'Chappie' trailer introduces viewers to a new friendly robot

A trailer for “Chappie,” the next film by director Neill Blomkamp, has been released.

Blomkamp directed the 2013 movie “Elysium” and the 2009 film “District 9,” among other work. 

In “Chappie,” “The Newsroom” actor Dev Patel’s character Deon has created the robot Chappie, “a machine that can think and feel.” He and his compatriots watch, delighted, as Chappie learns words and creates drawings. (He also enjoys opening cartons of milk and petting dogs.) “Anything you want to do in your life, you can do,” Patel’s character tells Chappie.

However, Hugh Jackman’s character, Vincent, isn’t sure Chappie’s a good idea. “The problem with artificial intelligence is it’s way too unpredictable,” he says, and calls for him to be “removed.”

Fragments of action scenes show that Chappie’s existence may not be an entirely peaceful one. However, he says, “I am consciousness. I am alive.” 

“District 9” and “Elysium” star Sharlto Copley plays Chappie through motion capture, and the movie also co-stars Sigourney Weaver.

The film is set to be released on March 6. 

Blomkamp told the website Collider that “Chappie” is “science fiction. It’s totally different to [‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium,’] but it has funny elements to it.”

Jackman called the script for the movie “very, very, very good… very interesting” in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

“It’s going to surprise people in a lot of ways,” he said of the film. “[Blomkamp] is a real visionary.” 

Blomkamp’s film “District 9” was nominated for the 2010 Best Picture award, and Monitor film critic Peter Rainer gave the film a B+, calling it “highly creative and amusing… in patches.” He was less won over by “Elysium,” which Rainer gave a C+.

“The garbage-y set pieces on Earth have a fetid monumentality, and [protagonist] Max [played by Matt Damon]’s desperation is sometimes stirring,” Rainer wrote. “But Blomkamp overdoes even his best effects.”