M3GAN 2.0 movie review

This Blumhouse backed fright flick aims to go head up with the big dogs of summer movie releases. Same game, same team. Gerard Johnstone returns to direct with genre vets Akela Cooper (Malignant) and James Wan (Saw) reprising writing duties. Amidst the capes and heroes, dinosaurs and danger, and animated family fun, it might see off season to follow up the successful sci-fi slasher hit. But once the theatre lights dim and the cellphones silence, you quickly realize it wasn’t a muddled decision. Leaning into laughs, the delicate blend of humor and terror etches a standalone parable of man VS machine. 

Sit through a few trailers and it’s noticeable the horror class has grown to one of the most popular. And when something works, we often work it some more. They key to making a second serving exciting is to mix it up a bit, add a dash of a new spice. Therapy sessions and martial art classes have been fending for young Cady (Violet McGraw, Thunderbolts*) in the fallout from the tragic events a couple years prior. The ones where her robot doll-patron went berserk, killed some people and almost her. Cady’s roboticist aunt Gemma (Allison Williams, Get Out), who developed the entity in place of parenting skills, has since directed her work towards regulating the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence into the world. Smart choice auntie. 

Witty writing keeps the pace

The sharpest knife in this picture’s drawer is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Aikido training yields a hilarious Steven Segal poster in Cady’s locker, paired with twisted arms for school bullies. Unable to fully depend on hip-tosses, Gemma’s curious mind couldn’t see M3GAN totally eradicated. Perhaps restrained and reduced, her mechanization is still active. For studious purposes of course. This turns out to be good, because a defense contractor’s (they’re the worst) proficient weapon, AMELIA, designed from hijacked technology, has gone rogue, seemingly unstoppable, threatening all humankind. Trying to grab the reins of their wild horse, agents track down Cady and Gemma to help resolve this rodeo.

 Political-thriller vibes are of woven into a substantial subtext questioning Artificial Intelligence. The notions of responsibility and its absence are examined against the circumstance of man and the man-made. We’re fed a palatable depiction of reality, government priorities led by military interests with the safety of civilian life an afterthought. Minimal CGI-use strips the sensational, leaving these themes more visceral. 

Contemporary issues explored in the plot

While Politicians in Washington deliberate over a bill to limit the reach of A.I., the oil has already begun to fry and splash out the pan. M3GAN is needed to combat AMELIA, and it draws parallels to the first two Terminator movies. How Arnold was the villainous machine initially and returned to protect from the more advanced liquid terminator in the sequel, M3GAN too goes full hero here. Even the comical exchanges resemble moments of John Connor trying teaching the stone-dry T-1000 contemporary slang. It’s a race to the Defense research headquarters to reach a motherboard with the power to override Amelia. There may be no knockout performances or camera work that would have made Sergio Leone drool but catch this feature to reinforce your distrust for A.I while having some laughs and scares along the way.

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