M3GAN was a certified instant classic. The question is, what do you do for an encore? Writer/director Gerard Johnstone’s motto seems to be bigger is better. While the final result might not be “better”, it’s amusing to see the lengths he will go to just to entertain an audience, even if he isn’t always successful.
Two years have passed since the killer robot M3GAN tried to kill her creator Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw). When Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), an AI powered government assassin goes rogue, she sets her sights on crippling the country’s infrastructure. It’s then up to Gemma to reboot M3GAN to fight Amelia. The question is, can she be trusted?
The original was a fun horror flick, and this sequel is like a complete 180 as it’s more of a Sci-Fi action comedy. The early nod to Steven Seagal is the tip-off that there’s going to be more wrist-snapping and shootouts than stabbing and decapitations. The film is also set in the T2 mold where the robot villain from the first movie makes a pact to not kill anyone and protect the heroes. I mean, it’s like I always say: If you’ve got to steal from somebody, steal from the best. (I also liked the visual nod to Metropolis.)
The big drawback this time out isn’t necessarily the shift in tone, but rather the sheer length. It clocks in at two hours, which is about a half-hour longer than it really needed to be. It’s got a lot of nifty ideas, but Johnston could’ve easily streamlined this thing down a bit. The long winded exposition scenes could’ve been edited out completely and the first act in particular drags.
Then again, when the film hits its stride, it’s entertaining as hell. It’s messy and uneven, but it also contains some big laughs. It’s brimming with invention and most importantly, fun. M3GAN sings. She dances. She kicks ass. She may not kill in this one, but she does fly, so there is that. And when M3GAN flies, so does the human spirit.
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