‘M3GAN 2.0’ Review: Killer Robots Are Double the Fun in Action-Comedy Sequel

In the sequel “M3GAN 2.0,” this year’s model is a totally different ride – and that’s a very good thing. 

The first clue that this isn’t the slow-burn horror attraction of the first film, but more of a rollercoaster, is the first scene, which is straight out of a high-tech action movie. The first clue that the wit of the original is intact is that there actually is a M3GAN 2.0: She’s named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), and all those murdery tendencies that got M3GAN in trouble have been deemed assets by the U.S. military – features, not bugs, for a sleek, new, taller killer A.I. robot. What could possibly go wrong?  

The cleverly made “M3GAN” was a surprise hit, grossing more than $180 million against a $12-million budget in 2022. Director Gerard Johnstone made the most of his resources, crafting a story about the formation of a mother-daughter bond within the trappings of an indie-feeling horror movie about A.I. run amok. The helper toy/life-size robot/doll M3GAN (an acronym for “Model 3 Generative Android”), created by brilliant roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams), is programmed to take care of Gemma’s orphaned niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). M3GAN takes her prime directive too far, resulting in gory deaths and, eventually, her physical destruction, though the movie’s final shot clued us in that her A.I. consciousness had survived.  

The sequel promptly introduces AMELIA (an acronym for “Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android”), who demonstrates her unique set of skills on her first mission, then promptly goes rogue and AWOL. We check in on Gemma, who continues to advance robotics while preaching A.I. regulation with sensitive tech guy Christian (“Chris-tiane,” we’re oft reminded, played by Aristotle Athari). Cady is getting deeply into robotics herself. A self-glorifying, genius zillionaire (Jemaine Clement) with cybernetic brain-implant tech smarmily seeks an unwanted merger with Gemma’s company. Meanwhile, the authorities desperately hunt for AMELIA, thinking Gemma has something to do with her actions because her code was pirated from M3GAN’s. The still-alive M3GAN reveals herself to Gemma, arguing they must work together to stop AMELIA – whose goal turns out to be a pretty interesting one – and we’re off.  

The new movie thankfully avoids pretty much every possible pitfall of a sequel, especially the usual fate of horror follow-ups being merely bigger and bloodier rehashes. Of course, bigger isn’t always better; but here, bigger is accompanied by “different.” Think of it: Of the endless parade of horror sequels, what tiny percentage offered anything more than increasingly extreme methods of dismemberment? Rather than trying to recapture the experience of “M3GAN,” the filmmakers understood that the usual Hollywood method yields diminishing returns. As the poet said, “How many times can you jump out of the cupboard / Before someone gets suspicious or someone gets discovered?”  

“M3GAN 2.0” is, indeed, an action movie – even an action comedy – that moves all of its returning characters forward, expands the world of the story and still rewards fans of the first film with moments they came to see. At times it reads as a funnier, saucier “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” 

Laughs don’t just come from dialogue (though fans will delight in the increased volume of sheer sass coming from a certain motorized mouth). There’s plenty of character humor and cinematic punchlines. For instance, “It’s hardly fair to judge a person by the worst thing they’ve done” is a well-enough-known phrase, but coming from the reconstituted M3GAN, it earns an uneasy chuckle. There’s a laugh-out loud callback to the first film that produces an instantly meme-able line in “M3GAN, please don’t take this to the chorus.” And the whole gag of what AMELIA is after is both canny and darkly amusing. 

Johnstone gets solid, detailed performances from his cast. McGraw conveys the two years of growth Cady has experienced, the script fortunately making her behavior more tolerable than before. Cady’s and Gemma’s relationship has clearly traveled a distance, and Gemma’s crew (the returning Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps) enjoys a more textured group dynamic with her. The returning tag team of Amie Donald as M3GAN’s body and Jenna Davis as her voice have much more to do than in the original, and go to town.  

Clement is one of those rare performers whose always-welcome appearance signifies that something funny is about to happen. Athari (who was briefly on “Saturday Night Live”) gets a lot of mileage out of insufferable goodness; his consistency becomes hilarious as the situation changes. As AMELIA, Sakhno is an arresting presence. Physically a cross between Michelle Pfeiffer, Elizabeth Olsen and an MMA fighter, she projects the cold efficiency necessary to make her killer robot formidable, even given the limitations of the role.  

“M3GAN 2.0” wisely takes the franchise to a totally new place, and has a lot of fun doing so. The action is exciting, relationships stronger, humor abundant. Johnstone (who scripted from a story he co-wrote with “M3GAN” writer Akela Cooper) and company have come back from the drawing board with a lean, mean machine. 

A Universal Pictures release, “M3GAN 2.0” opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, June 27.

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