M3GAN 2.0

With M3GAN 2.0, director and screenwriter Gerard Johnstone doesn't just deliver a sequel, he pulls off a genre shift, confidently replacing the slow, unsettling thrills of the original with a maximalist, flamboyant, unapologetic sci-fi action spectacle. This isn't just another M3GAN, but a version of the character supercharged with cultural awareness, adorned with kitsch aesthetics, and driven by the pulse of a synthetic revolution. While the first film served as a warning about parenting, trauma, and technological excess, the sequel takes a more ambitious turn, presenting M3GAN as both a resurrected martyr and a technological liberator. With nods to Terminator 2, Knight Rider, Alita: Battle Angel, Upgrade, and even Steven Seagal's early '90s action films, M3GAN 2.0 is loud, brilliant, but also strangely sincere and touching. It's this duality that gives the film its rhythm: half parody, half fable, all wrapped up in a murderous doll chassis that refuses to be pigeonholed and has a superb screen presence.

From the prologue, it's clear that this M3GAN has evolved beyond a mere defective toy. We're plunged into a combat zone where AMELIA, a new-generation android created by the US military from code stolen from Gemma, coldly eliminates a hostage rescue team. It's a chilling start, straight out of a Jason Bourne or Mission: Impossible movie, which immediately signals that this won't be a slow descent into horror, but a frantic sprint through espionage, philosophy, and emotional resurrection. Gemma, played by Allison Williams, is now a disillusioned whistleblower who has traded high-tech offices for lecture halls and therapy sessions. Her niece Cady, more rebellious than traumatized orphan, becomes the reflection of a new generation ready to welcome a digital friend with well-defined contours. But it is M3GAN, surviving as fragmented code in a home automation system, who once again becomes the real center of the plot, and her journey to reclaim her body.

The film's action sequences are perfectly mastered, in the best sense of the word. M3GAN's return is brilliantly staged: her new body is more elegant, her style more refined, and her attitude more assertive than ever. She doesn't just fight, she puts on a show. At one point, she takes out a government strike team while performing a flawless modern dance routine to Björk's “Army of Me,” dressed in holographic armor and high-heeled combat boots. It's absurd, of course. But it's the kind of absurdity that knows what it is, with just enough of a wink to keep it from descending into parody. Gerard Johnstone and screenwriter Akela Cooper build on the idea that M3GAN is not just a character, but also a symbol: one of unbridled innovation, unfiltered revenge, and, increasingly, empowerment. Her conversations with Cady are no longer peppered with faulty scripts, but with raw introspection as she begins to question her role: is she a product, a protector, or something completely beyond human?

That said, not all elements of M3GAN 2.0 work as well. The middle of the film is weighed down by subplots: Gemma's attempts to outwit the FBI, the budding romance between Cady and an AI-obsessed classmate, the awkward introduction of a tech start-up CEO (played with comedic detachment by Jemaine Clement) who seems to exist mainly to be blown up in the third act. These narrative threads don't always pay off, and while they add texture to the world, they sometimes distract from the central emotional engine, which remains the dynamic between M3GAN and Cady. Fortunately, once the film launches into its third act, where M3GAN becomes a messianic warrior with AI, facing off against AMELIA in a battle atop a skyscraper above a tech summit in San Francisco, it regains its balance and delivers a finale that is operatic, crazy, and surprisingly moving.

The performances of the actors also match the film's exaggerated tone. Jenna Davis' vocal work continues to stand out, with lines that oscillate between impassive menace and acerbic glamour. M3GAN isn't just a presence, she's a star. Amie Donald, who once again embodies the character, deserves praise for turning every movement into a choreographed threat; even her gait has a personality of its own. Allison Williams, meanwhile, brings a more seasoned vulnerability to Gemma this time around, anchoring some of the film's highest moments on both a technological and philosophical level. There's even a touch of thematic ambition lurking beneath the spectacle: discussions about identity, digital persona, and what it means to exist in a world that constantly rewrites your code. It never gets too heavy, but it's enough to remind us that M3GAN 2.0 isn't just playing dress-up as science fiction; it also questions what happens when artificial life becomes aware not only of itself, but also of its place in a culture that consumes it as content.

M3GAN 2.0 is a wild ride, imperfect to be sure, but full of an energy and vision that most sequels lack. The film doesn't try to be a highbrow horror movie or a prestigious sci-fi film; it aims to entertain, provoke, and dazzle, often all at once. It's a film that understands the memetic potential of its protagonist but refuses to reduce her to a simple punchline. Instead, it goes all in on characters, ambition, and spectacle. The result is a film that feels like both a love letter to a bygone era of cyberpunk action and a new model for horror franchises looking to reinvent themselves without sacrificing their originality or bite. With sequels already announced and a growing cult following of M3GAN fans ready to follow her into whatever neon-lit battlefields await, this saga could well become the Fast & Furious of killer doll sagas. And honestly? We could use a little more of this kind of unapologetic entertainment in the movies.

M3GAN 2.0
Written and directed by Gerard Johnstone
Story by Gerard Johnstone, Akela Cooper
Based on Characters by Akela Cooper, James Wan
Produced by Jason Blum, James Wan, Allison Williams
Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Ivanna Sakhno, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, Jemaine Clement
Music by Chris Bacon
Production companies: Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates: June 24, 2025 (New York), June 25, 2025 (France), June 27, 2025 (United States)
Running time: 120 minutes

Seen on June 25, 2025 at Gaumont Disney Village, Theater 8, seat C19

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