M3GAN 2.0
Starring: Jenna Davis, Violet McGraw, Allison Williams, Amie Donald, Ivanna Sakhno, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Aristotle Athari, and Jemaine Clement
Director: Gerard Johnstone
AMARÚ
M3GAN 2.0 is a definite upgrade from M3GAN, vastly due to the massive improvements to the title character (Jenna Davis) in every way. M3GAN (physically played by Amie Donald) is hilarious, whip-smart, the perfect amount of petty, and Davis’ voice performance creates energy with every line she utters. When she is on screen, the action, comedy, and thrills deliver on the “knowing exactly what movie she’s in” fun you hope for. When she’s not on screen, the film is exposition-filled, predictable nonsense. Luckily, M3GAN is there 70% of the time, and 70% of her iconic energy outweighs 30% of stupidity.
ADRIANO
When I heard the sequel to M3GAN was going to shift tones entirely, opting for a more T2-esque action feel instead of horror, I honestly thought that sounded hilarious. Unfortunately, M3GAN 2.0 takes itself way too seriously. It's at its silliest when the titular character is there, but she's barely in it. The performances aren't bad, but it focuses on these characters for so long that I eventually stopped caring about any of the emotional stakes. The action was fine I guess, but the M3GAN franchise needs to own its campiness, and this doesn’t own it at all.
NICK
What was viewed as a horror franchise has now turned into an action-comedy as M3GAN 2.0 goes the Happy Death Day route of genre-flipping the sequel. Despite that tonal shift, it still works about as well as the first film. As someone who thought M3GAN was fairly middle-of-the-road, this didn't change my opinion drastically in either direction. The laughs are more frequent, and M3GAN grows as a character, but the film suffers when she's off screen and it presents a very confusing stance on AI. This will still appease fans, but if you didn't love the first one, I don't expect this will change your mind.
BODE
I’d be lying if I said I was a huge fan of the first M3GAN, but I did still find it to be a decent enough horror comedy that crafted a memorable character and provided some undeniably meme-worthy moments. You’d think that creating a sequel to it - let alone one that pulls a Terminator 2-style genre switch - wouldn’t be so difficult, but M3GAN 2.0 proves exactly the opposite. Its punchlines are barely funny, the action isn’t very exciting, and even its commentary on the threat posed by AI falls incredibly flat. It’s a downgrade in every way possible.
