MovieChat Forums > Chappie (2015) Discussion > I have grave concerns for Alien 5

I have grave concerns for Alien 5


Watched this last night, oh what a disappointment, I found the acting wooden and I’m not just talking about Die Antwoord, I’m mean Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel & Hugh Jackman.

The diologue was even worse.

Consequently I just could not engage with the film and was bored throughout.

Neill Blomkamp had such promise after District 9, however Elysium was just OK, and this one was a define limp squid (IMO).

Fingers crossed he can do a better job with Alien 5

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I'm right there with you, OP. Beware though. You may have some trolls coming your way to try and justify this directionless movie. I was excited BEFORE I saw this film; however, it's baffling to me that Blomkamp keeps making the exact SAME movie over and over AND over again. Now I'm terrified at the fact that he actually has the green light to mess with Alien.

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You may have some trolls coming your way to try and justify this directionless movie.


So. . . anybody who likes something you don't is a troll? Also, since when does art need to be justified? It's just a weird B movie, dude. You either like it or you don't.

What do you mean by "directionless"? I'm not even being cheeky, this is a totally honest question.

it's baffling to me that Blomkamp keeps making the exact SAME movie over and over AND over again.


Say what? How are they the "exact SAME movie"? If anything they are a trilogy of South African fairy tales that share a common structure. However, claiming they are all three exactly the same is either selling them short, or admitting you didn't really pay attention. There's nothing wrong with that, to each his own. Maybe absurd lower budget foreign films aren't your thing, but you shouldn't play the bad film making card just because it's obscure, or outside your comfort zone.

Now I'm terrified at the fact that he actually has the green light to mess with Alien.


You're "terrified" that the weird guy who worships Aliens pushed to continue the story where Scott and Cameron left off? Why? It's not like the studios had this planned went director shopping. Nobody cared enough to make a legitimate entry into the series in a long time. I'd rather see this than a contrived studio driven remake, personally. At the very worst, Neill's "alternate Alien 3" will be a loving fan film. Nothing wrong with that.

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Say what? How are they the "exact SAME movie"? If anything they are a trilogy of South African fairy tales that share a common structure. However, claiming they are all three exactly the same is either selling them short, or admitting you didn't really pay attention.


Exactly! I love all 3 movies, and I love Blomkamps's style and sense of humor... but the 3 films are so different. The only real similarity is that D9 and Chappie both start with people being interviewed and then go back in time. And I love that!


Chunkiefroth you friggin' rule!

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The only real similarity is that D9 and Chappie both start with people being interviewed and then go back in time.


That really is one of the biggest story similarities. Thematically they both touch on racism, but in very different ways, and only briefly in Chappie. Notice, people like him use "troll" to describe anybody who thinks differently about a topic. They'll also sh!t talk the direction, but they can't back that up because their real argument doesn't go any further than "I didn't like the movie". I didn't like Edge of Tomorrow, but I can't say it was poorly directed. I do honestly believe that Ninja is a better actor than Tom Cruise though.

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They'll also sh!t talk the direction, but they can't back that up because their real argument doesn't go any further than "I didn't like the movie". I didn't like Edge of Tomorrow, but I can't say it was poorly directed


Completely Agree. Well said. There are a lot of films that aren't to my taste that are still extremely well directed - The Lord of the Rings films come to mind.

(And I was not a fan of Edge of Tomorrow either, I liked the somewhat similar Source Code a lot more.)

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Source Code, meh - in comparison (especially), Edge of Tomorrow is an epic adventure... While the former's just a little movie. The problem with Chappie is that it sucked, big time. No other reason. ;DD

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Source Code, meh - in comparison (especially), Edge of Tomorrow is an epic adventure... While the former's just a little movie.


Honestly, the only thing epic about Edge of Tomorrow was the cinematography. The direction was adequate, as were the special effects, with some above average moments for both. Source Code may have been "a little movie", but it was better written. . . that goes a long way.

The problem with Chappie is that it sucked, big time. No other reason.


Thanks for totally supporting the argument I posed a few replies back. Somehow I get the impression that your biggest gripe about Chappie, other than a matter of personal taste, is that it was "a little movie". I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy big dumb spectacle pictures. . . only that the people who consider that stuff quality cinema probably shouldn't waste their time on weird little South African films. . . or most foreign/independent films in general.

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I always miss replying, for one reason or another... The casting for Chappie (interviews), the pre-release media "hype" (marketing and all that), then the trailer... We had finally sat to watch the picture - and... guess what, everything we were shown -previously- was misleading: completely misrepresented the movie as something else - why.

In Belgrade, Serbia, we watch TONS of foreign films - all of the time - French, Italian... Scandinavian. This film, however, Chappie, it wanted us to believe that we're going to get: I, Robot (2004) and, instead, all we got was a big, fat, South African turd.

& people STILL want to tell us how there's value in it, artistry, this-and-that (omg); while, in fact, all there was an ATTEMPT to create something - at which they failed, miserably. =)

Edit: Ah, LMAO, here it is - in this thread, a few replies away:

His only intent with D9, and his two subsequent films, was to make a movie he'd enjoy watching. . . not fan service. Some call it bad business, I call it artistic integrity.

It's not artistic integrity, when you're lying and cheating your way to the viewers. It's exactly the opposite of integrity, LOL. ;/

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Nice "b-movie" with a budget of $50 million.. It's not all that bad though. As a b-movie.


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As far as anyone I have ever talked to, the Alien franchaise has been circling the drain since 3 (the dreadful prison planet one). People complained about Promethius which I liked and enjoy the fact that some fresh live has been put into things.
I like most of what this guy has done and I certainly love the fact that he (even jokingly referenced in District 9) does NOT have events happening in new york or LA. I think he can bring things back to life and NOT follow the same cookie cutter crap that Bay, Abrams and other such people have inflicted upon us for far too long.

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*Prometheus was close, real close, to being a movie... Not, exactly, sure how they managed to make it into such a disaster - maybe, following the plot. :))

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Now I'm terrified at the fact that he actually has the green light...


"Terrified" seems a little strong, don't you think.

I actually picture this douche bag waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, screaming something along the lines of "No!!! The visionary director of three original, successful sci-fi films may taint the sterling reputation of my precious Alien series! It's not like Alien 3, or those cinematic abortions known as AvP did that in any way at all!!!" Then crying for about ten minutes before falling back to sleep.

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I can see why this movie wasn't popular... Not many people liked District 9, but I will say this- the director actually tries to do as much live-action as possible, even with robots, to be more realistic. It's not all CGI to the gills, and I think that he could bring something to the table for an Alien movie.
I liked Chappie, because it reminded me of Short Circuit, which was just as ridiculous.

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I liked Chappie, because it reminded me of Short Circuit, which was just as ridiculous.


Hello, Zombi_Cupcake.

I think most people took Chappie way too seriously. It's a wacky 80s B movie at heart, made by a Director who cites Robocop and Aliens as key inspirations for making films of his own. Maybe its his visual realism that throws people off, because his stories are absurd as f#ck. . . . and I love every bit of it.

Blomkamp's "alternate Alien 3" is going to be awesome. Totally inline with the spirit of the first two.

Have you ever seen a movie called Hardware? Weird ass killer robot movie, super low budget cheese-fest. I'd recommend giving it a watch on Netflix if you like bizarrely artistic cinematography, and so bad it's funny stories. Anyway. . . I saw an interview with Neill where he's professing his love for this bizarre little film. He calls it one of his favorites. Personally, I'm happy a guy like him is making films. His work oozes the cult influences he soaked up as a kid, and so far he's basically done a trilogy of obscure sci-fi South African fairy tales. "Alternate Alien 3" will be uncharted territory, but I think it will still be uniquely Blomkamp. I can't wait.

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And yet another thread hijacked and taken off topic,,,I remember now why I don't bother posting on message boards!!!

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Really, drfielding64?

And yet another thread hijacked and taken off topic,,,I remember now why I don't bother posting on message boards!!!


The guy who posted "I have grave concerns for Alien 5" on the Chappie board is accusing people of being off topic. . . . even hijacking the thread. All I did was give my opinion on Blomkamp's upcomoing Alien film in a chat directly inspired by your OP. Am I off topic because I'm a Blomkamp fan, and don't share your pessimism? Is it because nobody chatted you up on your "points", and those replying chose to chat amongst themselves?

OK. . . here you go. . . fully on topic, drfielding64. . .


Watched this last night, oh what a disappointment. . .


Sorry to hear that. I had a great time.

I found the acting wooden and I’m not just talking about Die Antwoord, I’m mean Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel & Hugh Jackman.


I disagree. Not only did Die Antwoord perform better than most musical acts featured as major characters in a B movie. . . they kind of raised the bar. Have you ever seen Rock 'n Roll Nightmare. . . or Alice Cooper in Monster Dog?

The supporting cast of accomplished actors were anything but "wooden". At least my interpretation of wooden acting. . . . you didn't give any explanation to work with. I'd say much of the acting was cartoonish. Especially from Patel and Jackman. Weaver was one of the few who seemed to take a realistic approach. . . her character was heartless corporate lady, and she owned it.

The diologue was even worse.


Worse than undefined "wooden acting"? All I can surmise is you didn't like the film for vague reasons. The only thing I can logically reply is:

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

Consequently I just could not engage with the film and was bored throughout.


Sorry to hear that, my experience was the opposite of yours.

Neill Blomkamp had such promise after District 9, however Elysium was just OK, and this one was a define limp squid (IMO).


His only intent with D9, and his two subsequent films, was to make a movie he'd enjoy watching. . . not fan service. Some call it bad business, I call it artistic integrity. The goal isn't to turn sci-fi on its head, but rather, have fun making wacky films that not everyone will appreciate. Who does that?. . . outside of the ultra-low/no budget indie circuit anyway.

Fingers crossed he can do a better job with Alien 5


I wouldn't go so far as to request "a better job", but I kind of feel you. Alien isn't a good candidate for a sci-fi allegory about South African sociopolitical issues and zany philosophies. This will be significantly different than his other films.

Blomkamp's drive to sequel Aliens is commendable, and a tad bit unprecedented. Aliens, and other films of that genera/era, influenced him to make films of his own. He began working on it as a purely fantasy project. Check out what he has to say in interviews. Long story short, it's largely a dead property. The last time studios paraded around the Alien carcass for money over art, we got two dismal AVP films. Neill is the only guy who cared enough to pull something like this together. . . his passion rubbed off on Ridley Scott, who's now gung ho about realizing Prometheus 2, and executive producing Neill's vision of Alien 3. I'll save any judgments for the first trailer. At the very worst, Blomkamp's "alternate Alien 3" stands to be a loving fan film. That approach hasn't been tried since Cameron directed Aliens, and I see nothing wrong with that. Win or fail, at least he had the drive to try. Who else is doing stuff like that? Nobody, that's who.

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the trailers didn't market it as a goofy 80s camp flick. it made it seem like a serious scifi. that was the expectation and why the let down is so great.

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Uh-huh, unless you knew better - and expected it. So few movies, out of the many thousands being made every year (why, lol), are any good these days... Even the new Mission Impossible: very little clues, here and there, how the past ones were awesome (excluding the second, ofc., lolz); the rest, something resembling a movie - looking for a target audience, which doesn't exist outside of the primary schools.

Edit: Oh yeah, god help us all of any of these fools - involved with the production - are going to have anything to do, with any new Alien movies.

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Edit: Oh yeah, god help us all of any of these fools - involved with the production - are going to have anything to do, with any new Alien movies.


Fools? You mean Neill? The guy who worships Aliens like a religious artifact? You're totally right, guy who thinks Mission Impossible is awesome and has a racist avatar. Alien films should be soulless corporate commodities, and not the brain child of a devoted fan turned filmmaker. Congratulations.

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Chappie's marketing was miles off target. That only left me pleasantly surprised.

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I think most people took Chappie way too seriously.
It's a wacky 80s B movie at heart,.


but it really isn't. the movies doesn't have a "fun" feeling to it, it definitely doesn't feel fun... it feels dark and a little bit times depressing. the attack on Crappie was not "Fun" at all. the talk about the dead dog, the way the creator of Crappie was almost shot by Ninja... none of that was fun.

you could argue that Chappie's training or learning experience was wacky and fun, but then again the movie becomes to violent for that. the director was blending too much crap on this. he tried to make Short Circuit MEETS Robocop MEETS Mad Max meets buggs bunny and the looney tunes MEETS Vanilla ice and Missy Elliot....
yeah, wtf was he trying to do? the music in the movie is funky (Die's own music) but the score itself is dark and depressing in some scenes. this movie was all over the place, it was trying to juggle too many things at once, it wanted to be a comedy but it also wanted to be a sci fi but it wanted to be action but it wanted to be a wacky 80s throwback but it wanted to have a serious conversation about consciousnesses and about Artificial Intelligence...

ok? so this movie is like eating all those movies i mentioned and then vomiting them into Crappie... a disgusting horrible mess that makes no sense

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Same feelings, Chappie was not a good movie and it was totally most of the film, kind of glad he hasn't made District 10, might have sucked and he probably knows it and is trying to keep the goodwill from D9 to keep making movies. Alien 5 is going to be a total crap shoot whether it ends up being great, another alien film or a Prometheus level disappointment.

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Well, I think as long as Alien 5 doesn't take place in SA with Sharlto Copley anywhere near the project, then it'll already be a giant leap of being an improvement over Chappie. Doing a different kind of movie (dark sci-fi/horror) instead of b-grade action sci-fi, Neill could pull it off. I hope he can just change his style a little bit. Without Sharlto playing the same ADHD character again doing the strongest SA accent he can, will be a big plus.

If he is such a fan, then maybe he won't f-ck it up. But I think maybe the other directors are being underestimated. Just because they aren't diehard life-long fans doesn't mean they tried any less on the film.

I mean David Fincher, Alien3 was like his first big break. You really think he won't have put as much heart into it as Neill will?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet was the big mistake, who takes a guy that's only ever done cute quirky little french flicks and puts him in charge of Alien 4? Who's dick did he have to suck to get that job?

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Jeunet's direction was probably the best thing about that movie, but I think there was conflict with Whedon's writing and Weaver's demands for the movie.

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I have liked all of Blomkamps movies. I am sure Alien 5 will better than Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection and Prometheus.

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It'll be interesting to see what Blomkamp can do with his style being what it is. I'm not sure if it's the best 'fit' for Alien, but we'll see.

Alien 3 is a great, under-appreciated film by the way.

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I found the acting wooden and I’m not just talking about Die Antwoord, I’m mean Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel & Hugh Jackman


This was one of the things that negatively impressed me the most on this complete misfire from Blomkamp. Not that we're talking of Toshiro Mifune and Giulietta Masina here, but still, Weaver and Jackman performed so horribly it was cringe-inducing to say the least, which is surprising.

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-You won't forget me now?

-No. I've got nobody else to remember.

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Probably why the studio has indefinitely shelved Alien 5, using the convenient excuse of the Prometheus sequel, everyones just losing faith in Blomkamp.

If Ari Gold saw Chappie he would say:
"Chappie makes Elysium look like Citizen ƒvcking Kane"

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Probably why the studio has indefinitely shelved Alien 5, using the convenient excuse of the Prometheus sequel, everyones just losing faith in Blomkamp.
Oh, I didn't know that. Bah. I was sort of looking forward to it.

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