The Scream Queen

As soon as M3gan danced her way on to our screens in 2022, it became clear that a star was born. Instantly entering the horror lexicon as an icon, it is no surprise that we have been graced with M3gan 2.0. However, this time around M3gan is following in the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as she must protect Gemma and Cady against a newer, stronger, and taller version of the infamous robot.

* Minor spoilers ahead.

If you were a fan of the horror elements from M3gan, then there won’t be much for you here; the sequel plays out more like an action comedy with little to no scares. And yet, the film doesn’t feel out of place in the M3gan-verse, as tonally, it is pretty similar to its predecessor. Never one to take herself seriously, M3gan’s quips and comebacks are as vicious as ever, and her love for bursting randomly into song hasn’t disappeared either (her rendition of ‘This Woman’s Work’ by Kate Bush is one of the most bizarre and memorable parts of the sequel). M3gan does most of the heavy-lifting when it comes to entertainment, but Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, returning as Gemma and Cady respectively, help to keep the film emotionally grounded at times where it could easily derail.

Although M3gan is an endlessly watchable character, the same can’t be said for her villainous counterpart, AMELIA. Playing into the soviet femme fatale stereotype, AMELIA hits all the beats we expect her to. She is not relentless and brutal like the T-1000, but similarly not catty and humorous like M3gan; she remains in this void of genericity wherein she never escapes. On top of this, the film has an issue with large exposition dumps, as we are told everything we need to know with dialogue that verges on parodical at times. They may as well be saying lines like ‘we need to hack into the mainframe’ with the amount of useless tech jargon that is thrown in. With that being said, it is to be expected, and at least the film manages to remain easy to follow when it could have easily become tangled within its own wires. They do this by not feeling the need to explain everything; for example, M3gan has managed to secretly build an end-of-the-world bunker style lair in Gemma’s new home, without being detected and while rebuilding her own physical body. How this is possible is never explained, and yet, it doesn’t need to be; because M3gan’s outlandish tone doesn’t warrant an explanation.

Of course, AI and what we choose to do with it is the real big, bad villain here (a theme that is becoming ever more recurring); however, it is interesting to watch M3gan becoming more human, as she grows up with Cady, maturing from murderous automaton to an android who is able to feel, and more importantly, understands what it means to feel. It’s far from a new idea, but blending it with M3gan’s coming-of-age story helps to put a fresh spin on things.

Final Verdict:

It’s definitely a downgrade from its predecessor, but as exposition-heavy and ridiculous as it is, M3gan 2.0 still manages to be one of the most fun and entertaining releases of the year. Strap in, because its a wild and bizarre ride that wouldn’t make any sense if it weren’t for its titular teen robot. She continues to slay here, even if she’s doing less killing. I’m sure its not the last we will be seeing of her; she’ll be back.