M3GAN 2.0: A Messy, Wild Ride Held Together By Sheer Ambition

In the original trailer for M3GAN, there are just two or three seconds of dancing from our titular AI doll—but that was enough to launch her into the meme stratosphere, instantly sparking a flood of articles, GIFs, and support for the character as an “instant gay icon.” With James Wan attached as producer and Akela Cooper as the screenwriter (the team behind Malignant), audiences seemed ready to embrace M3GAN as a camp classic, even if the film’s grief-driven storyline clashed with its silliness. Now, three years later, it’s hard to imagine anyone being afraid of a Chucky-esque doll who does TikTok dances, so naturally, the series needed a shift. Drawing inspiration from Terminator 2, the franchise has shed its horror roots, rebranded itself as a campy action vehicle, and leaned further into absurdity with M3GAN as its unlikely hero. And yet, while M3GAN 2.0 boasts a welcome increase in camp, the series still feels in desperate need of retooling by a director willing to push its genre elements further. When every action scene skims by with little weight, it’s hard to believe its heart is truly in it.

M3GAN 2.0, the film once again follows Gemma (Williams) and her niece, Cady (McGraw), a few years after the events of the original. In one of the most jaw‑dropping location cards to appear on screen—describing “somewhere on the Iran–Turkish border” (yes, really)—the M3GAN technology has been co‑opted by the United States government to serve as a weapon: the Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android (or AMELIA, played by Ivanna Sakhno). However, when AMELIA goes rogue, M3GAN reveals that, while her body was destroyed, her programming continued to exist, lying dormant. After Gemma and Cady discover that AMELIA is seeking to track down an AI program that has collected data over the past thirty years for the purpose of world domination, M3GAN declares that she can help because it is still within her programming to protect Cady. But can M3GAN be trusted to save the day?

Visually, the film embraces glossy, kinetic action sequences, and with newcomers like Sakhno joining the fold and familiar faces such as Williams, McGraw, and Davis as the voice of M3GAN (with Amie Donald in the motion capture suit) returning to their roles, M3GAN 2.0 might even be one of the strongest examples of female-led action this year. Yet it’s a shame that these stylish set pieces so often lack real impact, relying on flashy camera moves and admittedly impressive choreography that looks solid but feels weightless as the enemies become little more than fodder.

At the center of the film, of course, is Donald and Davis’ dual performance as M3GAN. Donald’s physicality as M3GAN continues to astound and remains the glue of the franchise—a perfect, uncanny marriage of stiff, robotic head movements and impossibly graceful bodily choreography that evolves and matures from the previous film. The fact that Amie Donald was twelve during the first film and fifteen for the sequel makes the performance an even more impressive feat. Meanwhile, vocally, Davis embodies the diva to superb comedic effect—throw any one-liner at her, and she’ll nail it. This uncanny blend of robotic precision and subtle emotional cues in their performances makes M3GAN feel both menacing and oddly endearing—a doll one can’t quite look away from.

Of course, the film’s effort to warm the audience up to M3GAN comes with its own set of issues: following the release of Terminator 2, conversations about artificial intelligence existed more in the hypothetical—but James Cameron’s sci-fi classic warned that it could become a dangerous arbiter of the apocalypse, one that might replace humanity. In the years since, the topic has gained more nuance. With M3GAN 2.0, writer and director Gerard Johnstone turns his attention toward the positive uses of AI—and our dependence on it (GPS, search engines, text editing, advancements in medical technology, to name a few)—but ultimately, the film seems uninterested in fully engaging with the dangers of the topic, backing itself into a corner with a shrug of a commentary that is, frankly, unilluminating and centrist. After the original film’s clear warning against AI being an emotional crutch, such a change in perspective is jarring, to say the least. Still, how much of this is the result of seeking franchise longevity or a studio mandate is up for debate because any truly anti-AI narrative would require discarding the face of the series itself.

For a film packed with espionage missions, vulgar quips, and inevitable third-act villain returns, M3GAN 2.0 is a messy, wild ride held together by sheer, feverish ambition. In the hands of a filmmaker with a stronger vision and greater confidence in its genre aims, the series could truly become a camp classic. Though unlikely to win over M3GAN detractors—thanks to its narratively uneven and thematically shallow plot—those content to watch a children’s doll decimate people in increasingly outrageous ways, punctuated by sassy one-liners, will find that the film delivers.

*still courtesy of Universal Pictures*

If you liked this, please read our other reviews here and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

J.A. Birney

letterboxd.com/nonameno5/