Courtesy of Common/Blumhouse
A.I. and killer robots turning on their human creators wasn’t precisely a novel idea when the unique “M3GAN” premiered in 2023, nevertheless it struck a nerve by delivering a villain who slayed each actually and figuratively. That first movie saved issues easy: a principally home setting, modest set items, and a decent narrative a few killer AI doll keen to do something to guard her BFF.
“M3GAN 2.0”, alternatively, is far larger, possibly too large for its personal good. The movie opens with a covert navy operation inside an Iranian bunker, full with Protection Division officers monitoring the scene like they’re in a Tom Clancy thriller. Should you hadn’t seen the unique, you would possibly marvel what film you simply walked into. And even when you had, you continue to could be asking the identical query.
A lot of the inventive staff from the primary movie returns, however this time they’ve deserted the small-scale, campy horror-comedy vibe in favor of full-blown motion spectacle. Assume much less “Baby’s Play,” extra “Terminator 2.” The shift in tone and style is jarring, and never the improve the title implies.
Now we’ve received two AI robotic villains battling for supremacy, with M3GAN positioned someplace between villain and anti-hero. There are secret bunkers, wingsuit chases, maniacal human villains, and high-speed automotive chases. The destiny of the human race is all of the sudden at stake. At occasions, it feels extra like a scrapped “Mission: Unattainable” spec script than a “M3GAN” sequel. No matter spark or identification the unique had is buried beneath shiny spectacle. Director and co-writer Gerald Johnson and author Akela Cooper throw a lot cash and chaos on the display, they appear to overlook what audiences cherished in regards to the first movie within the first place.
The plot facilities across the U.S. authorities’s curiosity in regulating AI, a well timed subject given the continuing rise of platforms like ChatGPT. Allison Williams returns as Gemma, M3GAN’s creator, now an outspoken advocate for AI regulation. Her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is a budding laptop programmer with an oddly particular obsession with Steven Seagal motion pictures. As ever, M3GAN’s high precedence is Cady’s security. And no, she didn’t really die on the finish of the primary movie, she’s simply been lurking within the cloud, ready for her comeback second.
That second arrives when a brand new AI menace named Amelia threatens the world. M3GAN is introduced again to assist cease her, and all of the sudden, the killer doll from the primary film is our greatest shot at survival. There are flashes of leisure right here,significantly when M3GAN and Amelia go head-to-head, nevertheless it’s not sufficient. A deranged needle drop of Kate Bush’s “This Lady’s Work” presents a second of unhinged camp, however quite than elevate the fabric, it simply reminds us of what the sequel is lacking: the chew, the wit, and the bizarre enjoyable that made the unique “M3GAN” so memorable.
MEGAN 2.0 is now taking part in in theaters.