M3GAN 2.0 (2025)
If we were to calculate the lost potential revenue of a whole M3GAN series that will never happen due to this sequel, Blumhouse's accountants ( and head honcho Jason Blum) would hang themselves.
Propelled by the enormous success (and social media sensation) of 2022's 'M3GAN', the Blumhouse Horror factory made a foolish wrong-headed decision to plunge the scary little A.I. child companion into a full blown tech-heavy action film.
Missing completely were all the attributes from the first film that captured everyone's imagination......the clever blending of state-of-the-art A.I. with startling horror, spurts of gore and deadpan wit.
The new film, an overly ambitious, over-budgeted, overlong robotic 'Clash of the Titans' pits M3GAN against Amelia, a new formidable Big Bad CyberGirl. Unlike the deliberately designed childlike M3GAN, Amelia's a take-no-prisoners, ass kicking neck snapping Supermodel with a really bad attitude. And she's horrified her government handlers by going rogue, wiping out everyone she comes across.
Oh my....who could possibly stop this nightmare-ish she-devil of digital demonic delinquency? You guessed it.......
We will admit that there's some fun stuff that pops up amid all the chaotic tech on display.....(to keep her hair trigger temper in check, M3GAN's temporarily contained inside what looks like a virtual Tele-Tubbie.)The storyline trots out not one but two hateful, preening narcissistic tech billionaires, whom you just know will meet their well deserved fates at the hands of either M3GAN or Amelia.
But all of this ultra-tech hoo-hah drags out for a very long 2 hours, leading up to the expected Rock 'Em Sock'Em Robotic Rumble between our two super-angry artificial adversaries.....with all the first film's creepy scares replaced by the usual CGI overload you'd see in tiresome superhero movies. A sad, tedious waste of time...not very entertaining either.
As the film wraps up, our beleaguered scientist-engineer Gemma (Allison Williams) delivers a measured speech on balancing the advantages and pitfalls of A.I.....(much like 1950's sci-fi films warned us that the wonders of atomic energy might also lead to giant ants and defrosted dinosaurs....). But anyone who's scrolled through Facebook memes for 2 minutes has figured out the horrors of A.I. already.
Director and co-writer Gerard Johnstone did take a bold swing-for-the-fences here.....but maybe too soon. Perhaps he and his Blumhouse overseers should have considered making some more modest, audience-friendly M3GAN horror films before they stuck their moneymaker into such an expansive out-of-the-box action spectacle.
As a result of '2.0''s disastrous reception and tanking box-office, we're not likely to see another reboot any time soon. We'll still live in hope that at some point, they'll go back to drawing board, try try again......and do M3GAN proud by getting it right this time.....so then we can all say 'Domo Arigato little Miss Roboto'......
2 stars (**).
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