Two years after M3GAN’s (played by both Jenna Davis and Amie Donald) brutal rampage, Gemma (Allison Williams) reluctantly teams up with her creation to take down a new and even deadlier android known as AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), who was mysteriously built using Gemma’s designs. With plenty of bad blood between them (or whatever the robot equivalent is), Gemma and M3GAN must learn to trust each other for the sake of their one commonality: their fierce drive to protect Gemma’s niece, Cady (Violet McGraw).
If Arnold Schwarzenegger played a sassy robotic girl in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) instead of a macho sunglass-wearing bot from the future, you’d have M3GAN 2.0 (2025). Director Gerard Johnstone took what people loved about M3GAN (2022) and put it under the spotlight for M3GAN 2.0, which features even more iconic lines from our favourite mechanical girlboss.
For those expecting another sci-fi horror like the first film, prepare to be disappointed. While the advanced technology featured in the film still makes it a sci-fi, M3GAN 2.0 incorporates less horror and way more action. Given the plot and theme of this movie, the switch in genre makes sense and lets the film incorporate more of what M3GAN does best: kick ass and give absolutely zero fucks.
With a budget of an estimated $25 million, but only making roughly $10 million in its opening weekend, M3GAN 2.0 undeniably flopped in the box office. Compared to the $30 million the first movie made during its opening weekend with a budget of only $12 million, one can easily assume that M3GAN 2.0 is just another terrible sequel. However, as someone who’s seen both M3GAN movies, the sequel is arguably more entertaining.
Sure, the 2022 film’s hallway dance scene and rendition of David Guetta’s “Titanium” (ft. Sia) both have a special place in my heart, but M3GAN’s amusing banter with Gemma and complete lack of verbal filter in M3GAN 2.0 had me laughing the whole movie — not to mention the return of M3GAN’s spontaneous vocals. As for the box office numbers, I largely attribute that to the fact that people either a.) haven’t seen the first movie or b.) are simply too tired of sequels.
As far as acting goes, while Williams’ and McGraw’s performances weren’t horrible, they paled in comparison to M3GAN 2.0’s dynamic bot duo: Davis, who provided M3GAN’s hilariously callous voice, and Sakhno, who brought something uniquely chilling to AMELIA’s character. Known for Ahsoka (2023-) and The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018), Sakhno shared in an interview with Creepy Kingdom that she spent years training herself to blink as little as possible for the role — detailing that she didn’t think it would make sense for AMELIA to blink unless it was for a specific purpose. Safe to say, her dedication to the role paid off.
While my friends and I ultimately enjoyed M3GAN 2.0, it was not without its flaws. Compared to the 2022 film, the C.G.I. used in M3GAN 2.0 looked less realistic, even with the sequel’s larger budget. Not only that, but a lot of the technical language used went right over my head. Normally, I would say this is a me-problem, but when the movie uses inaccessible language to explain the actual plot — non-tech-savvy viewers like myself are kept in the dark. Nonetheless, if you’re someone who knows all about computers, motherboards, and how A.I. works, M3GAN 2.0’s plot will likely make much more sense to you.
Given that both M3GAN movies are centred around killer robots, I went into M3GAN 2.0 assuming the film’s stance regarding A.I. would be simple: avoid it like the plague before it wipes us all out. Surprisingly, this was not the case. Instead, the film encourages viewers to be kind to A.I., emphasizing that there needs to be effective regulations to ensure A.I. is being used responsibly.
Whether you’re for or against A.I., M3GAN 2.0 blends hilariously iconic yet thought-provoking dialogue to invite us to reflect on our positions with more open minds. As for me, if they end up making a third M3GAN movie, I hope Schwarzenegger has a cameo.
