M3GAN 2.0: Has More Chuckles Than 'Chucky,' But I Didn't Come to Laugh
By Thom Ernst
Rating: C-minus
M3GAN 2.0 continues the saga of M3GAN, the creepy life-like doll with the deadly computerized dedication to befriend and defend its owner.
Anyone who’s been on the receiving end of a teenager with a massive attitude recognizes M3GAN’s capacity to demolish you with a sneer and a hand-on-her-hip pose that screams, “Who let you onto my planet?” Hard-coded with sass and high-efficiency defence sub-routines, M3GAN is a next-generation upgrade of unrelenting force and precision.
Androids M3GAN and AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) go mechano-a-mechano in M3GAN 2.0
But M3GAN is not the original computer that wore tennis shoes. For that, you’d have to rewind to 1969, when Kurt Russell played Dexter, a below-average college student who becomes an overnight genius and a quiz show sensation after being zapped by a computer, in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Dexter is lovable, M3GAN not so much.
The cinematic lineage of rogue computers arguably began a year earlier, when HAL tormented Dave in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Ever since, computers—and their animatronic cousins, the robot—have played both sides of the coin: destroyer and saviour. But in M3GAN 2.0, that coin is tossed into the air, and the effect is a twirling mishmash of Terminator 2 (1991), Child’s Play (1988) and Spy Kids (2001).
Director Gerard Johnstone returns to steer what’s clearly shaping up to be a franchise, once again teaming with screenwriters Akela Cooper and James Wan. In M3GAN 2.0, our synthetic antiheroine veers from her original kill-bot trajectory, becoming less Chucky and more Rosey—the sass-mouthed robot maid from The Jetsons.
And though the sequel racks up an even bigger body count, it somehow nudges the franchise closer to family-friendly territory. The result is an entertaining but cloudy hybrid of cutaway violence and Home Alone-style mayhem.
The real draw—and by far the most entertaining element of both films—is M3GAN herself, voiced with snarky precision by Jenna Davis and brought to life through a seamless blend of puppetry, CGI, and a flesh-and-blood performance by Amie Donald. M3GAN 2.0 is loaded with callbacks to the first film (and, oddly, to Steven Seagal), reminding us not only of M3GAN’s original four-human-plus-one-dog kill count, but also of her uniquely droll sense of justice. That said, anyone hoping for more of her razor-edged vengeance may walk away underwhelmed.
M3GAN 2.0 pulls back on the violence, opting for reaction shots over bloodshed. Instead, director Johnstone errs on the side of comedy, and it takes a moment to adjust. Even once the film’s new vibe settles in, the inconsistent tone makes it hard to stay invested in the convoluted plot: a muddled cautionary tale about AI, complete with FBI agents, Black Ops operatives, and a morally bankrupt tech billionaire pulling the strings.
Jemaine Clement, the biggest name on the marquee, plays the morally bankrupt tech mogul with the smugness of a Bond villain and the cluelessness of Austin Powers. It’s a broad, winking performance that pushes hard for laughs, whether they land or not.
Violet McGraw and Allison Williams reprise their roles as Cady and Gemma. Gemma—supposedly a genius roboticist—is reduced to panicked outbursts and grumpy confrontations, while Cady, now 12, swaps vulnerability for teen angst. She’s more self-assured this time around, but no more dimensional. Sidekicks Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) are back, mostly to bungle their way through scenes and provide forced comic relief.
To its credit, M3GAN 2.0 doesn’t just recycle the first film—it swerves into broader comedy and bigger spectacle. But in doing so, it trades suspense for slapstick and tension for martial arts action. The humour is scattershot, the themes undercooked, and despite some high-tech window dressing, M3GAN 2.0 ultimately feels more refurbished than a technical evolution.
M3GAN 2.0 is directed by Gerard Johnstone and stars Violet McGraw, Allison Williams, Jen Van Epps, Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jemain Clement. M3GAN 2.0opens wide in theatres June 27.