Chopper
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Good
Original Review dated: October 2000
This is a bloody movie. Lots of blood. I appreciated the blood, though, because Chopper does not glorify the violence. The violence is portrayed realistically, which seems rare. It’s the first time in a long while that I winced when someone was punched in the face. And boy, when he took off his shirt after being stabbed numerous times, and his intestine was poking through one of the lacerations, I think I gasped, which is extraordinarily rare. I’m not a violent person, I, like most of the movie-going public, become mostly immune to fighting because when someone’s punched in a movie, she may just stumble back for a moment, shake it off, and go back for more. A character can often have the crap beaten out of him with absolutely no medical repercussions. I know I’m supposed to suspend my disbelief, but how did Bud White survive? Dudley must have had some god-awful aim. Bud did have a bandage on his face, so I guess that’ll have to do. A better example is any action movie that’s come out...ever.
Even though Chopper does have flaws, it’s fascinating because of the performance by Eric Bana, which is the main reason to see this movie - he’s excellent. Chopper’s real name is Mark Read, and I’m not terribly sure why he’s called Chopper. What makes Chopper so interesting is that he’ll brutally stab a man in the neck, then ask him if he’s okay and give him a cigarette. He can be fierce and terribly confident at one moment, then suddenly concerned and almost remorseful. The movie follows Chopper’s trials and tribulations in prison, and his life afterwards.
As much as I admired Bana’s performance, the movie does have some problems. There isn’t much of a coherent story. We see Chopper in jail, then out of jail, but I didn’t understand where we were going, and the part about working for the cops confused me. Also, it’s mentioned he’s just a big talker, so how much of his criminal past is true? I would think most of it, but who knows. I’m still trying to figure out the propaganda from Enemy at the Gates. I don’t necessarily need a coherent story, but Chopper has no ambition for anything - he just kind of hangs out and gets into trouble. What was he doing for the cops? Why did they want a psychopath on their payroll? Luckily, Chopper is quite a character, which keeps the movie going.
This movie is definitely not for everyone - the violence is graphic. Go see this one for Bana’s acting. He does an impressive job of aging Chopper, and giving us a full-bloodied character, not another flat as ice Hollywood bad guy.
