Miss me?
It depends, M3GAN, are you on your best behavior?
You saw my new movie. You tell them by telling me.
Please welcome back everyone's favorite new killer robot doll in M3GAN 2.0.
...
A few years after the M3GAN fiasco, her creator Gemma (Alison Williams) is now an advocate for the regulation of AI. Her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), now practices aikido and even studies computer science. M3GAN (on-set by Amie Donald/voice by Jenna Davis), while seemingly destroyed in the first film, actually uploaded herself into Gemma's smart house. Meanwhile, the US Government deploys AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), an android built from M3GAN's blueprints, as its newest operative. It doesn't take long before the android turns against her masters.
Col. Sattler (Timm Sharp), one of those masters, blames Gemma for AMELIA's revolt. M3GAN offers to help stop the new model if Gemma can build her a new body. It takes a while, but Gemma complies with that request. Our heroines, plus Gemma's former co-workers Cole & Tess (Brian Jordan Alvarez & Jen Van Epps), discover that AMELIA is looking to merge with the Motherboard of the world's first killer robot. Just imagine if the Ark of the Covenant worked the way the Nazis wanted it to in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you'll realize the stakes. They can't let that happen.
With director Gerard Johnstone promoted to writer, this sequel genre shifts from sci-fi horror to sci-fi action. We get a few shoot-outs, a car chase, and a final battle set in an exploding lair, among others, in its nearly two hours. It’s also a lot sillier than its slick predecessor, with jokes flying as much as punches. Its Steven Seagal references, for example, are amusing at best and groan-worthy at worst. It also has a few good moments between M3GAN and her humans, such as her reunion with Cady as a Terminator/Johnny 5 hybrid. Whether M3GAN is actually turning good is a mystery stretched out a bit too long. Still, I think it’s a fine heel face turn even if others might consider it a downgrade.
So, who are the actual antagonists? The actual big bad is Christian (Aristotle Athari), the pretentious scumbag pulling AMELIA’s strings. He’s a jerk, yes, but he’s not as memorably menacing as M3GAN in her debut. AMELIA herself is creepy, but she doesn’t have much of a personality, though there is a reason for that. Col. Sattler is obtuse and a bit egotistical, but at least he helps our heroes track down AMELIA. Meanwhile, we have Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement), a tech dude who shows off by blacking out San Francisco for a spell. Any villainous ambitions for him end memorably once he meets AMELIA.
What else do we have here? The robotic effects, both animatronic and digital, are as good as those in the first film. A few highlights include AMELIA unzipping herself within two suitcases, and the "plastic Teletubby" M3GAN is initially downloaded into. Both robots also have some good costumes designed for them by Jeriana San Juan. The action scenes are cool, even if the final battle has one too many overdrawn "all is lost moments." At least they're accentuated by a nifty score by Chris Bacon, as well as a beyond excellent sound design. Finally, let's back in front of the camera to mention Cole & Tess, both of whom are not only great comic relief, but are great allies to our main heroines.
I think you'll do fine with M3GAN 2.0 if you can adjust to the genre shift. There's nothing wrong with a sequel doing its own thing, much like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day did years ago. It does retain some of its predecessor's audacity, if that helps. Time will tell, though, if it becomes as renowned as those aforementioned sequels. It won't hurt if you check out some of the surprises here, especially before that other Universal sequel comes out this week. That review is coming soon.