M3GAN 2.0

by Hope Madden

Sometimes a fun horror movie needs to become a fun action movie if you really hope to have a franchise. At least, a PG13 franchise. That’s clearly Gerard Johnstone’s thinking with M3GAN 2.0

Co-writing this time with M3GAN scribes Akela Cooper and James Wan, Johnstone imagines a future where the tech that fueled a bloodthirsty doll has been stolen and put to use as a weapon called Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno).

Amelia sets her murderous sights on the architect of her AI, Gemma (Allison Williams)—which, in turn, puts young Cady (Violet McGraw) in peril. Guess it’s time to dust off last year’s model.

So, in the same way that the old T-800 helped John and Sarah Connor save the world from Terminator 2, M3GAN (Jenna Davis voice, Amie Donald body) has to help humanity survive Amelia.

Johnstone and team do abandon the horror in favor of action, but the comic tone remains, thankfully. Even before we’re graced with M3GAN’s gallows wit, Johnstone’s fellow Kiwi and comedic treasure Jemaine Clement joins the cast as a billionaire philanthro-capitalist and easy mark.

Clement is a hoot, and soon enough, the dark wit that made M3GAN so much fun is back, and secured safely in the body of a child’s toy. But if they really are going to do battle with hew new model, upgrades will be needed.

Plenty of self-aware dialog inches the film more clearly toward comedy than the original, which wore its own dark humor with a little more nuance. 2.0 is definitely going for laughs alongside its thrills, helping to elevate scenes burdened with exposition.

The plot gets convoluted and silly, the message about AI holds no water at all, and Amelia’s true purpose is always beside the point, never driving the narrative. And abandoning horror entirely is a bit of a disappointment.

Still, M3GAN 2.0 delivers some summer fun.