The primary M3GAN film was high-quality. It wasn’t some groundbreaking horror movie, however it had sufficient bizarre vitality and on-line attraction to spark a mini popular culture second.

The robot-doll dance, the dead-eyed sass, the absurd mix of horror and tech satire all got here collectively simply sufficient to maintain audiences entertained. So with M3GAN 2.0, the filmmakers clearly tried to seize that very same vitality whereas going greater, louder, and extra action-heavy.

Assume much less “killer doll horror” and extra Terminator 2… TikTok Version.

The story picks up two years after M3GAN’s unique rampage. Her creator, Gemma, is now a spokesperson for AI regulation, attempting to undo the injury attributable to the very factor she constructed. In the meantime, a protection contractor secretly develops their very own next-gen robotic named EMILIA, constructed for espionage and fight.

Naturally, EMILIA turns into self-aware and goes off-script. Confronted with a rising menace, Gemma makes essentially the most questionable choice possible… she brings M3GAN again on-line, and rebuilds her quicker, meaner, and able to take down her robotic rival.

The premise is wild, and to the film’s credit score, it doesn’t shrink back from that. When the robots lastly conflict, it’s as bonkers as you’d count on, destruction galore, and loads of corny one-liners. It’s pure foolish chaos.

However it’s a must to sit by way of lots to get there. The primary half is weighed down with bland exposition and a surprisingly gradual tempo. Dialogue typically feels stiff and overly explanatory, like a badly educated chatbot attempting to sound deep. It is a unusual irony {that a} film about AI sounds prefer it was written by one.

One of many weirdest decisions is how the movie made the character Gemma so unlikable. She’s written with this irritating detachment, always making poor selections and pushing away the very individuals she’s supposed to guard.

As an alternative of making rigidity, this simply provides a layer of annoyance to scenes that already really feel sluggish. It’s laborious to root for her when the script retains doubling down on her worst instincts with out providing any significant character improvement.

Nonetheless, when the movie leans into its nonsense, it turns into one thing sort of enjoyable and it has a handful of kills that flirt with cartoonish extra. These moments are reminders that M3GAN 2.0 is aware of precisely what sort of film it could possibly be. The issue is it retains pulling again, attempting to stability sincerity and satire when it ought to’ve totally dedicated to the chaos.

There’s camp in its DNA, however the film retains attempting to improve itself into one thing sleeker and extra critical, and that rigidity by no means actually works.

There’s no actual directorial aptitude to raise the fabric, and regardless of its makes an attempt at worldbuilding, all of it feels fairly flat. The runtime additionally overstays its welcome. At almost two hours, you begin to really feel the drag across the midpoint, particularly when scenes repeat the identical beats of “AI is horrifying” with out bringing something new to the desk. A tighter, leaner lower most likely would’ve landed nearer to the zippy, absurd enjoyable the unique hinted at.

In the long run, M3GAN 2.0 is a messy sequel that delivers a couple of enjoyable moments however by no means finds its rhythm. It’s not scary sufficient to be horror, not intelligent sufficient to be satire, and never wild sufficient to totally lean into camp, however it does have its moments.

For those who’re a fan of the primary film and simply need extra M3GAN doing morally-questionable issues in more and more ridiculous methods, there’s enjoyment available right here. Simply go in anticipating a glitchy experience.

Additionally, the film had a horrible opening weekend with solely pulling in 10.2 million on the box-office, that means the primary film was lighteneing in a bottle and audiences weren’t on the lookout for extra.