What a bummer.

“District 9” felt like the beginning of something great. Director Neill Blomkamp made an entertaining sci-fi action film that harkened back to the days when some of them at least tried to be socially conscious instead of empty, explosive blockbusters.

So perhaps those of us who anointed him the next big thing are to blame for what came after. The Matt Damon vehicle, “Elysium,” had a mostly lukewarm reception, but perhaps it was doomed to disappoint as the follow-up to “District 9.”

Now we’ve been blessed with “Chappie,” which may have been intended as a tribute to Blomkamp’s favorite childhood movies, but misses the point so hard it feels like unintentional parody, instead.

Set in the near future, the entire police force of Johannesburg, South Africa, has been replaced by militarized robots. Crime rates have dropped dramatically, police officers aren’t being killed in action anymore, and everything is just peachy.

Dev Patel (of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame) plays the designer of the robotic cops, who decides to steal a damaged model and give it artificial intelligence. You know, just for kicks.

The titular, childlike robot (played by “District 9” star Sharlto Copley) comes under the tutelage of some criminals played by the South African rap group Die Antwoord, who couldn’t be more grating if they tried. Of course, they teach the robot to commit crimes, and all hell breaks loose.

“Chappie” feels like an awkward combination of “RoboCop” (in aesthetic) and “Short Circuit” (in premise), but without any of the substance that made those two films popular in the 1980s. It doesn’t have anything to say about the militarization of police or the ethical problems of artificial intelligence, and the robot itself is not especially charming or likable.

The whole thing feels like it has reverence for that particular decade. Its score is heavy with synths, and it takes place in a world where criminals all kind of look like Riff Raff and hang out in abandoned warehouses.

That’s fine on its own, but some of the movies Blomkamp cribs from had things to say about the world. “Chappie” feels like the result of a child watching “RoboCop” and only coming away thinking ‘robots are really cool.’

It also doesn’t help that the film is sort of racist. Despite being set in Johannesburg, there aren’t any notable black characters. There’s also an incredibly uncomfortable scene where a white guy adorns the robot with gold chains and teaches it to be “gangsta.”

By that point, “Chappie” feels like an R-rated children’s movie. It’s empty, the tone is all over the place and there aren’t any great action scenes to make you forget about its problems.