REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

MEGAN 2.0 (stylized M3GAN 2.0) may feature most of the original creative team behind the phenomenon that was the first film, but it’s vastly different from anything fans should expect. Directed and written by Gerard Johnstone and produced by James Wan for Atomic Monster, Jason Blum for Blumhouse, MEGAN 2.0 is a wild new chapter with just as much AI mayhem and, actually, a lot less horror. 

The film features returning cast members Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps as Gemma’s loyal tech teammates, Cole and Tess, and new characters played by Aristotle Athari (Saturday Night Live), Timm Sharp (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) and Grammy winner and 11-time Emmy nominee Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water).

Set two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous rampage (well, she only killed four people and a dog) and was subsequently destroyed, her creator Gemma (Allison Williams) is now a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight when it comes to artificial intelligence.

The original cast pushes MEGAN 2.0 farther than its premise.

Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules. Not to mention, she’s having a hard time distinguishing anything about what happened to her when she was 12. She has also learned Akaido since the last film and taken a liking to everything STEM, building her own robotics projects, which has frustrated her aunt and caregiver, Gemma. 

Living in a house that should be out of their price range, running a business, and trying to still be there for her niece, Gemma is trying to do it all. Gemma has her boyfriend and co-worker, Christian (pronounced Christ-ee-ahn), working to make the world a better place, while Cole (Rian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps) try to take what they have left from their last job together and use it to create a better world. 

Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans or in keeping them around.

With the future of human existence on the line, Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) and give her a few upgrades. She’s faster, stronger, and more lethal than before. Only now, she has more than enough guardrails. But can a M3GAN compete with a killer when she’s being kept on a leash?

MEGAN 2.0 is far from a shadow of its past self. What’s hard to judge is how well some will take the very clear departure from the first movie’s formula. This movie isn’t so much a horror movie as it’s an action-sci-fi-comedy with horror elements. The stark change is carried off well due to the returning cast and the film’s expert use of dark humor. Still, MEGAN 2.0 is more Upgrade than it is Child’s Play. Most of the time, it works. 

Gerard Johnstone’s signature brand of humor and  Jenna Davis’s delivery of M3GAN’s apathy mixed with yandere (platonically, of course) obsession with Cady helps craft a story that doesn’t forget why people fell in love with the killer AI doll in the first place. Her snark, her meanness, it’s all intact, even if this evolved version of M3GAN is more about personal growth than it is about her being a ruthless killer. 

Much of MEGAN 2.0 is grounded in skewering virtue signaling and lambasting Gemma, and to be honest, it’s warranted. Gemma is an example of a parent who uses their child as a guide for their selfishness. She and Christian, two people who might as well be described as the epitome of the “technology for me, not for thee” approach to non-profit work, embody this.

Gemma isn’t all bad, but she is a woman restrained by her moral ideals in a way that throws out too much for the sake of an arbitrary outward view. While it’s not smartly scripted commentary, often leaning into hamfistedness that the film’s titular character calls out, it is there. Often making me ask, “Why is Gemma so smart and yet so dumb?”

For his part, Aristotle Athari as Christian, is insufferable. He plays a plastic tech bro extremely well with the right mixture of self-importance and incompetence. He’s bad vibes from the get-go, and ultimately, the film is better for it. As for everyone else, they don’t really stand out. 

M3GAN remains iconic even if her film doesn’t hit as hard. 

Cady is ultimately the brains of the situation, especially where her connection with M3GAN is concerned. The film is driven by its relationships and the ability to utilize a former-killer robot to navigate them. Despite M3GAN’s apathy to everyone and everything but Cady, she’s the most emotionally intelligent of any of the cast. However, the annoying choices Gemma repeatedly makes do become grating, only saved by well-shot and directed sequences. 

On top of that, Megan 2.0 also doesn’t abandon the camp and winks at its audience that we all came to the theater for. Its self-awareness drives the film forward and ultimately, no matter what happens, makes Megan 2.0 worth your trip to the theater. Dancing, singing, sexy killer android, and weird, terrible men who make things worse. While M3GAN’s redemption feels awkward, who am I kidding? There’s just no way I can hate M3GAN.

Megan 2.0 is a drastic shake-up from the original film, but it’s still a fun time at the movies, with M3GAN solidifying her status as an icon. Everything around her may be weird and totally dissonant in spots, but the best killer toy remains the best. For all of its faults, Megan 2.0’s weirdness saves it. 

M3GAN 2.0 is playing now in theaters nationwide.