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M3gan
Take the 1978 Anthony Hopkins thriller Magic and throw in a dash of The Terminator and you have the gist of a somewhat effective 2022 nail biter called M3gan that does provide some terror on the surface, but leaves too much unexplained to be a full-bodied movie experience.
Gemma is a robotic engineer for a giant toy company called Funki Toys, who has just gained custody of her niece, Katie after her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident that Katie somehow survived. Gemma and her team are putting the finishing touches on a doll/robot they have named M3gan that Gemma programs so that Katie has primary control of her, forcing Funki to incorporate Katie into the launch of the doll onto the market, at the whopping cost of $10,000 a pop, but before this launch can happen, M3gan mysteriously begins taking on a life and mind of her own.
Screenwriter Akela Cooper has provided a screenplay adapted from a story by James Wan that seems to offer originality as it begins, but as the story progresses, seems to borrow a lot of things from other movies. Gemma seems to be in complete control of M3gan as the film opens, just like Anthony Hopkins' Corky seemed to have control of his dummy Fats in Magic, but like Corky, once Gemma loses control of her creation, no explanation is offered as to exactly how it happens and M3gan becomes unstoppable. Early on, there are shots of M3gan's interior computer brain that should be offering information like the Terminator's interior brain, but they don't, giving what we're watching little basis in realism. On the other hand, I did love the touch of black comedy provided by Gemma's boss, David, sort of a contemporary Larry Tate who is looking at nothing but the money Funki can make from M3gan. And how M3gan learned that David's assistant Kurt tried to steal Megan's programs was also a mystery.
It was difficult to pinpoint exactly when Gemma loses control of M3gan...initially, all Gemma has to say is "turn off" and the doll ceases to function, but I did like that at first M3gan protested being turned off but did and then just ignored turn off commands. After watching her shaking beginnings with Gemma as her new guardian, we understand Katie's connection to M3gan, but it takes Katie way too long to figure out what's going on.
The technicians behind the creation of the title character are to be applauded. It is clear that there is an actually actress under there, but she is efficiently made up with authentic china doll-like skin that gives her a non-human look with those frightening and piercing eyes that were impossible to read for most of the time. M3gan definitely develops a mind of her own at some point, despite the fact we that we never know exactly what she' thinking. Allison Williams from the HBO series Girls is a little one-note as Gemma, but I loved Ronny Chieng as David and the physicality that Amie McDonald brought to the title character was impressive. There are some scares provided, but too many dangling plot elements hurt this one a little. There is also a not-so-subtle set-up for a sequel.
Take the 1978 Anthony Hopkins thriller Magic and throw in a dash of The Terminator and you have the gist of a somewhat effective 2022 nail biter called M3gan that does provide some terror on the surface, but leaves too much unexplained to be a full-bodied movie experience.
Gemma is a robotic engineer for a giant toy company called Funki Toys, who has just gained custody of her niece, Katie after her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident that Katie somehow survived. Gemma and her team are putting the finishing touches on a doll/robot they have named M3gan that Gemma programs so that Katie has primary control of her, forcing Funki to incorporate Katie into the launch of the doll onto the market, at the whopping cost of $10,000 a pop, but before this launch can happen, M3gan mysteriously begins taking on a life and mind of her own.
Screenwriter Akela Cooper has provided a screenplay adapted from a story by James Wan that seems to offer originality as it begins, but as the story progresses, seems to borrow a lot of things from other movies. Gemma seems to be in complete control of M3gan as the film opens, just like Anthony Hopkins' Corky seemed to have control of his dummy Fats in Magic, but like Corky, once Gemma loses control of her creation, no explanation is offered as to exactly how it happens and M3gan becomes unstoppable. Early on, there are shots of M3gan's interior computer brain that should be offering information like the Terminator's interior brain, but they don't, giving what we're watching little basis in realism. On the other hand, I did love the touch of black comedy provided by Gemma's boss, David, sort of a contemporary Larry Tate who is looking at nothing but the money Funki can make from M3gan. And how M3gan learned that David's assistant Kurt tried to steal Megan's programs was also a mystery.
It was difficult to pinpoint exactly when Gemma loses control of M3gan...initially, all Gemma has to say is "turn off" and the doll ceases to function, but I did like that at first M3gan protested being turned off but did and then just ignored turn off commands. After watching her shaking beginnings with Gemma as her new guardian, we understand Katie's connection to M3gan, but it takes Katie way too long to figure out what's going on.
The technicians behind the creation of the title character are to be applauded. It is clear that there is an actually actress under there, but she is efficiently made up with authentic china doll-like skin that gives her a non-human look with those frightening and piercing eyes that were impossible to read for most of the time. M3gan definitely develops a mind of her own at some point, despite the fact we that we never know exactly what she' thinking. Allison Williams from the HBO series Girls is a little one-note as Gemma, but I loved Ronny Chieng as David and the physicality that Amie McDonald brought to the title character was impressive. There are some scares provided, but too many dangling plot elements hurt this one a little. There is also a not-so-subtle set-up for a sequel.