
M3GAN 2.0 review: Horror robo-doll returns, now with convoluted storyline
In cinemas; Cert 15A
The first M3gan film was a hoot. Funny, freaky and feverishly violent, Gerard Johnstone's original robo-doll horror imagined a comically absurd scenario in which a brainy roboticist (Allison Williams's Gemma) designs a demented, artificially intelligent companion for her orphan niece (Violet McGraw's Cady).
A tasty concept, and Johnstone's feature made a fortune. A sequel was inevitable, but did it need to be this complicated?
A new unkillable android has entered the arena. Say hello to Ivanna Sakhno's Amelia – another creepy self-aware threat with ulterior motives.
Originally designed for warfare, Amelia has gone rogue, and now Gemma, the conflicted Geppetto of our tale, will need to build a new body for M3gan (the lethal scoundrel from last time) to help take down the upgraded baddie.
Talk about over-egging the pudding. A crowded, convoluted farce, M3gan 2.0 lacks the depth and discipline of its predecessor and borrows shamelessly from a certain James Cameron classic (you know the one). Original ideas are non-existent, and this catastrophically stupid sci-fi brings out the worst in everyone involved. In a word? Unwatchable.

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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
M3GAN 2.0 review: Horror robo-doll returns, now with convoluted storyline
In cinemas; Cert 15A The first M3gan film was a hoot. Funny, freaky and feverishly violent, Gerard Johnstone's original robo-doll horror imagined a comically absurd scenario in which a brainy roboticist (Allison Williams's Gemma) designs a demented, artificially intelligent companion for her orphan niece (Violet McGraw's Cady). A tasty concept, and Johnstone's feature made a fortune. A sequel was inevitable, but did it need to be this complicated? A new unkillable android has entered the arena. Say hello to Ivanna Sakhno's Amelia – another creepy self-aware threat with ulterior motives. Originally designed for warfare, Amelia has gone rogue, and now Gemma, the conflicted Geppetto of our tale, will need to build a new body for M3gan (the lethal scoundrel from last time) to help take down the upgraded baddie. Talk about over-egging the pudding. A crowded, convoluted farce, M3gan 2.0 lacks the depth and discipline of its predecessor and borrows shamelessly from a certain James Cameron classic (you know the one). Original ideas are non-existent, and this catastrophically stupid sci-fi brings out the worst in everyone involved. In a word? Unwatchable.


Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Film review: The F1 movie is a fine vehicle for summer popcorn cinema
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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
M3gan 2.0 review: An absolutely terrible and woeful sequel
M3GAN 2.0 Director : Gerard Johnstone Cert : 15A Genre : Science fiction horror Starring : Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Ivanna Sakhno Running Time : 2 hrs Oh no. The sequel to M3gan is absolutely t3rribl3. It's as if nobody involved with that 2023 cybershocker – Gerard Johnstone returns to directing duties – has any idea what made it such a hilarious blast. Yes, the movie had things to say about the dangers of robotics and the threat of artificial intelligence . But those observations were at the level of 'that stuff sucks, man!'. M3gan was, more than anything else, a possessed-doll movie in the vein of Chucky, Annabelle or Dead of Night. The laughs came from contrasting the doll's cute subservience with her taste for hugely creative carnage. [ M3gan: An AI doll - what could possibly go wrong? Opens in new window ] About 20 minutes into the woeful sequel it becomes clear what is going on: these people think they are making Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This is partly down to a borderline-apocalyptic plot involving the advance of a robot takeover; it is more to do with the pitting of a now-largely benign M3gan against a more advanced model of her own kind. READ MORE The original got her acronym from 'Model 3 generative android'. Amelia (no number, no fun) gets hers from 'autonomous military engagement logistics and infiltration android'. Some defence contractor designs her as a sort of ambulatory weapon without realising – have you never seen a movie, dude? – that she is bound to use her powers in an attempted AI overthrow. Such mayhem results. Meanwhile, Cady (Violet McGraw), the young girl whom M3gan once violently protected, is living in high-tech normality with her computer boffin mom (Allison Williams). After one thing or another, those veterans of the first film find themselves uneasily allied with the now-reformed Model 3 against her boring, boring, boring successor. M3gan had a beautifully simple concept that was pumped up just enough to justify a taut feature. Not only has that been jettisoned for this spaghetti of confusion, but the central character has been largely neutered to make way for a generic cyborg that would barely pass muster as baddie in a suburban pantomime. The best joke in the film – referencing one of Kate Bush's best songs – almost slips away because it is too easy to believe that the comically exaggerated mawkishness is the sort of thing that might be meant sincerely in a film this terrible. That is never a good sign. In cinemas from Friday, June 27th