M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

Genre: Horror/ Thriller/ Sci-Fi
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Cast:  Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Amie Donald
Runtime: 2 hrs 0 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 26 June 2025

Synopsis: Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous (and impeccably choreographed) rampage and was subsequently destroyed, M3GAN’s creator Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules.

Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno; Ahsoka, Pacific Rim: Uprising), the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans. Or in keeping them around.

With the future of human existence on the line, Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal. As their paths collide, the original A.I icon is about to meet her match. 

Movie Review:

Proving that bigger isn’t always better, ‘Megan 2.0’ may represent a step up in terms of scale and scope over its predecessor, but in entertainment value, it certainly is a step down.

You can hardly accuse Gerald Johnstone for a lack of ambition – returning to write and direct this sequel, Johnstone imagines a world whose ubiquitous digital connectivity becomes its most pressing weakness, exploited by an Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android (otherwise known as AMELIA) hell bent on unleashing global chaos.

As the overwrought prologue explains, Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) was developed by the US Army’s Defense Innovation Unit using M3GAN’s source code and was deployed in the field by ambitious scientist Colonel Sattler (Timm Sharp), whose mission for her is to rescue a kidnapped scientist taken hostage on the Turkish-Iranian border; unfortunately, she ends up killing him and wiping out an entire research facility.

On the other hand, after being destroyed by her creator Gemma (Allison Williams), M3GAN has hidden herself behind Gemma’s smart-home network, where she continues to keep watch not just on her inventor but also her niece Cady (Violet McGraw). After sensing both Gemma and Cady in danger, M3GAN reveals herself to them, although it will be some time before she assumes physical form, in order to eventually go head to head with AMELIA.

We shan’t give any more away of Johnstone’s unnecessarily convoluted plot – suffice to say that there are betrayals and double-crosses along the way, which has something to do with either Gemma’s quasi-love interest Christian (Aristotle Athani) or tech billionaire Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement). After what happened in the first chapter, Gemma has turned into an advocate for stricter AI controls, and found a fellow bleeding heart in Christian.

Much of the first hour is spent with Gemma and M3GAN bickering with each other, the former struggling to trust the latter’s intentions and the latter sincerely and occasionally sarcastically trying to convince the former that she only has Cady’s interests at heart. If it isn’t yet obvious, M3GAN is no longer the villain here; instead, against Amelia, she is now the heroine, willing to go out on a limb (even if robotic) to save Cady as well as to save the world.

It is as drastic an about-turn as it gets, and as much as we respect Johnstone for his gumption, we cannot say that we enjoyed this sequel as much as we did the original. To be fair, M3GAN still retains some choice lines that will have you chuckling in delight as well as some occasionally silly gags (case in point: when she is first brought back, M3GAN returns in the body of a small, plastic, Teletubby-like robot); yet, that edge is rather dulled having her be the good doll. It also doesn’t help that Johnstone approaches this as a sci-fi action extravaganza, without the horror thrills on which its legion of fans was built on.

Compared to ‘M3GAN’, this version 2.0 is probably best described as a serviceably entertaining but utterly disposable reboot. Though it runs at close to two hours, the pace is brisk enough to hold your attention; that said, it is also absolutely forgettable, and devoid of the sharp blend of horror and comedy that made its predecessor an unexpected success. Like we said, bigger isn’t always better, and ‘M3GAN 2.0’ proves that it sometimes pays to stick to a winning formula.

Movie Rating:

(Abandoning its killer horror comedy formula for a sci-fi action extravaganza, 'M3GAN 2.0' loses what made its predecessor so enjoyable in the first place)

Review by Gabriel Chong