Director/writer Gerald Johnston and writer Akela Cooper’s M3GAN sequel isn’t just reheated leftovers. Instead, it serves up a familiar dish with bold new seasoning and fresher ingredients. M3GAN 2.0 ups the ante, embracing its Summer Blockbuster status with more explosions, action, and striking visuals in the next chapter of the saga of the dancing doll that captured everyone’s hearts two years ago.
While the previous M3GAN was a fun horror film that thrust viewers into the uncanny valley of the not-quite-human-looking killer doll. M3GAN 2.0 rushes beyond that into spy-thriller, action movie territory. The sequel is packed with swarthy but ethnically unidentifiable terrorists, shady government agencies and eccentric, elitist ultrarich douche bags.
Since the end of the last movie, M3GAN (acted by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) has covertly existed as a bodiless cyber ghost, continuing to watch over Cady (Violet McGraw). When the US army’s weaponized, killer-android named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), short for Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android, sets its murderous sights on Cady’s Aunt Gemma (Alison Williams), M3GAN goes into action to save the child she is programmed to protect.
From a covert infiltration of a terrorist lab to a supervillain’s lair, M3GAN 2.0 is a Jason Bourne-esque thrill ride. Amelia, born from supposedly destroyed M3GAN plans, carves a path of destruction, aiming to erase anyone it deems a threat, including M3GAN’s creator, Gemma. Toss in a subplot about global AI threats and manipulative, super-rich narcissists bent on remaking the world, and chaos erupts. Amelia and M3GAN tear through legions of disposable henchmen before their spectacular robot-fu (a brief tip of the hat to Joe Bob Briggs) showdown.
That is a lot to take in, and on some levels, director/writers Johnston and Cooper, in their search to take their budding franchise to new levels of creativity and excitement, miss the target. While the plot is a little confusing, the action scenes are creative and engaging, amping the violence further and further. While there are more explosions and fewer ear-ripping and stabbing, the violence is compact and well-orchestrated. What is missing from the previous film are M3GAN’s cold-blooded and sadistic killings. The thrilling mano a mano fight between the two androids is well-choreographed, and makes a few call-backs to cinema martial artists Bruce Lee and Steven Seagal.
The two main characters show considerable growth since their introduction two years ago. The new, reconstituted M3GAN is much more developed than in the previous film. The android is two inches taller and way sassier than the original, dishing out wisecracks with the smacks. She also does Kate Bush karaoke! Cady also shows great maturity, having become not only her own best advocate but also a clear fighter. This is a refreshing change from many action movies with young teens who languish as background characters until the adults come to their rescue. Cady’s survival from the previous film, combined with the trauma of losing her parents and living with a caretaker who has no sense of how to parent, has made her a much stronger and independent character. Kudos are due again to Violet McGraw for a charged and passionate performance.
While Cady and M3GAN show considerable growth as characters, Gemma, the marginal adult in charge, is the stale ingredient that sours the dish whenever she is on screen. Despite her new role as an anti-technology activist, exemplified by her provocative question about children’s exposure to technology, “You wouldn’t give your child cocaine, why would you give them a smartphone?” she continues to create more problems than she solves. Except for giving M3GAN a new body, her character largely serves to create obstacles for the others, putting them and herself in greater danger. Her actions highlight a perceived hypocrisy that isn’t fully explored. These narrative choices ultimately detract from the film’s pacing, reinforcing its preference for explosive action over substantive thematic debate.
In conclusion, sitting in an air-conditioned theater watching M3GAN 2.0 is a great way to avoid this summer’s grueling heat. While it may not fully deliver on the promise of its more ambitious plot elements, the film undeniably offers a visually striking and action-packed experience. The chaotic, Bourne-esque thrill ride, coupled with superlative performances by the young cast members and top-notch special effects, creates an undeniable sense of fun that goes beyond the need for perfect narrative coherence.
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I am a lifelong lover of horror who delights in the uncanny and occasionally writes about it. My writing has appeared at DIS/MEMBER and in Grim magazine. I am also in charge of programming at WIWLN’s Insomniac Theater, the Internet’s oldest horror movie blog written by me. The best time to reach me is before dawn.