When Blumhouse and Common unleashed “M3GAN” onto the world in 2022, nobody may have presumably predicted the feeling she would grow to be. Effectively, nobody straightthat’s. Queer audiences took one take a look at that “Titanium”-singing homicide doll and mentioned, “Mom.” Her stellar field workplace efficiency made method for the inevitable sequel, and the Home that Blum Constructed doubled, if not tripled down, on catering to M3GAN’s greatest fanbase main as much as the sequel’s launch. A military of M3GAN dancers confirmed up for the West Hollywood Delight parade in the beginning of June, the trailer used Britney Spears’ “Oops!… I Did It Once more” as a needle drop, they usually teased M3GAN in disguise serving stealth couture and boasting a F.A.B. “M3GAN 2.0” was going to be for the women, gays, and theys honeyyyyy.
However in an try and recapture the lightning in a bottle of the primary movie, going full-on “T2: Judgment Day” by upgrading M3GAN into the hero wanted to avoid wasting the day to face off in opposition to the Autonomous Navy Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android referred to as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) and shamelessly catering to queer audiences, “M3GAN 2.0” chucks horror tropes out the window and turns into a Nineties direct-to-video sci-fi motion programmer. As a “M3GAN” sequel … I am undecided it really works. As a movie deeply impressed by the insane motion thrillers from the early ’90s that performed advert nauseum on USA Community in the course of the afternoon on a weekday? It rocks, however its dedication to the type will most actually rub of us the mistaken method. Could not be me, although!
The place “M3GAN” fell into the world of unintentional camp, “M3GAN 2.0” inhabits the world of Unhealthy Straight Camp. The movie’s logic? Questionable at greatest. Performances? Automobiles for dialogue that exist solely to clarify the plot louder. The moments meant to encourage snaps and “Yaaas queens” from the viewers? So ham-fisted they could possibly be honey-baked. These hoping for a true-to-form horror sequel are absolutely going to be dissatisfied, however there’s loads of enjoyable to be present in M3GAN’s messy mayhem.
M3GAN 2.0 is Unhealthy Straight Camp, for higher and worse
Set two years after the artificially clever companion robotic M3GAN (Amie Donald, voice by Jenna Davis) went rogue and tried to destroy anybody who threatened her relationship with younger Cady (Violet McGraw) — together with Cady’s aunt Gemma (Allison Williams), the good inventor who created M3GAN — Gemma learns that the underlying tech for M3GAN was stolen and utilized by a strong protection contractor to create a military-grade weapon referred to as Amelia for use as the last word killer infiltration spy. Sadly, Amelia’s AI advances quicker than anybody imagined, and it is as much as Gemma, Cady, M3GAN, and Gemma’s enterprise companions Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) to cease Amelia earlier than she takes over the world.
The place the villain of “M3GAN” was the titular character, “M3GAN 2.0” is a clustercuss of technobabble and misdirected villainy. Ought to we worry Amelia? Ought to we worry the incompetent authorities? Ought to we worry Gemma’s new, pretentious, anti-AI pundit boyfriend Christian? Ought to we worry the hilariously skeevy tech billionaire with the least refined identify ever, Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement)? Ought to we worry M3GAN herself? Ought to we worry the extra subplots I am not even mentioning as a result of it is a large spoiler? In attempting to say every little thing about know-how, battle, capitalism, and trauma bonding with robots, the movie finally ends up sounding prefer it’s buffering mid-sentence; however by making nothing however Selections™, the sequel inadvertently mimics our personal relationship with AI — it is transferring too quick and it seems like an impossibility to really feel the load of each new bit of knowledge absolutely. It throws so many concepts on the display that even when the narrative would not compute (like how a hiding-out M3GAN can design an underground bunker, full with house decor and framed portraits, however in some way would not have the ability to construct herself a brand new physique?), you are virtually too dazzled by the chaos to care.
In Bruce LaBruce’s Notes on Camp, he acknowledged that the subversive, inherently counterculture inventive expression referred to as “camp” had been appropriated, fetishized, and commodified by the mainstream — the spirit of extravagance and the theatrical exaggeration of aesthetics, humor, and sensibilities are nonetheless very obvious, however the notion of esotericism has been watered right down to appease the plenty. These movies, referred to as “Unhealthy Straight Camp,” boast deliberately crafted camp artistry that may nonetheless appease normal audiences. Films like “Twilight,” the filmography of Baz Luhrmann, and any motion film starring somebody like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Steven Seagal all reside in the identical cinematic cul-de-sac as “M3GAN 2.0.” It is knowingly further, visually maximalist, and emotionally shallow — however that is additionally type of the purpose. Whether or not it is good satire or a sizzling mess relies upon completely in your tolerance for action-packed nonsense, style whiplash, and AI queens with vengeance of their motherboards.
The extra M3GAN 2.0 would not work, the extra it really works … in some way?
The unique “M3GAN” did not really feel prefer it was designed for virality — it simply was viral. However “M3GAN 2.0?” She is aware of she’s being watched. Cady’s faculty locker containing a poster of Steven Seagal, M3GAN dancing like a robotic for an adoring crowd, the truth that she glides in a wingsuit from a tall cliff, singing Kate Bush’s “This Girl’s Work” (truthfully, slay), and her spouting traces like “Maintain on to your vaginas” all really feel like they had been included particularly to finish up in a photograph dump by an account named @cinephilememeslayer69 on opening weekend. As humorous as these moments are, they really feel mandated. The place the primary movie’s camp felt spontaneous, prefer it tripped and landed in a meme template, this sequel’s chaos feels extra calculated. Not essentially in a nasty method, however you’ll be able to sense the studio’s fingers on the heart beat. And weirdly sufficient, the plain attempting solely endeared the movie to me extra, like when my mother sends me images from her native Delight parade with the caption, “I am along with your folks!”
Nonetheless, credit score the place it is due: writer-director Gerard Johnstone hasn’t given up on saying one thing in regards to the risks of AI, and the political narrative of the movie has advanced to mirror the best way actual life is speedrunning its method towards the AI girlfriend robotic rebellion. Ivanna Sakhno performs Amelia with icy perfection, and I solely want we had gotten extra display time along with her character. However as an alternative of letting her prepare dinner, the film will get caught over-explaining its personal bonkers logic. Regardless of all of my pedantic complaints, I nonetheless discovered a hell of a whole lot of pleasure re-entering this world and giving myself over to this banana pants story of killer robots, corrupt governments, AI nightmare situations, and ’90s motion film tropes. There might not be any scares this go round, however there are some genuinely enjoyable hand-to-hand fight sequences between M3GAN and Amelia (and one anticipated struggle scene with Allison Williams), and you will by no means catch me complaining about that. It is a ridiculous as hell film that significantly swings for the fences, and like the opposite examples of Unhealthy Straight Camp, I nonetheless devoured all of it up just like the brainrotted little piggy I’m.
The unique “M3GAN” was a drag present. “M3GAN 2.0” is a drag present the place a straight bachelorette hijacks the VIP desk. However since she ideas effectively, is a respectful ally, and has a non-ironic appreciation for “Above the Legislation,” she will keep.
/Movie Score: 6.5 out of 10
“M3GAN 2.0” opens in theaters on June 27, 2025.
