M3GAN 2.0 may toy with the genre, but writer/director Gerard Johnstone shows that the franchise’s heart is still fully intact.
A lot has happened for M3GAN since she murdered me with a stapler during an interview (I got better). Her first film managed an incredible $180 million box office on a $12 million budget. And while I’m not going to say that pulling that off in the middle of January is what ushered in a year with box office smash hits like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, M3GAN absolutely would. The psychopathic AI’s unapologetic confidence (and matching dance moves) made her as popular a meme as she was a box office draw, making M3GAN 2.0 an inevitability.
Three years following the events of the first film, Gemma (Allison Williams) has segued her connection to the M3GAN killings into a successful career as a responsible technology advocate. She’s also started her own business with lab partners Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez). Most importantly, her relationship with her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is stronger than ever.
Meanwhile, the United States government has recovered M3GAN technology to create the AI assassin droid AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) and needs someone to take the fall after she develops self-awareness and goes rogue. When the original M3GAN (physically performed by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) reemerges, Gemma and Cady must partner with their old nemesis to defeat AMELIA, clear Gemma’s name, and track down the even older self-aware AI at the heart of the conspiracy.
Action? Sure. But still M3GAN.
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
Much has been said about the series’ “pivot” from horror to action, but the bulk of these comments range from overly dramatic to entirely disingenuous. M3GAN always focused more on queer-coded camp than traditional horror. That unique voice is what made the exploration of parental anxieties and childhood grief so meaningful, and what made the uncanny valley-esque approach to the M3GAN character so watchable. All of that is still fully intact here, as is the film’s sardonic sense of humor. While it’s true that M3GAN 2.0 toys with the action genre more than the first film did, nitpicking that feels like saying Aliens or Terminator 2: Judgement Day don’t feel like proper sequels to their predecessors. That’s not to say M3GAN 2.0 is as good as those films or even better than its direct predecessor (it isn’t), but it does feel like a natural evolution for the franchise.
The chemistry between Williams and McGraw is still a highlight, and the boost to Van Epps and Jordan Alvarez’s screentime works out well. And, most importantly, Donald and Davis are still outstanding in their shared performance as M3GAN. Donald’s physical performance is especially remarkable considering the actor’s young age and it’s exciting to watch one of the most exciting new talents in creature performance come into their own. The film manages a few improvements upon its predecessor, most notably in how much more effectively it tackles the film’s tone within the confines of a PG-13 rating. The first film had multiple scenes that were pretty clearly cut to pieces to try and avoid an R rating. Here, the film more effectively brushes right up against the line between the two ratings for a smoother end result.
No one is safe. Not even Xerox.
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
There is a big twist that most viewers will probably see coming but the cast manages the reveal well enough for it to not really be a detriment. But the script does notably drop the ball in the handling of its primary villain. Yes, AMELIA is a fine concept and Sakhno certainly has the physical presence to carry the menacing role. But Johnstone’s script doesn’t bother to give the character much in the way of the attitude, which would have gone far in explaining her connection to M3GAN, elevating the (often charmingly camp) exposition, and selling the stakes of the climax. The film works regardless, but it ends up being a slight step down from the first film when a little more extra effort could have made it an improvement.
Most interestingly, one of the biggest strengths M3GAN 2.0 has over its predecessor is the presence of a more in-your-face moral. This is a movie with a lot to say, and it regularly takes shots at the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and even Xerox. And since the current state of AI has drastically changed in the mere three years since the first film has hit theaters, the tone of the message has had to change. Interestingly, this is the most directly I have seen any piece of popular media acknowledge the fact that AI ethics are an extension of human ethics, and that attributing blame to AI is an attempt to avoid holding humans accountable. And in our current Hollywood landscape, where business executives are openly salivating at the thought of replacing workers with chatbots and using the threat of chatbots to bully workers into worse working conditions, it’s a message that is shockingly absent from the bevy of films talking about the subject.
The bottom line.
That message is delivered with complete sincerity. In fact, M3GAN 2.0 is unflinchingly sincere is most respects. McGraw’s performance is at its best when her character is struggling with the guilt of handing M3GAN her fatal defeat. M3GAN is at her most interesting when she’s most sincere to her attempts to reform. Even the minutiae of operating a small tech business becomes interesting when it forces Williams’ character to sincerely reevaluate the way she treats her business partners. It’s an impressive turn for a franchise that keeps finding success in unexpected places.
M3GAN 2.0 is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.
Images courtesy of Universal Pictures. Read more articles by Brogan Luke Bouwhuis here.
REVIEW RATING
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M3GAN 2.0 - 8/10
8/10
Brogan is a Salt Lake City-based writer and film festival programmer who has watched more Scooby-Doo than the majority of the human population. You can find him on social media at @roboteatsdino or at roboteatsdinosaur.com
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