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M3GAN 2.0

I thought the first M3GAN, about a killer robot that goes on a bloody rampage, was fun. It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but I didn’t hate it, either. It treaded over the same familiar ground that the original Chucky movies did, but did a slightly better job of it--at least as far as a slasher film about a killer doll can go. The first M3GAN still did well enough to warrant a sequel three years later: M3GAN 2.0. The sequel was a huge bomb at the box office, with its main producer, Jason Blum, actually going out and doing press to apologize for the “wrong turn” that the sequel made.

But that "wrong turn" is exactly why I enjoyed M3GAN 2.0 so much.

The sequel wisely throws out the horror trappings of the first film in favor of a more fast-paced, heavily science fiction-imbued action tale. M3GAN 2.0 opens with AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), a super spy robot, on a mission into Iran, where she is tasked with finding a kidnapped scientist. But AMELIA goes rogue when, instead of rescuing him, she kills the scientist and steals his tech. She then proceeds to start killing everyone involved with the original M3GAN project--which is really bad news for M3GAN’s original main creators, Gemma (Allison Williams), Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez), and Tess (Jen Van Epps), along with Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw).

This foursome of characters makes for a very cozy group to follow through this entertaining romp, and they’re all played very well by their respective actors, with the writers giving them each something productive to do that makes them shine. And they’re not alone in facing AMELIA; as it turns out, the original M3GAN, despite having her body destroyed in the first film, is back in (electronic) spirit. Jenna Davis returns as the voice of M3GAN, with Amie Donald also returning as the physical embodiment, once Gemma and her friends build M3GAN a proper body to battle AMELIA with.

Ivanna Sakhno--whose Shin Hati character was one of the few great things in the abominably bad Ashoka Disney+ series--also does wonders with AMELIA, giving her a nice sense of menace, and even garnering some sympathy for what should be just a one-note villain character. And while 2.0 may stumble here and there (in its lesser moments, 2.0 sometimes feels like a rehashed Terminator 2), the sequel’s immensely funny humor, as well as its sympathetic characters, is its saving grace. By eschewing the horror framework of the original, M3GAN 2.0 injected vital new life into its franchise. Here’s hoping it will be re-discovered on video. --SF

M3GAN and M3GAN 2.0 are available on both streaming and physical media.

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