M3GAN made a big splash at movie theaters in 2013, telling the story of a sentient robotic doll, created for the purposes of babysitting, that turns evil and starts killing people. I enjoyed the kitsch value of it, but like many thought it didn’t quite go far enough. Even the producers regretted releasing it as a PG-13 movie, and promptly remedied that with an “uncut” home video release… which again was popular. Now, the little robot menace is back in M3GAN 2.0, and this time the filmmakers have really ramped everything up in a big way.

After the events of the first M3GAN, Gemma (Allison Williams) is now feeding off the controversy of her and her team creating the doll that went nuts, even garnering a book deal. Cady (Violet McGraw) has taken up martial arts, but still feels ignored by Gemma and doesn’t make friends easily. What neither of them realize is the United States government has developed a new version of Gemma’s idea, a robot that looks like an adult woman that they can use to infiltrate military bases and spy on people, equipped with deadly abilities and precision. Her name is Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), and she’s now gone rogue, they can no longer control her. Adding to the headaches is an Elon Musk-esque billionaire (played perfectly by Jemaine Clement) who wants Gemma’s technology, and seems to be attracted to her to boot, but neither aspect appeals to our leading lady. Eventually Gemma is approached by the government and asked to help bring down Amelia by doing the unthinkable – rebuilding M3GAN to go after her. Gemma reluctantly does, thinking she can control M3GAN this time, but she’s about to unwrap an even bigger mystery that threatens the entire world.

M3GAN 2.0 does what a lot of genre sequels typically do – it ramps up the action, ramps up the stakes, and gives the characters more to work with script-wise. To draw comparisons to sequels like TERMINATOR 2 or the more recent SMILE 2 would be expected. The idea of giving M3GAN an equal to spar with is what really drives the story here, but the film also smartly deals with the concept of AI and how man tries to use it and control it, all while not properly heeding the dangers of giving artificial intelligence too much power. Director Gerard Johnstone is clearly having fun with the material and really taking advantage of the bigger budget and now built-in fan base for the character. He also finds creative ways to make M3GAN a little more sympathetic and almost hero-like while still maintaining her destructive qualities, and the fact she’s been rebuilt allows her to be a little taller and have newer abilities.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are welcome returns here, both feeling comfortable and confident in their respective roles. Williams gets to do a bit more action this time around, and McGraw is growing up fast and showing solid acting chops. The duo of Jenna Davis (voice) and Amie Donald (physical body) as M3GAN is again really good here, and they get to do a lot of new and interesting things… I love how unpredictable and sometimes crazy this character is, creepy and weird in all the right ways. Ivanna Sakhno is a really strong addition as Amelia, the nemesis for M3GAN and our heroes, and she sells the villain role with perfection. I also enjoyed Jemaine Clement as the Elon Musk-like billionaire who is just strange and awkward, and former Saturday Night Live star Aristotle Athari as Gemma’s potential love interest Christian, who Cady just can’t seem to click with.

Blumhouse seems to find ways to make interesting horror movies that are also frequently topical and relevant to real world issues. This movie definitely serves as a cautionary tale toward technology and the use of robots in our society, even implementing a origin story that dates back to the 1980s and our fascination with robots… anyone remember those Tomy robots sold in toy stores that you could buy for the home that would bring you drinks and stuff? Well, that actually plays an important role here. What’s scary is a simple search on YouTube will show you we’re not that far away from things like M3GAN being a reality, companies overseas are already developing lifelike female robots that talk and show emotional responses, so these movies could very soon be art imitating life.

Where the first M3GAN was a relatively small and insular story, M3GAN 2.0 really makes things feel bigger and more “out there” for the world to see. People are now witnessing the carnage, there are news reports about what is happening, and it seems like the movie is pushing events more into the view of common folk. This could lead to future M3GAN films going even bigger I suppose, which really opens up some possibilities. One thing is certain, M3GAN 2.0 leans more into the comedic elements, and definitely feels like a bigger and badder film than the first one. This is the kind of movie you just sit back and enjoy for what it is. Sure, the plot has loopholes and you could over-analyze it, but it’s better to just enjoy the ride.

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