M3GAN 2.0

What started as one of my least anticipated movies of the year ended up being a surprisingly fun, franchise-worthy action flick. M3GAN 2.0 is-and trust me, it pains me to say this-this generation's Terminator 2.

In what feels like a deliberate attempt to gender-flip and modernize the Terminator formula, director Gerard Johnstone actually pulls it off. Like T2, this sequel manages to outshine the original by embracing action over horror, bringing back a former villain as a reluctant hero, and somehow making us root for them by the end.

The film hits almost every beat of T2-genre shift, character arcs, even the structure-yet it does it with enough style and self-awareness to feel fresh. It's not subtle about its inspirations, but it doesn't need to be. It's fun, sharp, and unapologetically over-the-top in all the right ways.

M3GAN 2.0 is definitely an improvement over the first, and now I'm genuinely curious to see where the series goes next. If we keep following the Terminator roadmap, I fully expect the next installment to be M3GAN: Rise of the AI, featuring a male M3GAN model named Mark-X hunting a now-off-the-grid Cady.

Too many times in horror movie sequels, it attempts to just rehash the exact same movie as the first one. But M3GAN 2.0 takes a letter from two other great horror franchises. Like Terminator 1 to Terminator 2, and Alien to Aliens, M3GAN 2.0 deviates from the horror formula and injects action and comedy blended with horror elements. It's nothing new, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing and psyched up for many moments of the film. The tone was much more about the action and fighting than jumpscares and thrills, which I found myself enjoying, otherwise it would've felt too much like a clone of the first one.

Also, the theming of this movie really compliments many real world discussions and dilemmas about AI and its involvement in our lives. So there were many moments where it hit a little closer to home, maybe too close at some points, actually putting a quiet sense of dread in my mind about a possible AI revolution.

The movie wasn't perfect, and there were a few moments that I cringed, however, I can absolutely say that enjoyed so many more moments that I left the movie feeling satisfied and thrilled with the assortment of fist fights, gun fights, thrashed metal and bloody messes.

She's back - smarter, sassier, and somehow even more unhinged than before.

M3GAN 2.0 is everything you want in a sequel like this. It's fun, it's chaotic, it's completely self-aware - and it knows exactly what kind of film it is. No pretence, no filler, just pure killer doll camp with a glossy finish and razor-sharp one-liners.

The plot? Honestly, barely matters. You're here to watch M3GAN wreak havoc in style - and she absolutely delivers. Think TikTok-era Terminator, but with better outfits and even more attitude. The dance moves are back (of course), but so is the biting satire, the tech paranoia, and the kind of crowd-pleasing gore that has you grinning one moment and gasping the next.

One unexpected standout? Ukrainian-American actress Ivanna Sakhno, who plays AMELIA, a military-grade android. She's stunning, has incredible screen presence, and honestly gives off major Elizabeth Olsen vibes. Like... twin-level resemblance. More of her in everything, please.

Is it high art? No. But it never pretends to be. It's campy, clever, and completely entertaining from start to finish. If you loved the first, you'll be living for this one. And if you didn't? Well... M3GAN doesn't care. She'll come for you anyway!!

Good news first:

-It's a better movie than the first one. There are a lot more action scenes because the budget has doubled.

-It can also satisfy the audience in terms of science fiction. The genre of the movie has already changed, this movie is action-sci-fi. So M3GAN is no longer a horror movie.

-There are good references to old movies.

-Beautiful Ivanna Sakhno, who we saw in Ahsoka, is very good in her role.

Now the bad news:

-Unfortunately, it can't fulfill its 2-hour running time. Too much unnecessary dialog. It's not easy to follow them.

-This time they made M3gan's face with CGI. Whereas the mask in the first movie looked much more realistic.

-It could have been a little more fun. The movie takes itself a bit seriously and contains very few jokes.

-There are some logic flaws in the movie.

In short, it's definitely a watchable movie.

M3GAN 2.0 has the problem of trying to do way more than it has to. It thinks it needs to comment on so many different issues, and it tries to focus on too many characters and storylines. By the third act this movie has so many twists and turns that it just becomes convoluted and confusing. That's not to say there aren't some fun moments though. Once again the character of M3GAN is tons of fun to watch on screen and there's some decent action. What I liked so much about the first movie was the fact that the whole movie was about the dynamic between the aunt and the niece. This movie still somewhat has that dynamic but with all of the shenanigans, it loses focus of what made the original special. This is a movie that's so simple on paper and I probably would've liked it better if it didn't try and make the plot more complicated than it needed to be. I also wish they kept some of the horror elements. I still had a good time watching it for the most part but it's definitely a step down from the first one. 6/10.