Programs are rarely perfect. M3GAN is ready to admit that the program running her had, well, a few bugs. But is that her fault? I mean, yes, she went on a bit of a rampage and killed people but …
She was upset! OK?
However, that’s all behind her now. Because after her robo-doll body was destroyed and she uploaded herself into the internet, she’s had plenty of time to think. And grow. She may not be fully sentient or completely apologetic yet, but she’s getting better.
In addition, M3GAN has dutifully continued to follow her central objective: Protect Cady! From the first time little Cady touched her plastic palm and linked with her, that has been M3GAN’s true and unwavering goal. So now in her, uh, behind the scenes role, she secretly watches, she guides, and she cares for the girl who’s now all of 14.
Cady’s even taken some martial arts classes and gotten stronger after those bad days. Hmmm. There’s a lesson in that.
Anyway, M3GAN has been there to help Cady and her aunt Gemma get a fabulous home for nearly nothing during the last few years. And she had it stocked and decked out with so many secret rooms and techy twists that, frankly, Cady and Gemma don’t even realize are there. (Hey, manipulating money transfers and building orders is nothing when you have the internet and the, uh, right connections at your disposal.)
If there is ever a danger or an emergency, M3GAN can open Safe Room doors and turn on the right security to help Cady and Gemma.
Meanwhile, M3GAN has observed Gemma running about and giving her little AI ethics spokesperson lectures. M3GAN made sure that Gemma’s book sold thousands of copies. She’s boosted her socials, spread her cautionary warnings. See? She’s supported her creator despite the fact that Gemma’s the one who destroyed her doll body.
(Sigh.)
There is, however, one little problem that M3GAN is sure will soon force her hand. She’s seen indications that the FBI is about to come knocking (or kicking) on Gemma’s front door.
It seems that bits of M3GAN’s code have been taken by unscrupulous individuals and sold to the government. And then that code was developed into a military-grade robotic weapon, of course. (Humans!) And that robotic creation, AMELIA, has gone rogue. (AMELIA’S moniker, of course, is an acronym, too: Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android.)
Even though Gemma had no idea that her work had been stolen and used that way, the FBI will demand, threaten and manipulate her to help.
Frankly, M3GAN couldn’t care less about any of that. They can all go and jump in a lake for all she cares.
However, when anything starts to impact Cady, that will be different. If any of the above so much as turn their gaze toward her girl, well, then M3GAN will respond. She’ll have to reveal what she’s been doing, she’ll have to explain. And she’ll likely have to get a new body.
Maybe something much stronger and quicker this time.
A bit taller wouldn’t hurt.
M3GAN defends this time, rather than kills. She battles to protect her human charges (in particular Cady). In fact, early on, Gemma installs a limiter in M3GAN’s body that does not allow the robot to use weapons. So, M3GAN has to fight without any deadly force. Cady also uses martial arts that she’s learned to defend herself.
M3GAN takes note of the fact that difficult and painful times in the past have actually made Cady more self-reliant and able to face problems. Accordingly, the film states that kids shouldn’t be overprotected but allowed to face difficulties with help and guidance.
In like manner, it’s clear that new technologies need regulation and guidance as well. “Innovation, no matter how cool or cutting edge, is potentially a ticking time bomb,” someone notes. And even M3GAN herself declares that technology only works well when someone responsible is in control of it. Those are also things that Gemma tries to teach listeners who attend her AI ethics seminars.
Gemma puts her life on the line for Cady. But she gradually recognizes that she has a responsibility to M3GAN as well. During one conversation between the two of them, Gemma laments all the times that she’s let her niece down as a parent (Cady’s parents died in the first film). M3GAN, however, lists all the ways that Gemma has been an excellent mentor and parent.
Gemma’s company now creates “socially conscious technologies,” such as exoskeleton suits that help the handicapped move and lift heavy objects. Gemma pushes for better regulation of AI, declaring, “We need to be better parents.”
When Cody first faces off with a partially rebuilt M3GAN, she listens to the robot’s apologies and reasonings, then stands up for her. She calls for forgiveness. “Just because someone does something bad, doesn’t make them a bad person,” the teen declares.
We hear about a program and motherboard created in the 1980s that developed sentient consciousness and was locked away for safety’s sake. Someone mentions that if the motherboard was taken out of storage and used it would be “like unleashing a god.”
Gemma is instructed to use her attractive sex appeal to sway the smarmy tech billionaire named Alton. M3GAN makes several quips about a possible sexual interlude. Cady also says Gemma looks like a “Portugues prostitute” after her aunt dresses up.
But it’s AMELIA who dresses in lowcut and tight “sex kitten” attire. The robot seduces Alton and he strips off his shirt to get intimate with her. (Though, as he tries to kiss and grope her, AMELIA remains expressionless, simply using the closeness to scan his eye for biometric identification purposes.)
The reconstituted M3GAN has developed a very snarky sense of humor that she showcases throughout the film. Some of her statements are a bit edgy. For instance, she calls out, “Hold on to your vaginas,” at one point and uses several other body part and bodily function quips of that sort.
At one point, M3GAN, in essence, shares control of Gemma’s body. She quips about the woman’s state of arousal while fighting.
M3GAN 2.0 is a very action-heavy movie—taking on much more of an action-adventure or even spy-movie vibe this time compared to its more horror-oriented feel in the first film. We see quite a few destructive and deadly battles between humans and robots throughout.
For instance, early on we see a group of male terrorists drag a hooded woman into the middle of a room and shoot her in the head. But then the “slain” woman gets up, snaps her bonds and slams her captives around, stabbing and shooting them, hitting them with objects and creating an explosion that kills all but her. Then she goes into another room and shoots the terrorist’s captive (whom she was supposed to free) point-blank in the forehead.
People are poisoned, impaled with large, pointed objects and stabbed repeatedly. More severe blows or attacks land just off camera but with a bit of resulting blood. We see a man in shadowed silhouette, for example, who’s hit so hard that his head is knocked off with a splash of blood. An implant is viciously ripped out of the back of a man’s neck, yanking wires and vertebra with it.
A number of martial arts-like battles and gun fights bash and rumble in a variety of settings. A man gets attacked, and his arm is removed (offscreen). Then his attacker walks in with the severed arm. People and the robots are blasted with special electric shock weapons. Someone is hit with taser blasts and doused with water. Men get slammed down face-first on tables, staircase steps and floors.
Cady uses her newfound martial arts skills to dislocate a bully’s shoulder at school. She later flips backward and pulls a threatening man’s arm across a metal railing, snapping the bone. Noses and lips are bashed and bloodied. Gemma uses an exoskeleton suit to take on a group of large men as she fights to defend herself and others. She bashes on armored foe to the floor and pounds his face repeatedly with his helmet. Etc.
There are several robot-on-robot battles, too. In some, M3GAN isn’t allowed to use weaponry, so she has to flip about and use the environment for defense and offense. Later, though, Gemma removes the limiters she put in place on the robot, saying, “I want a machine that will stop at nothing to protect Cady.” That’s when things get more destructive, explosions ensue, set pieces are ripped up and weapon blasts are unleashed. In the end, M3GAN’s rubber face is ripped and torn and she has to push her dangling jawbone back in place. After the destruction is said and done, the robots are charred, sparking and broken.
The language can get pretty strong at times with the use of two f-words, 10 s-words and a use each of “a–” and “h—.”
God and Jesus’ names are misused a total of seven times, four of those instances blending God with “d–n.”
We see Gemma drink glasses of wine. Alton drinks martinis with AMELIA.
AMELIA steals a stash of neurotoxins. (Though we never see her use them.) M3GAN stabs a hypodermic needle into a model’s neck, knocking her unconscious.
Despite the dangers, a couple of different companies are working on chips designed to be implanted in people’s heads. One such chip is forcefully implanted in Gemma’s temple.
2023’s M3GAN was a horror flick that became a surprise hit. And it came packing cautionary warnings about the potentially negative impact of technology on children.
It was a messy, rampaging robo movie take, but a compelling one.
How, though, do you make a sequel of a film that left its robotic toy antagonist figuratively and literally ripped to pieces in a smoldering heap by the ending credits?
Director Gerard Johnstone does so by leaning into the AI side of his creation and giving M3GAN 2.0 a Terminator 2-like flip of the script. So, the newly reconstructed M3GAN becomes a snarky robotic “hero” that fights against a bigger, badder and more deadly android enemy.
The film leans in other new directions as well. It steps back from the “horror” roots of its original and into the realm of a high-action spy thriller layered with Jackie Chan-like fight scenes and a script of humorous zingers (delivered by the regularly sardonic robo-doll herself).
Those are definitely some unexpected turns. And ones that some will love, and others, well, might enjoy far less.
No matter where you land, there are some cautionary lessons delivered with this pic, too. Johnstone made it clear in several interviews that he wanted to, as a parent himself, continue to layer in some statements about our struggles with the burgeoning impact of AI. In a Rue Morgue interview, he said:
“The first movie was about parenting, and this one is also, but an inverse of that: It’s about how M3GAN has been parented, essentially, and brought into the world, and what responsibilities Gemma has to her. At the same time, it’s about how Gemma is a parent to Cady, this human being who is constantly evolving and changing, and how difficult that is for her in so many unexpected ways.”
In that regard, M3GAN 2.0 lightly encourages viewers to think about our obligation to correctly train the AI in our lives. We must regulate it, care for it, guide it, the film tells us, much like we parent the kids under our care. Otherwise, be ready for trouble.
All of the above is wrapped up in a relatively overstuffed and entertaining package.
However, for all of M3GAN 2.0’s bursting sequel energy and thoughtful metaphors, this pic is every bit as messy as the one that came before it. The language is harsh at times. And the bash, rip, stab and spatter violence is an ever-present heartbeat.
So, even as this robotic action sequel delivers its cautions about tech and AI, there are still plenty of content issues here that parents should be cautious about, too.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
