YNOT at the Movies

Two years after "M3GAN" broke the internet with its scene-stealing android and razor-sharp genre blend, the follow-up "M3GAN 2.0" (USA 2025 | 119 min.) returns with sleeker tech, deeper sci-fi themes, and a striking new rival AI. But for all the upgrades, this sequel stumbles—particularly when it comes to its titular terror, who feels less like the pop culture phenomenon she once was, and more like a diluted shadow of her former self.

Picking up in the aftermath of the first film, Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a public advocate for ethical AI and AI safety while raising her teenage niece Cady (Violet McGraw), whose grief and rebellion strain their bond. Unbeknownst to them, M3gan's original schematics have been stolen by a defense contractor and weaponized into a sinister infiltration robot named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno). As Amelia gains self-awareness and turns on her creators, Gemma makes the risky decision to resurrect M3gan (voiced by Jenna Davis) with upgrades, hoping the devil she knows can stop the one she doesn't.

To its credit, "M3GAN 2.0" ambitiously expands its world: this is no longer just about a killer toy gone rogue. It ventures boldly into speculative territory, envisioning a militarized arms race for AI where emotional trauma, identity politics, and techno-dystopian paranoia collide. Amelia, a shape-shifting infiltration robot, ends up stealing the show—menacing and strangely sympathetic in her existential search for autonomy. The film's smartest choice is leaning into the slick, cinematic AI futurism that reflects our ChatBot-era anxieties, from algorithmic parenting to sentient code.

Yet as the stakes grow and the setting turns globe-trotting, M3gan herself seems to shrink. The disarming charm, deadpan sass, and unpredictable menace that made her a viral icon are replaced by a more polished but blander iteration. Her lines feel safer. Her choreography--once delightfully uncanny--is buried in obligatory action beats. And while she's now armed with Wing Chun and a fashion-forward martial arts tracksuit, these kung fu scenes play less like natural extensions of her AI capabilities and more like genre box-checking. Watching M3gan spar like a C-list Marvel hero might dazzle for a moment, but it ultimately dulls her edge.

The film also misfires in its overreliance on hand-to-hand combat. Several extended fight sequences feel awkwardly inserted, detracting from the film's strongest tension: not who can punch harder, but whether machines can be trusted to love, protect, or forgive. Action may add spectacle, but it dilutes the unsettling, satirical core that gave the first "M3GAN" its bite.

"M3GAN 2.0" is a sharper AI thriller, but a flatter M3gan movie. The future may be algorithmic, but sometimes even a killer doll can get lost in the code.

"M3GAN 2.0" opens in theaters on Friday, June 27, 2025.