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M3GAN 2.0 Review
Image Credit: Universal Studios
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Directed By: Gerard Johnstone
Written By: Akela Cooper and Gerard Johnstone
Runtime: 119 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language, sexual material, and brief drug references.
Allison Williams – Gemma
Violet McGraw – Cady
Amie Donald – M3GAN
Jenna Davis – M3GAN (Voice)
Ivanna Sakhno – AMELIA
Brian Jordan Alvarez – Cole
Jen Van Epps – Tess
Aristotle Athari – Christian
Timm Sharp – Tim Sattler
Jemaine Clement – Alton Appleton
The infamous killer robot doll, M3GAN, is back, but she’s not such a bad robot-gal anymore. Unfortunately, M3GAN leaving her murderous ways behind works to the detriment of her new sequel, M3GAN 2.0. The new Blumhouse and Universal release ditches the sci-fi and A.I.-themed horror thrills of the previous entry, revamping the breakout star M3GAN as a hero, who now has to face a more vicious and ruthless killer robot, AMELIA (Sakhno). Well, that worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger once, didn’t it? Regrettably, the same formula does not work for M3GAN 2.0.
Picking up two years after the events of the first film, technologist Gemma (Williams) and her niece Cady (McGraw) are trying to find a semblance of normalcy after their encounter with M3GAN, who ran amok and killed four people and a dog. Gemma is now focusing her efforts on building advanced exoskeletons, while also serving as a techno-activist alongside her new suitor, Christian (Athari), as they seek to advocate for regulations and safeguards regarding technological A.I. development.
Soon, a new deadly cyborg, AMELIA, deployed by the U.S. Military, goes rogue and off the grid. AMELIA’s technology and code were derived from Gemma’s original designs from M3GAN, which means that Gemma and Cady could be AMELIA’s next targets. Unbeknownst to Gemma and Cady, M3GAN’s digital soul survived the last film and has been tracking Gemma and Cady’s whereabouts. With Amelia’s existence potentially threatening the world’s safety, Gemma has no choice but to rebuild M3GAN to fight fire with fire. But has M3GAN truly learned from her past mistake, and is she ready to turn over a new leaf?
The killer robot that acts as the face of the franchise became an overnight sensation and a breakout star following the original film’s release, so a sequel is not surprising. Sadly , the first installment’s success spoils M3GAN 2.0, creating too much of a good thing. The filmmakers make a foolish error by rewriting M3GAN into an altruistic hero after the character became an overnight pop-culture icon following the first film’s release, and the idea never takes off. M3GAN 2.0 suffers from extreme levels of tonal whiplash and cannot decide if it’s a comedy, an action movie, or a quasi-horror mash-up.
Not even Jemaine Clement’s charisma can salvage this messy, over-indulgent endeavor. That said, Clement does have a few amusing moments portraying a snooty billionaire industrialist, Alton Appleton. However, his scenes play more like they belong in a parody or sketch comedy version of a sci-fi blockbuster or horror movie. Tim Sattler appears as a buffoonish military colonel who loses control of AMELIA at the beginning of the story. Sattler believes Gemma is responsible for the malfunction and puts her under surveillance. Sattler’s performance is too goofy to take the character seriously.
Something always feels off about the way Gerard Johnstone directs his scenes. All the characters appear to be acting in an exaggerated, comedic manner, making M3GAN 2.0 come off like a bloated, overly long comedic sketch. The laughs and jokes are few and far between. M3GAN’s snarky sensibility and attitude are amusing at times, but she is not an especially endearing character. The script’s attempt to make M3GAN the hero plays out in a forced manner.
Also, M3GAN 2.0 runs far too long, with an overwrought final act and an utterly disappointing, convoluted reveal. M3GAN 2.0 attempts to raise its stakes far too high in making the transition to bloated blockbuster popcorn fare, and it loses the core of the character. The underwhelming sequel serves as a perfect warning of why sequels trying to overdose on a single aspect that worked so well in the original do not always equate to similar success.
