I want to see M3GAN in every movie. It’s been three years since we first watched this iconic doll slay a couple of people in the pursuit of protecting her primary user, Cady (Violet McGraw). You may remember that hilarious killer doll movie ending with M3GAN getting vanquished, but with a little camera turning on at the end. With a military robot named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) becoming self-aware and attempting an AI takeover, Gemma (Allison Williams) is left with no choice but to rebuild the doll that nearly killed her in the previous film so that M3GAN can save the world in M3GAN 2.0, an absurdly fun, over-the-top sequel.
The first movie surprised us all by being a techno-forward take on Child’s Play with a razor-sharp sense of humor. But if the first movie was a horror slasher, this movie changes up the genre quite a bit, leaning more into sci-fi action. This movie is the Aliens to Alien, the Happy Death Day 2U to Happy Death Day, and perhaps most accurately, Terminator 2: Judgment Day to The Terminator. That original Terminator movie introduced an iconic AI-powered movie villain, much like the original M3GAN. And like T2, we now have that villain returning as an unlikely hero to take down an AI robot that poses a greater threat. It almost feels like a different person directed M3GAN 2.0, but Gerard Johnstone returns to write and direct this zany follow-up.
From the start, this movie embraces action a bit more, with its military scenes that quickly show AMELIA as a threat. She’s a very different villain from M3GAN. She doesn’t have that personality, and she looks far more like a real human being than M3GAN. Furthermore, the movies make it clear that M3GAN’s sole purpose is always to protect Cady, but her methods and attitude are lethal. AMELIA’s goal isn’t protection; it’s harm, and that’s where these two butt heads. M3GAN, whose AI continues to exist and follow our human characters even if she doesn’t exist in a traditional doll, shows up early on and knows she has to stop AMELIA.
The transition from horror to sci-fi action is perfect, as is the transition from villain to hero. The character of M3GAN was such a fan favorite in the original. Johnstone was careful to make sure she didn’t kill anyone in that first movie who we’d miss too much. This allows her redemption to work in this movie, as she must now become the unlikely action hero. With AMELIA threatening a full cyber attack in a world that runs on technology, the stakes have never been higher. It’s a large-scale action experience, and like Terminator 2, the fate of the world is left to which of the two robots can win, with one fighting for good and one for evil.
M3GAN 2.0 raises the stakes and the story from the first. The first film is quite straightforward, and we’ve seen similar stories about killer dolls and evil AI. But this movie goes for a more complicated narrative. There’s a lot more plot this time around and a lot more going on with the storyline. Gemma has become an advocate for the regulation of AI because of the events of the first movie, and it leads to some humor. Cady is learning martial arts and is taking after Steven Seagal movies. It feels like an intentional throwback to 90s action movies, but the fact that Cady’s action hero of choice isn’t Willis, Schwarzenegger, or Stallone, but Steven damn Seagal is so unbelievably funny.
That’s something else M3GAN 2.0 keeps up from the original. These are campy, ridiculous horror movies that don’t fully take themselves seriously. We have real moments of drama, and the humor never undercuts the tension. The humor rises so organically from having this ridiculous character as your titular role. It often feels like it’s funny without trying to be, even if all the humor is absolutely intentional and M3GAN’s one-liners are iconic. She’s the it girl, what can we say? From the dancing to the random singing to the attitude, she’s so much fun to watch, and Amie Donald and Jenna Davis do a fantastic job of bringing this sassy doll to life.
Williams gives another excellent performance here. She needs to be funny, but she’s never in on the joke. She also gets real moments of emotion because she’s not the best parent, and she has to grapple with not being there for Cady in the right way. The movie could have pushed that relationship a bit further, but it works because M3GAN 2.0 is always entertaining. The doll doesn’t return in physical form for about an hour into the movie, but you’re never bored. There’s suspense, action, humor, and a lot of stuff you wouldn’t expect to see based on what you saw in the first film. Even the final act takes Gemma into new directions that will surely shock you.
While it may not work as well as the first movie due to how it overcomplicates the story and world a lot, M3GAN 2.0 is such a hysterical ride. There are moments when I was laughing uncontrollably. The humor lands really well. The action sequences are pretty good. This is an ambitious sequel, and I had an absolute blast.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our M3GAN 2.0 review.