M3GAN 2.0 didn’t quite hit the mark like the first one did. While the original M3GAN felt fresh and genuinely creepy, this sequel struggles to recapture that lightning in a bottle. Instead of building on the psychological horror that made the original work, M3GAN 2.0 leans heavily into action sequences that feel more like a generic sci-fi thriller than a horror film.

Obviously, the originality of the first movie couldn’t be duplicated, so the sequel attempts to focus on the question of how safe we are from the advancement of AI. Could we be building our future’s doom? It’s a timely theme, but the execution feels heavy-handed rather than genuinely unsettling.

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What made the original M3GAN work so well was its restraint. It knew when to pull back and let our imaginations fill in the gaps. This sequel throws subtlety out the window in favor of CGI spectacle that undermines the very real fears about AI that it’s supposedly exploring.

I’ll admit, I did chuckle in five different scenes – yes, I kept track. The lines were funny and the deliveries were good, but those five laughter moments still didn’t keep my interest. With a runtime of almost two hours, M3GAN 2.0 is about thirty minutes too long. The pacing drags especially in the middle act, where repetitive chase sequences replace the building dread that made the first film so effective. I found myself checking my watch, which is never a good sign for a horror sequel.

There are way too many fight scenes that were fairly useless to the plot. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves – too many computer-generated fight sequences. It gets old quick, and frankly, it’s not what we came to see from a M3GAN movie.

As I sit here writing this review using AI assistance, the irony isn’t lost on me – maybe I should be more worried about my British-accented writing assistant than M3GAN herself. At least my AI only wants to help me write better reviews, not take over the world through interpretive dance and murder.

If you’re looking for better AI horror, stick with the original M3GAN or check out Ex Machina for a more thoughtful take on artificial intelligence gone wrong.

Grade: C-

About The Peetimes: There are 2 solid Peetimes for you to choose from. They work equally well.

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There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of M3GAN 2.0.

Plot
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.