By John Corrado
The first M3GAN was a campy killer robot movie that mainly became known for the memes generated by the dancing robot girl, which helped turn the Blumhouse film into a box office hit in 2023.
This sequel, M3GAN 2.0, somewhat fittingly takes the Terminator 2 approach; the creative team of original director Gerard Johnstone (who also wrote the script this time around), and producers Jason Blum and James Wan, have crafted a followup that is practically in a completely different genre than its predecessor.
If the first film was a horror comedy riffing on killer doll movies like Child’s Play and Annabelle, M3GAN 2.0 is a sci-fi action thriller about stopping a rogue AI from taking over the world. Johnstone crafts a film that doubles down on the laughs (including the casting of Jemaine Clement as a tech billionaire who has invented a brain implant akin to a Neuralink), while also staging a series of set-pieces that turn the titular android from a villain into an action heroine.
Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) are trying to rebuild their lives after M3GAN (once again performed by Amie Donald, and voiced by Jenna Davis) – the robot companion that Gemma built as a friend for Cady – turned murderous. Gemma is now using her platform to warn about the dangers of artificial intelligence, alongside new boyfriend Christian (Aristotle Athari), an activist who is pushing for tighter regulations around AI.
The film opens with a new humanoid robot chick, AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), that was designed by the military as a weapon, going rogue. The only thing that can stop her is, you guessed it, another robot. It’s now up to Gemma and co-workers Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps) to rebuild M3GAN from her original code, to track down and stop this new robot threat. M3GAN herself is once again the film’s highlight, with her constant mouthy quips that ensure we know that Johnstone and company are never taking themselves too seriously.
If M3GAN 2.0 doesn’t really have anything novel to say about the dangers of technology, one could argue that it isn’t trying to be anything deep. It’s simply made to deliver some kick-ass action scenes, sarcastic humour, and a much larger scope than its predecessor. It practically becomes a heist movie in the second half, showing Johnstone’s ambitions to turn this into more of a Mission: Impossible action franchise. The conceit is fun enough for M3GAN 2.0 to largely work for what it is, even if it can feel a little bloated at two hours.
In short, this sequel is able to distinguish itself from its predecessor, while keeping the campy tone of the first film. It doubles down on being dumb fun, just in a different genre package. Whether or not it’s better than the original will be up for debate, but it’s different enough – and entertaining enough on its own terms – to not feel like a mere retread. Despite the themes of artificial intelligence, it’s best to just turn your brain off and enjoy.
Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)
Bonus Features (Blu-ray):
The Blu-ray comes with both the theatrical and unrated versions of the film, which is a minute longer and increases the gore. The disc also includes four behind-the-scenes featurettes, adding up to about half-an-hour of material in total. The package ships with a slipcover.
• Total Upgrade: Making M3GAN 2.0 (11 minutes, 19 seconds): Johnstone discusses crafting a bigger scale sequel, while delving into the production design behind a few key sets, and the costumes.
• Droid DNA (7 minutes, 39 seconds): Looks at bringing M3GAN to life in her various forms, through a blend of animatronics, puppetry, and live actor.
• The Art of Slaying (8 minutes, 6 seconds): Looks at the stunts and fight choreography behind the film’s action scenes, as well as some of the gore.
• Scene Breakdown: Embrace AI Convention (5 minutes, 4 seconds): Looks at key aspects of the convention sequence, from the production design, background costumes, and M3GAN’s dancing.
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