Jonah Naplan   June 26, 2025

Many sequels of the last ten years have proven to us that bigger does not always equal better. Longer runtimes, an increased scale, and a more complicated storyline seem to be the cinematic equivalents of adding wood to a fire that was already roaring with a smash hit. The result, more often than not, is an overstuffed franchise continuation that loses sight of how the lightning was captured in the bottle in the first place. “M3GAN 2.0” is the latest display of studio filmmakers attempting to cram everything they’ve got into one movie, and ultimately failing to create anything memorable. It’s a sequel to the surprise hit that was “M3GAN” from 2023, but it lacks nearly everything that made it so great. Director Gerard Johnstone and co-writers Akela Cooper and James Wan lay the groundwork for a compelling metaphor about how dangerous it is to allow artificial intelligence to take over our lives, but their messaging feels overly mechanical, eschewing depth. It’s also not a very fun or entertaining movie, which is hard to believe when your script’s got not one but two killer robots, yet somehow the filmmakers manage.

“M3GAN 2.0” opens approximately two years after the events of the last movie. Gemma (Allison Williams) has written a book, and she’s all over the news, taking interviews and attending press conferences to discuss her belief that children shouldn’t be exposed to too much technology lest they want to develop an unhealthy addiction. Her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is slowly but surely finding her own identity in a traumatic world while still trying to get along with her occasionally strict aunt. Their livelihoods come crashing down when a new android named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) defies her code and wreaks serious havoc in the Middle East. Essentially, Gemma’s designs and blueprint for M3GAN (voice of Jenna Davis) ended up in the hands of some shady people and they manufactured robots of their own; smarter, faster, and stronger androids that more closely resemble human beings and can complete tasks with greater efficiency.

Gemma and Cady find themselves in the midst of the chaos when federal agents headed by a sneering Timm Sharp break into their home, suspecting that the two of them had something to do with the crisis. One of the central ideas of “M3GAN 2.0” is the perhaps discomforting suggestion that the most highly-calibrated androids have the ability to think independently from humans and make decisions entirely on their own, even disobeying their programming if they choose. Gemma asserts that if AMELIA has already rebelled against her creators, then there’s nothing the human race can possibly do to stop her now. Notice the increased stakes? “M3GAN 2.0” similarly ups the ante with its action, which takes on a frenetic, over-the-top energy. A lousy setpiece at a nightclub is the first time Gemma crosses paths with AMELIA and sees firsthand just how powerful she is. This longtime robotics engineer understands the real-world threat this technology poses, while others, such as a snobby tech influencer played by Jemaine Clement, believe they can make good bank on these futuristic wonders.

This thematic idea is never developed any further, even while Gemma discerns that the only way to bring AMELIA down is by rebuilding M3GAN in a new body and letting her sort this all out. And yet, for all this set-up and narrative throat-clearing that makes up the first 45 minutes of the movie, M3GAN gets shockingly little screentime. And when she finally does show up in full form in the third act, she’s isn’t playing to the same bonkers shtick that made her so iconic in the first movie. “M3GAN 2.0” simply isn’t fun enough to justify its existence as a sequel with a turn-around of less than a year and a half. The entire thing feels overly mechanical and too complicated narratively. It’s already so far from being “horror” at this point, but it’s become more science-fiction than ever before. Yet instead of delivering the goods like the best science-fiction does (inventing new ideas, crafting memorable characters, making a statement about the future in a compelling way), Johnstone opts for a more boring approach, turning such great material into a convoluted snoozefest.

The performances aren’t great. Williams’ character isn’t immediately interesting and she doesn’t do much to draw us towards her. The writers want to establish a sort-of morality crisis for Gemma, but it doesn’t wash because the acting is so flat. A possible love interest (Aristotle Athari) is borderline laughable in his dry delivery, while a duo of Gemma’s sidekicks Cole and Tess (Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps) fail to be the comic relief they’ve been set up as. Sakhno is, oddly enough, the strongest actor in the whole movie. Her intimidating stare and powerful aura makes her killer robot stand out.

“M3GAN 2.0” so badly wants to make a statement about the dangers of too much technology, as reflected through a cardboard villain whose motives make little sense, but its lack of subtlety negates that ambition. It’s gleefully over-the-top in every way possible (even more so than its predecessor, “M3GAN 2.0” is having a blast testing how far it can push the PG-13 rating), but feels too big for its own good. Midway through, I realized how much it felt like watching an MCU movie, with massive stakes, a dramatic soundtrack, and a whole crowd of characters gathered around a lab discussing how to deal with an impending threat. The end-of-the-world fare this movie preaches about might be wholly exaggerated, but the decline of the modern sequel is very real.

Now playing in theaters.