Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Ivanna Sakhno
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 120 minutes
Universal Pictures
Film Score: 2 out of 5 Stars
4K Score: 3 out of 5 Stars
In a year packed with excellent horror, it’s easy to forget about “M3GAN 2.0.” That’s partly because it had some stiff competition like “Weapons” and “Sinners,” and partly because the sequel abandons horror almost entirely, trading killer doll vibes for… a techno-spy thriller? It feels like the goal was to do what “Terminator 2” did, which was to evolve the threat into something more complex and maybe even heroic. But instead of building on what made 2022’s “M3GAN” effective, this follow-up takes a wild genre swerve and lands in messy, half-baked territory.
Two years after the events of the first film, Gemma (Allison Williams) has become an advocate for responsible AI. That’s not what everyone wants to hear though. Gemma’s immense tech background brings her face-to-face with military officials on the hunt for AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a rogue AI android who’s gone off the leash. Enter M3GAN, who turns out she’s not quite dead and has an offer: Give her a body, and she’ll help take down AMELIA.
That pitch could’ve worked. But watching the original just days before seeing “M3GAN 2.0” really highlighted the disconnect. We go from a cold-blooded AI willing to kill anyone to protect a child (Cady, played again by Violet McGraw), to a convoluted international plot involving assassinations, G20 meetings, and a shadowy tech macguffin. The tonal whiplash is real. Going from slasherbot to spy queen isn’t so subtle.
M3GAN’s transition from horror icon to a feminist James Bond happens so fast you either buy in completely or check out. I found myself somewhere in the middle. M3GAN still has the sarcastic one-liners and chaotic energy, but now she’s positioned as a full-on hero. The morally gray, unpredictable edge that made her interesting is stripped away. What’s left feels like what Disney might do if it bought the IP and wanted to sell plush dolls at Target.
It’s not that the ideas behind “M3GAN 2.0” are bad. They’re actually kind of fun. But the execution doesn’t match the ambition. At two hours, the silliness wears thin. Once the novelty of watching M3GAN quip and kill again wears off, you’re left with a plot that feels like it was written in committee the night before shooting started. That said, the unrated version offers a bit more of what some fans like me wanted: blood, mayhem, and sharper edges. “M3GAN 2.0” is best enjoyed with very little brain computing power, but once you start turning the gears of thought, you’re going to be disappointed.
4K Review
Total Upgrade: Making M3GAN 2.0: Get a behind the scenes look from the cast and crew about the sequel.
Droid DNA: Having attended a panel at SDCC this past year about the costumes in “M3GAN 2.0,” I’m slightly surprised that it isn’t included with this look at the film’s droids.
The Art of Slaying: A look at how the special effects team brought the film’s action sequences to bloody life.
Scene Breakdown: Embrace AI Convention: This feature goes over the film’s best sequence, a dance battle that turns into…well…a regular battle.