M3GAN 2.0
Writers: Gerard Johnstone, Akela Cooper
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Cast: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement
When M3GAN came along in early 2022, it seemed at first like a movie more tailored to generating memes than telling a story. The singing, dancing, killer robot of the title emerged as an internet favorite well before her movie hit screens, but when people actually starting seeing M3GAN the film instead of just M3GAN the robot, things shifted. Thanks to a healthy dose of self-aware camp, smart writing from Akela Cooper, and witty direction from Gerard Johnstone, M3GAN became one of the year's horror hits, ensuring that a sequel wouldn't be far behind.
Now, of course, the stakes are raised, because M3GAN 2.0 needs to do everything that M3GAN did to win over audiences while also upping the scope of its story. That expanse in scope is definitely there, as M3GAN and her pals must take on a different killer robot with its own agenda this time around, but with that growth in story scale comes a new set of obstacles that this film is not always equipped to handle. M3GAN 2.0 has some upgrades, to be sure, but they don't always work, and the film is at its most fun when it taps into the campy, wild sensibilities of the original.
Two years have passed since inventor Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) fought and destroyed M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis), the companion robot who bonded with Cady so hard she wanted to kill everyone around the girl. Gemma's used that time to become a tech celebrity, pushing for AI regulation and working on things like exo-suits that can help human workers while avoiding replacing them with computers. Meanwhile, Cady's still nursing her own fascination with robotics, and even arguing that M3GAN actually worked quite well, right up until she didn't.
While Gemma and Cady try to be a stable family after the mayhem of two years ago, they're unaware of two key things: One, that M3GAN still exists as an AI without a body, living in the technology around them and watching their every move; and two, that the US military and intelligence services have built a robot of their own, named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), using M3GAN's old code. When AMELIA goes rogue, complicating Gemma and Cady's lives and threatening every computer system in the world, Gemma has no choice but to give M3GAN a new body and pit robot against robot.
Or … maybe she does have another choice? It's best not to think about it too hard, but in a world where AI is constantly being shoved in our faces by various monied interests who insist it's an inevitable future, it's a little jarring to see a movie that, in some ways, boils down to, "The only way to stop a bad AI is with a good AI." It's not the primary point of the movie, but it is just a bit thorny, and at times it distracts from the fun of the film.
Distractions aside, though, M3GAN 2.0 definitely is fun. The script, written by returning director Gerard Johnstone from a story he co-developed with Akela Cooper, is packed with the kind of bonkers characters, tangents, and quirks that fans of M3GAN expect, especially when Jemaine Clement shows up as a tech billionaire trying to woo Gemma away from her AI-free product developments. Clement's performance alone is worth the price of admission, but whether it's dealing with bumbling FBI agents, a secret hideout, or unexpected bursts of song, this is very much a M3GAN movie. If you loved the sensibility and tone of the original film, you'll get your fix again here.
Much of what delights about this sequel is, of course, the understanding that Johnstone, Williams, McGraw and company know how to do this, and they know that the formula of M3GAN paid off. There's no self-consciousness in the direction or the performances, no knowing winks that they know what they're doing is silly or somehow overplayed. They're just having a good time making a film that's light on horror, heavy on sci-fi action, and shot through with unexpected moments of laugh-out-loud comedy.
It's a feeling that proves infectious, even as the runtime of 2.0 stretches all the way to the two-hour mark. The film's third act, despite delivering on the straightforward promise of robot vs. robot battles, is a tangled mess of twists, last-minute allegiances, and more things that verge into spoiler territory, but everyone's having so much fun with it that you sort of forget you're watching a mess until you try to explain what you just saw afterwards. That doesn't make the mess any better, but it does mean that, by and large, the film achieved its stated mission to entertain.
M3GAN 2.0 is a classic major studio sequel, in that it's bigger, louder, and more reliant on established tropes than its predecessor, and that doesn't always pay off. It's not as good as the first film, but it is a great time at the movies and proof that despite some dodgy parts, there's plenty of (artificial) life left in everyone's favorite singing, dancing, murdering robot girl.
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