M3gan 2.0 (2025)
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Premise: A sequel to the 2022 film. The killer android M3gan (voice of Jenna Davis) has uploaded her consciousness to the internet. Her creators build M3gan a new body to fight a military android (Ivanna Sakhno) that has gone rogue.
What Works: M3gan 2.0 does the duty of a sequel to advance its characters and themes and bring the story to a new level. The first movie was a straightforward horror film and the best iteration of a popular Blumhouse formula in which a suburban family is threatened from within their own home, an idea that was recycled to diminishing effect in Afraid, Imaginary, and Night Swim. M3gan 2.0 is less The Terminator and more Terminator 2: Judgment Day in the way it turns the villain into an antihero and pivots the tone. The sequel is an action picture and M3gan 2.0 makes that transition smoothly. The filmmakers bring forward the levity, building on what was established previously, and give M3gan a sassy sense of humor. This is effective and M3gan 2.0 is surprisingly and consistently funny. The sequel also brings forward previously implicit ideas about artificial intelligence. The first film introduced the idea of an adaptive electronic toy achieving sentience. The second film presents that character with a slightly matured consciousness that points to some interesting directions. The storyline also builds upon the militaristic applications of the technology as well as the way larger society would react to the breakthroughs of the first film.
What Doesn’t: The shift in tone and broadening of the scope come at a cost. The original M3gan was narrowly focused which allowed the story to delve into the characters and dramatize the way children have grown emotionally dependent upon technology. M3gan 2.0 does not have any of the personal qualities that worked so well in the first film. M3gan’s relationship with Cady (Violet McGraw) was the engine that motivated the drama the first time around but that’s pushed into the background of the sequel. For that matter, all the human beings of the sequel are underwritten. We’re introduced to a tech guru played by Jemaine Clement and he’s an interesting character but the moviemakers don’t do anything with him. It’s indicative of the way M3gan 2.0 feels overstuffed with underdeveloped ideas. The story lacks focus. Nothing concrete is at stake. M3gan is resurrected to fight another android but that conflict is never dramatically compelling. The haphazard nature of the storytelling becomes obvious in some of the plotting. A lot of elements of M3gan 2.0 don’t make sense.
Bottom Line: M3gan 2.0 is a mixed effort. The filmmakers try to reinvent the character and there are some interesting elements at play here. But M3gan 2.0 also lacks a clear vision and comes across as a jumble of underdeveloped plotlines and ideas.
Episode: #1056 (July 13, 2025)