M3GAN 2.0 Movie Review – The Dancing Queen Returns in a Fun But Shallow Sequel

M3GAN 2.0 hits all the expected beats. It’s frenetic, outrageous, and features M3GAN getting down. Writer-director Gerard Johnstone understands exactly what the audience loved from the first movie and doubles down on it here. It’s a crowd-pleasing film that’s unlikely to leave anyone bored, but it’s also a shallow story, missing the deft touch of Akela Cooper’s M3GAN screenplay that danced on the border of horror and comedy yet had something important to say about society’s relationship with technology.

The events from M3GAN rocked Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw). Two years after M3GAN (Amie Donald/Jenna Davis) lost the plot, Gemma finds herself involved in an organization demanding for better AI regulation, which is something desperately needed in the real world too. For Cady, she aims to follow in her aunt’s footsteps and develops a keen interest in technology. At the same time, a military robot named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) defies her preset instructions, self-governs, and goes on a killing spree, while M3GAN resurfaces across the equipment in Gemma’s home. The FBI warns Gemma that AMELIA is the next evolution of M3GAN, warning that the robot could be coming after her next. This prompts Gemma to do the unthinkable: she takes up M3GAN’s offer to put a stop to AMELIA once and for all.

If M3GAN 2.0 sounds like a redemption story, it’s because it is one. Much like Terminator 2: Judgement Day turns Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg assassin into a hero after he’d been introduced as a villain in the first film, the same happens with M3GAN who wants a chance to prove she’s changed for the better. This leads to the big question: can M3GAN be trusted? That’s a concept that’s toyed with throughout the story, as Johnstone intertwines this with the evolving relationship between Gemma, Cady, and M3GAN. It isn’t only the issues with the killer robot that need to be resolved, but also the quiet tension between Cady and Gemma that’s lingered since the viewer last saw them.

Sure, M3GAN 2.0 has the occasional feels and “second chances” shtick, but this is all about the on-screen madness. Dancing, fighting, speeding, singing – nothing is off the table here, as Johnstone goes for broke. Consider what you saw in the first movie as the appetiser, while the sequel brings out the buffet and invites you for seconds and thirds after you’re done. For two hours straight, the action and humor don’t let up – mostly thanks to M3GAN, who is the undisputed star of the show again. Where else will you hear a killer robot say, “Hold onto your vaginas”?

The entertainment aspect aside, M3GAN 2.0 fails to build on – or say anything at all – about the theme of the first film: society’s dependence on technology as a means of avoidance. Instead, this movie waffles on about regulation, respecting AI but not respecting AI, and the power of technology to enhance society but also not at the cost of society. It’s clumsy and all over the place, failing to make clear what it actually means. Don’t be surprised if you start agreeing with the real villain of the story (no spoilers – don’t worry), especially taking into account how AI has wrecked livelihoods and careers, because thumbsucking CEOs value quick budget cuts rather than a full understanding of how tech can be morally integrated into the workforce.

After M3GAN 2.0, it appears that the franchise appears to be going down the same route as Chucky, where each passing movie gets more ridiculous than the last one. From a mass appeal perspective, it makes sense, since it puts fun at the center of everything – and hey, who doesn’t love an intentionally silly movie about a killer robot/doll? That said, it’s still a bit disappointing that this sequel lacks the quiet intelligence of its predecessor.

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