M3GAN 2.0 Review: I’ve Never Been Happier To See A Killer Doll Come Back To Life

These days, you don’t have to look very far if you want to find a good, seriously scary horror movie. In the past year alone, we’ve seen frightening favorites that could be viewed as modern classics with some time (I’m thinking about Sinners, The Substance and Longlegs). But what’s harder to come by is having a truly good time with our fears.

There have been plenty of campy horror titles, with many great examples to point to in the late 20th century, but the jump-scare success of 2023’s M3GAN reaffirmed that audiences want to laugh and shudder at the same time. This phenomenon very much prevails with its sequel, M3GAN 2.0. But M3GAN also continues to prove that there’s more up her creepy little robot sleeves than your run-of-the-mill slasher programming.

James Wan and Jason Blum, I’m happy to report M3GAN was in very good hands for its second round. A different effort about a killer pre-teen A.I. doll could have really crashed and burned on a second go-around, but that’s not what happens here. Dare I say, the sequel is better? I think what I like the best is that they each offer different flavors I will want to return back to depending on my mood.

Allison Williams’ Gemma, might bring the titular android back to life only to have us doing a double take over more slasher-esque events – but the sequel goes a route reminiscent of Terminator 2: Judgement Day by going a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” route when a more advanced killer robot becomes a big threat. The result is less of a horror-focused than the first M3GAN was, but it’s actually all the better for it.

Writer/director Gerard Johnstone understood the assignment with his surprisingly action-heavy second M3GAN movie.

While developing sequels is often an uphill battle for filmmakers to recapture the magic of the original, M3GAN 2.0 effortlessly feels like it’s building upon what fans like myself loved about the original while also reaching for something fresh and new we haven’t seen from the world that was created in the previous movie. That has a lot to do with it starting off with its main characters being in very different places than they were last time. Gemma has learned from her mishandling of robotic technology with M3GAN to become a vocal advocate for the regulation of A.I., whereas her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is four to five years older and a much more self-assured character.

And, M3GAN? She’s thought to be destroyed… until we learn of another killer robot made from the same stuff as her. This one is a military killer robot named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), which stands for Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android. As a horror fan, I love the slasher elements, but it’s a nice change of pace for the franchise to lean further into the science-fiction/action elements that has covertly been resting in the franchise’s DNA (despite the Blumhouse of it all directing audiences otherwise).

M3GAN 2.0 operates on a larger scale with set pieces like a stylish car chase, multiple epic showdowns between M3GAN and AMELIA, and world-ending stakes. The more insulated storyline of the first movie is a fun ride, but seeing M3GAN 2.0 pull all the stops to match the iconic status of M3GAN feels like a step in the right direction.

The entrance of Ivanna Sakhno’s AMELIA offers unexpected depth and (more) fun to the M3GAN sequel.

This is all without mentioning how well executed the addition of AMELIA is to M3GAN 2.0. Sakhno’s electric and impressive robotic performance is the opposite of her counterpart in many ways. AMELIA is not goofy, immature or full of vagina-geared jokes; she sells her role as this cold metal killer. She’s not going to malfunction or dance before taking down her latest victim, and she’s coming for Gemma and Cady. In an effort to protect themselves from her, Gemma is then forced to rebuild M3GAN back to her former glory (with quite a few upgrades).

It’s a lot of fun to see Gemma and Cady interact with M3GAN following the events of the first movie, and to see the original killer doll take on a new and more sympathetic role in the series. We must not forget her programming all started with intentions to protect Cady, and that’s what she does. And obviously, there’s a dance break involved.

M3GAN 2.0’s plot can get convoluted and a bit too wacky but not enough to steer away from the fun.

There’s a lot of comedy that will have you cracking up in M3GAN 2.0 – especially thanks to the addition of Jemaine Clement as a tech CEO who is attempting to bring Gemma over to his company (to no avail). Gemma’s actions seemed may have seemed simply ridiculous and misguided before, but Williams’ character is in on the joke this time around, and the movie is all the better for it. She and M3GAN also build an entertaining rapport whilst McGraw’s Cady operates to help ground it all.

Just like the first one, there’s a sweet PG-13 family flair to M3GAN 2.0 that feels a tad askew, and that doesn’t really change here. And despite the fun, it does take its plot a bit too seriously when it doesn’t need to, with some convoluted lore and turning corners one can see coming. But there’s also a confidence that allows the viewer to shrug off a few dumb moments and still appreciate it for what it is. In other words, M3GAN is growing up to be a confident little killer doll who proves to be even more of a baddie as a heroine, and after this adventure, I cannot wait what crimes she digs into next.