‘M3GAN 2.0' Is an Antihero Upgrade, But at a Cost

Gizmodo

3 days ago

M3GAN 2.0 delivers a bloody slay of a sequel, one that elevates Blumhouse's sci-fi horror darling and gives its icon an action-packed upgrade–one that works, albeit at the expense of the original's horror roots.
You can't keep a killer down, or a killer doll for that matter, as the end of the first film teased, as 2.0 opens with M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis, and physically portrayed by Amie Donald) having taken refuge in the cloud after he defeat. In the sequel, we discover that while Gemma (Allison Williams) and Cady (Violet McGraw) worked through their new family dynamic, M3GAN worked through how maybe she jumped to extremes with her relentless directive to protect her assigned child. Her omni-presence to Gemma and Cady is cleverly revealed when Gemma becomes the target of an assassination attempt by a weaponized android named AMELIA (Ahsoka's Ivanna Sakhno) who has turned on its creators and operators. This includes Gemma, as AMELIA was programed utilizing stolen files of her M3GAN designs from the first film–putting Cady's life in danger once more.
M3GAN 2.0 matures its main villain into an anti-hero with a satisfying pivot that pulls a similar success story to the evolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator in Terminator 2. M3GAN is as sassy as ever, and self-aware that her previous actions were dangerous, but plays into the metanarrative around the original film that made her an immediate camp icon. Williams' performance compliments M3GAN's own evolution perfectly, as she plays up Gemma with Elizabeth Holmes tones to explain away her inability to make human connections with new goal of her own: to make up for the lack of oversight she had on her tech, she's now an advocate for regulations in AI advancements for big corporations.
Evolving both women before pushing them to work together to defend Cady from AMELIA is a smart move that 2.0 mines to great effect. Its such a bold move that no longer pits these strong as hell women against each other (honestly, giving Cady two mother figures now is iconic, and feels like another self-aware nod to M3GAN's IRL embrace of being a queer icon). It's also just fun to see the ways they also feed into each other's darker impulses: you see Gemma take a chance on M3GAN as AMELIA hunts one of the Musk-esque minds that made her, by letting M3GAN loose again in an updated, snazzier body. It's here 2.0 begins to establish itself as more of an action film send up than another horror film, a divergence that it manages to do mostly successfully. Some fans might be disappointed by the switch–M3GAN literally loses her edge for most of the film when Gemma adds a chip to her system to dial down her killer response. Whether its mostly to keep it PG-13 or not; returning director Gerard Johnstone tosses creepiness out the window early on, for better or worse.
After the first act of setup, 2.0 goes full-throttle with its action set-pieces (including of course, a mandatory training montage), but again, much of the blood and gore of the first film is lost in exchange for over-the-top, slick action. There's still as much blood as they can possibly get away with, but that's more on AMELIA's part than M3GAN, to her and our frustration. Johnstone leans on balancing the comedy and action with riffs on tropes from genre that suit M3GAN, but checking boxes doesn't exactly offer anything new in the process. It leaves 2.0 feeling predictable as it builds towards its climax, making you want M3GAN's violence handicap device off sooner than later–and once we do get a return of the killer doll diva, the fun is fleeting, wrapping up the film a little too quickly, and a little too safely, for its own good.
M3GAN 2.0 is solid, and mines M3GAN's place in the current pop culture moment for all it's worth, but it just doesn't push genre boundaries like the first film did. It put its own proverbial play-it-safe device on for most of the film to engage in a litany of classic action movie tropes, which are fun, but occasionally border on parody. The film remains an entertaining romp, and M3GAN's redemption arc is the film's strength, but some of the ways we get there overstay their need, especially if fans of the original's flair for fun and inventive violence get sparks of the original's in moments that come few and far between along the way.
That push and pull between acknowledging the viral success of the original even rubs off on M3GAN's wit in the process, with 2.0 at times lacking the sharp touch of original M3GAN screenwriter Akeela Cooper. Perhaps a third, almost inevitable at this point, entry in the series could find a better balance between the horror charms of the original and the second's high-camp action thrills. She still dances, she still can accessorize, but this time there's no sharp edges included in the box.
M3GAN 2.0 opens this Friday, June 27.
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