The murderous dancing android that took TikTok by storm in 2023 has returned, with a twist. Blumhouse spent about $12 million on the first film, which opened to $30M and ended up grossing $180M worldwide. It didn’t take long for a sequel to be greenlit, with M3GAN 2.0 set to release this weekend. The new film reportedly has a higher budget at $36M, but there’s also been a change in genre from the original.
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Story and Genre Shift
While M3GAN was marketed as a horror film, it was more campy instead of traditional horror. As someone who isn’t a fan of horror movies, M3GAN was easy to digest, with little to no jump scares, and mild gore (due to the PG-13 rating). On paper, M3GAN 2.0 shifts from horror to action, but in reality, while the sequel is much more action-focused, it’s not that much of a departure from the original. This is especially true with the campy nature of the original still fully intact.
In M3GAN 2.0, AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno) is a new android built from the code of the original M3GAN, that’s going on a rampage and extinguishing anyone who had a hand in her creation. Gemma (Allison Williams) must go against her own wishes and rebuild M3GAN (Amie Donald) with a new body to combat the threat AMELIA poses.
The Camp Returns
M3GAN’s dancing may have been what made the original movie go viral, but it was the camp and fun that drove that film to $180M at the box office. That camp returns in M3GAN 2.0, but the film doesn’t lean into it as much as it did the first time around. There’s still a good number of fun jokes to be had, but with greater emphasis on action, and a bit of a convoluted story, there’s more to distract from the fun in M3GAN 2.0.
The first film was pretty straightforward. An android was designed to keep Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw) safe, but when it takes things too far, people start to die. M3GAN 2.0 adds another android to the mix, but has a plot bogged down with who’s the real antagonist, what are M3GAN’s new motives, and Gemma just being annoying for most of the film. Luckily, the camp and humor help to balance out the film, but it definitely feels as though the writer tried to do too much with what should’ve been a pretty simple sequel.
The Cast
Most of the cast returns from the first film, with Violet McGraw getting a bit more to do now that she’s a teenager. Timm Sharp adds plenty of camp as a government agent, with Aristotle Athari as a new protagonist that works alongside Allison Williams. Ivanna Sakhno steals most of her scenes with an impressively robotic performance as the new android threat. She nails the “not quite human” mannerisms of the new android antagonist, as well as the fighting sequences throughout the film.
The Final Verdict
While M3GAN 2.0 continues the camp and fun of the original, it’s also hampered by an overly complex plot. The film is still enjoyable, but doesn’t reach the same highs as the original M3GAN. If the writing team had simplified the plot, made Gemma less annoying, and leaned into the camp even more, this could have topped the original. As it stands, M3GAN 2.0 is still a fun time at the movies, but doesn’t quite live up to the first film.
About M3GAN 2.0
Synopsis: Two years after M3GAN’s rampage, her creator, Gemma, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down Amelia, the military-grade weapon who was built by a defense contractor who stole M3GAN’s underlying tech.
Director: Gerard Johnstone
Writers: Akela Cooper, Gerard Johnstone
Cast: Allison Williams, Jemaine Clement, Violet McGraw, Jenna David, Amie Donald, Ivanna Sakhno
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 Hour, 59 Minutes
Releases: June 27, 2025
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
