh Jackman shows up with a mullet, khaki shorts and a giant robot called the Moose, and seems thrilled to finally play the bully. Sigourney Weaver gets a desk and not much else. It made $102.8 million worldwide on a reported $49M, with a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 4.6 because the robot has a soul and the movie around him never picks a personality. $899 says you call whoever fixes your laptop this year your maker, and they back away slowly.

What works: Sharlto Copley makes Chappie genuinely moving, a scared, curious robot who learns faster than the people raising him.

What doesn’t: Ninja and Yolandi can’t hold the drama they’re handed, and the tone lurches from bedtime story to street fight with no warning.

Who it’s for: Fans of grimy, handmade sci-fi who can live with rough edges for the sake of one great robot.