As with any horror movie that makes a big splash, 2022’s M3GAN has spawned a sequel, yet the follow-up has shed its genre roots. Ahead of its release this weekend, the first reviews of M3GAN 2.0 have arrived online, mostly focused on its switch to sci-fi action, for better or worse, and the decision to turn its titular, immediately iconic robot character into a hero — though maybe not necessarily a “good girl.” While some fans of the original may be disappointed, those looking for another goofy film satirizing AI should still be entertained.
Here’s what critics are saying about M3GAN 2.0:
Does it live up to the original?
It might even be better.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
If you loved M3GAN, you’ll have quite the fun ride with the sequel.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
The sequel takes the stakes of the original and multiplies them tenfold… [and] takes exactly what people loved about the original and heightens it to the nth degree.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
What made the first film such an instant hit… really can’t be replicated, but this edition is so jacked-up we still can dig it for what it is.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
As a M3GAN sequel, I’m not sure it works. As a film deeply inspired by the insane action thrillers from the early ’90s that played ad nauseum on USA Network in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday? It rocks.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
There’s a surprising amount of fun to be had with M3GAN 2.0 – a bigger and funnier sequel which could stand to pull back on both of those elements.
— Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
M3GAN 2.0 isn’t as much fun as the first film.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Is the title character still a lot of fun?
Everyone’s favorite killer robot doll is back – with all her wit and fabulosity intact.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
M3GAN 2.0’s greatest strength is the same as the original movie’s: M3GAN herself… endlessly charming, both snarky and practical, and is never tired of shooting insults at Gemma.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
The series’ crowning achievement remains M3gan herself… a funny, sassy, personable character that is still always eerily automated.
— Josh Larsen, LaresenOnFilm
She’s back, but not as the “B” we once knew and loved.
— Matt Donato, Daily Dead
She starts acquiring empathy and morality, which we all know are no fun.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
M3GAN 2.0 works when M3GAN is front and center, but as it stands now, there’s just not enough of her.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Will it inspire any memes like the first movie?
If you thought after the first movie that this killer doll was just a viral blip in the world, M3GAN 2.0 is here to tell you in the most deliciously over-the-top way that you are very wrong.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
Johnstone has written a cavalcade of zingers for M3GAN and Gemma that will give this film just as much of an online presence as the first film enjoyed.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Does it lean into the campy tone?
A lot campier, leaning into the titular doll’s new status as a queer icon.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
There is something incredibly fun about horror movies leaning into the campier side. Especially when they are funnier the second time around. And that’s what happened with M3GAN 2.0.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
The campy sense of mischief that made Gerard Johnstone’s 2023 hit M3GAN so enjoyable asserts itself intermittently in M3GAN 2.0.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
The borderline-camp quality of M3GAN isn’t completely gone… but this one plays it with less overt cheekiness.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The first M3gan was the perfect blend of horror and comedy. It is a little campy, but nothing compared to the amount of campiness that oozes out of M3gan 2.0.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Where M3GAN fell into the world of unintentional camp, M3GAN 2.0 inhabits the world of Bad Straight Camp.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
Is it funnier?
I really loved that this movie felt a bit more funny than the first… Taking the bits of humor from the first and amping it up for the second allows these outlandish characters and circumstances to really shine.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
M3GAN 2.0 can just be funny whenever and however it wants, which is quite often and in just about every way imaginable.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
M3GAN 2.0 can be quite amusing at times… but it can also be forced in its comedic approach, hoping to impress with more viral TikTok energy.
— Matt Donato, Daily Dead
M3GAN 2.0 is amusing at moments, overblown at others.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
It fully embraces the ridiculousness of the plot, making it a whole lot of fun to watch.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Will horror fans be disappointed?
This quickly assembled follow-up retains the horror elements of the first but really mixes it up with some kickass sci-fi action sequences that actually make for a lot of fun and a much bigger feel.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
The sequel offers a few glimpses at horror, but it is more silly than anything else.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
This second chapter is so driven by antics – and wisely so – that it barely qualifies as horror at all.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Johnstone eschews any trace of horror in favor of tame espionage hijinks and beat-‘em-up mayhem.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
While it’s unfair to criticize Johnstone for wanting to change things up, it’s disappointing that he’s made a Blumhouse–Atomic Monster production that has almost no connection to horror.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Will it remind us of any other movies?
It’s a convoluted mishmash with shades of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mission: Impossible, and the Austin Powers franchise.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
The film might as well be called M2: Judgment Day for how much it cribs from James Cameron’s classic.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
The result is something like a Mission: Impossible movie that’s replaced Tom Cruise with Robocop.
— Josh Larsen, LaresenOnFilm
M3GAN 2.0 is the Aliens to M3GAN’s Alien, except even less dedicated to horror.
— Matt Donato, Daily Dead
M3GAN 2.0 is the Army of Darkness of the franchise, if you will.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Tonally, the genre it most recalls, in fact, is a very specific one: films from the Eighties and Nineties, which you’d swear had originally been aimed at children but discover on rewatching that they’re completely unsuitable for anyone below their mid-teens; think Gremlins, Kindergarten Cop, and so on.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
How are the fight scenes?
The fights between the two robots have a kinetic sense of style that makes up for the film’s uncertain pacing elsewhere… It’s not the most innovative action, but it’s exciting to watch.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
[There is] some exciting action, building up to a cleverly staged confrontation between the two AI entities.
— Josh Larsen, LaresenOnFilm
AMELIA and M3GAN’s fights are enthralling to watch, as laws of physics are stretched in the same larger-than-life way that makes the 2000s Charlie’s Angels movies such beloved classics.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
You will still be on the edge of your seat during the fights as they are just as good as the ones in M3gan.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
As far as the action is concerned, Gerard Johnstone clearly worships at the altar of Sam Raimi, and while nothing quite reaches his level of visual punch, there’s a lot more creativity here than in typical mid-budget Hollywood fare.
— Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly
Some of the fights do become a little numbing after a while.
— Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies
Does the script have anthing to say about AI?
The film digs deeper into the question of artificial intelligence and society’s increasing dependence on technology…genuinely engaging with it while never lecturing the audience.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Don’t try to parse out poignant AI commentaries because the story itself is a jumble of cybersecurity concerns and softball advocacy.
— Matt Donato, Daily Dead
The film ends on a wimpy “let’s all get along” note, as if potentially ruinous AI tech is an inevitable development for humanity rather than an avoidable fate.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
The new movie states the obvious when it talks up the need for humans to co-exist with robotics technology… but it’s too silly to have much bearing on the real world.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
M3GAN 2.0 is a rambling affair that lurches wildly in so many different directions that it feels like the film is searching, in real time, for a point. It fails to find one.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
Will clips of M3GAN 2.0 appear in AI documentaries 50 years from now, as an example of what we poor saps worried was on the horizon? Almost inevitably.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
How’s the new robot villain?
AMELIA ranks alongside Kristanna Loken in Terminator 3, Natasha Henstridge in Species, and Mathilda May in Lifeforce (a personal fave) as a dangerous, inhuman beauty that quickly turns men to jelly.
— Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly
Sakhno’s character, AMELIA, is so close a cousin to Kristanna Loken’s T-X from Terminator 3 as to be a little sister. The performance is fine, albeit Sakhno’s is just meant to look seductive and robotic.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
AMELIA’s quadrupedal scuttle has a stop-motion feel that adds to the film’s comic bite.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Much less entertaining… an icy blonde killing machine like so many icy blonde killing machines before her, with none of M3GAN’s sardonic wit.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Are there any notable performances?
Once again, [Allison] Williams is the film’s secret weapon, taking Gemma’s character arc just seriously enough for the emotion to land without shifting the movie off its too-cool-for-school axis.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
All of the players deliver, and there is a very amusing supporting turn from none other than Jemaine Clement as an Elon Musk-style tech billionaire.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
The most credit has to be given to Jenna Davies, the voice of M3GAN. Aided by Amie Donald, who performs the physical version of the character, Davies is crucial to making M3GAN a new horror icon.
— Emma Kiely, Collider
Will the sequel leave us wanting more M3GAN?
A spinoff to M3GAN is already en route, but here’s hoping the main series continues forever.
— Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly
Here’s hoping that M3GAN 3.0 is brasher, funkier, crazier.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
This sequel is the sort of janky, ill-conceived update that fatally bricks the franchise.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
If the franchise is to continue, [M3GAN] needs to go back to the lab for reprogramming.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
M3GAN 2.0 opens in theaters on June 27, 2025.
