Taking notes from the James Camerson school of “make the sequel to your horror film an action-thriller” (see Aliens and T2: Judgment Day), director Gerard Johnstone brings back the psychotic and sassy AI doll that audiences loved, M3GAN, for a film that is action-heavy, mean-witted, and leans heavily into satirising the exact genre that it is, but not in a way that entirely works.
When a new AI threat emerges in the form of a rogue, humanoid military weapon called AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), Gemma (Alison Williams) and Cady (Violet McGraw), against their better judgment must reawaken M3GAN (Amie Donald in physical form, and Jenna Davis by voice) to stop the sentient combatant before she utilises all of the world’s technology for a complete AI takeover.
“action heavy, mean witted, and leans into satrising the exact genre it is“
Showing his reverence for 80s and 90s action-thrillers that all follow the same plotline of a secret government weapon being put in the wrong hands (and in the case of M3GAN 2.0, the hands are technically the weapons own), Johnstone manages to balance the line of parody and sincerity to take the horror tones of the first M3GAN into the action-thriller genre for the sequel. Smoky, sweaty government hideouts, underground bunkers, and insane military heavy action set-pieces prove that Johnstone is a fan of genre shifting, but at times can mix up the tones a little too much for the movie’s own good.
The tonal juggling doesn’t necessarily help the pacing, and at almost 2 hours long, there are a lot of moments and scenes in M3GAN 2.0 that feel a little unnecessary. Even with entertaining scene stealing moments from appearances by Jermaine Clement as a sleazy tech-billionaire who wants to use the M3GAN tech for his own evil use, the inclusion of his character, and others who pop up throughout the film, can feel a little irrelevant. It’s worth noting that M3GAN as we know and love her doesn’t appear until halfway through the story, and the focus on the more human aspects of the story lack the emotional or interesting substance to feel entirely engaging.
The plot itself also leaves a fair bit to be desired, leaving the thought of wondering whether the action-thriller route was the right choice to continue M3GAN’s story. The film feels less inspired by the 80s and 90s flicks it pays parodic homage to, and more like a cut-and-copy of the formula with a slightly more advanced technological twist. Even the lack of commentary and exploration of AI’s impact on the modern world feels a little tired and even less fleshed out than it was in the first film.
While there are stylistic action scenes sprinkled throughout, including a thrilling car chase and brutal opening shootout, the final act of the film is all-out Terminator style robotic action with M3GAN and AMELIA utilising their own unique fighting styles, and Johnstone dynamically moving the camera around the action to create these really exciting, hand-to-hand, martial arts driven combat scenes that have a contemporary, technological twist.
M3GAN 2.0 is far funnier than its predecessor, and that is very much so due to the titular character herself bringing a much more heightened level of sass and cutting wit this time round. M3GAN wasn’t necessarily a “nice” character to begin with, but with some truly gut-bustingly funny (and mean) one-liners, and a well-timed, impactful F-bomb, her humour often caps off many scenes with a good chuckle.
M3GAN 2.0 isn’t necessarily the sequel that the first film deserves as it brings forward a tonal and genre shift that doesn’t always work, but there is enough solid humour and wit from the titular AI character, along with some exciting action-set pieces, that provide a fun enough time at movies.
M3GAN 2.0 is in cinemas from June 26.
