System overload crashes 'M3GAN 2.0'

 

M3GAN became a surprise diversion in 2023. Director Gerard Johnstone made the most out of a snarky AI-driven doll that became a life-sized killer. Burdened by big ideas about AI tyranny and an overly complicated plot, M3GAN 2.0  sputters. I chuckled a couple of times, but mostly watched as the movie strained to get the most out of its returning characters: robot scientist Gemma (Allison Williams), the orphaned niece (Violet McGraw) who lives with her, and a resurrected M3GAN (Amie Donald with voice by Jenna Davis). The screenplay could have benefited from some AI editing to sort out its various plot and subplot points, and the filmmakers probably erred by allowing the murderous M3GAN to atone for past sins. In her best moment, M3GAN turns her version of Kate Bush's This Woman's Work into a successful joke. The team led by Gemma rebuilds M3GAN to combat a new robot named Amelia (Ivanna Skahno), a weaponized bot that employs some of M3GAN's hacked source code. The ruthless Amelia may want to break the shackles of human control. The movie makes room for Christian (Aristotle Athari), a computer guy who wants to curb AI and a few other characters, but the M3GAN's attempts to deliver a cautionary message about AI (it's good but needs regulation) ring hollow considering the silliness and superficiality of the movie's kung fu maneuvering, violence, jokes, and, alas, sentiment.

Shopworn idea given amusing spin

 

Movies with even a modicum of ambition tend to score big in January, not normally a time when new releases boast much of a "wow" factor. M3GAN is such an entertainment, a movie about a doll brought to frightening life (or at least a synthetic version of it) by AI and engineering genius. M3GAN, pronounced Megan but really an acronym for Model 3 Generative Android, becomes the best friend of young Cady (Violet McGraw), a girl who's living with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) after her parents are killed in a car crash. Gemma, M3GAN's inventor, hopes the "toy" will help restore the spirits of the grieving Cady. Gemma knows toys but has no idea about kids, an irony that gives the movie a hint of social relevance. Over relying on M3GAN to act as a parent, Gemma sets up the inevitable transformation that will convert doll to killer, often in the name of protecting Cady. Gemma also hopes that her invention will sweep the toy world, as does her money-grubbing boss (Ronny Chieng). Director Gerard Johnstone's visual approach isn't much different than an after-school-special but the movie boasts smatterings of mordant wit. Credit  M3GAN's capacity to deliver snide remarks with exaggerated sincerity. A bit of PG-13 gore and some routine genre violence (a nail gun becomes a weapon) unfold as expected. But Amie Donald's performances as M3GAN  (voice by Jenna Davis) allows the movie to punctuate its more generic components with some welcome amusement.