Films for Breakfast

Horror films that evolve into the action genre with their sequels aren’t exactly new – Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are prime examples of how to pull it off successfully and seamlessly. But I have to say, out of all the sequels to take this approach, M3GAN 2.0 is almost the last film I expected. The original M3GAN made waves with its mix of fun thrills, big laughs, and its sharp, modern take on the Child’s Play formula – hardly something I’d expect to pivot towards action in it’s follow-up. This sequel picks up two years later, with Gemma (Allison Williams) trying to navigate life as a parent to Cady (Violet McGraw) in the aftermath of their shared trauma.

However, when a military-grade A.I. named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) seemingly goes rogue and endangers countless lives, Gemma is left with no choice but to resurrect M3GAN – this time, with the hope that she can be used to protect rather than destroy. It’s through this dynamic, in the spirit of T2, that M3GAN 2.0 shifts toward a more action-driven story. Yet even with the genre pivot, the sequel still tries to maintain its signature blend of camp and dark comedy. So this begs the question, does it succeed in maintaining its identity while switching gears? Well… not quite. What made the original M3GAN so entertaining was its simplicity and precision – delivering sharp, tactile thrills while knowing exactly when to lean into humor.

M3GAN 2.0 falls noticeably short of its predecessor for several reasons, but one of the biggest issues is that the action simply isn’t very good. If you’re going to pivot from horror to action, the set pieces and execution need to be just as strong, if not stronger, than the scares that came before. Unfortunately, the action here feels sanitized and generic in its direction, lacking any real excitement or tension. There’s some initial fun in watching M3GAN take down bad guys like an 80s action hero, but that novelty wears thin quickly, and the film struggles to evolve beyond the initial joke into becoming memorable in any way.

The lifeless action contributes to a sequel that often feels like it’s running on autopilot. The jokes don’t land as well, there’s a noticeable absence of real thrills or scares, and the already thin characters from the original feel unnecessarily stretched in a story that gives them little of interest to do; and the performances reflect the lacking material. Even the new additions, like Amelia and the villains pulling the strings are not only redundant but occasionally cringe-worthy. At nearly 120 minutes, almost 20 longer than its predecessor, the film rarely earns its extended runtime and often feels like a chore to get through.

One of the film’s more intriguing threads is its repeated teasing of character development for M3GAN herself. It flirts with the idea of evolving a villainous A.I. into something more complex, touching on themes of redemption, growth, and the notion that no one should be defined by their worst mistake. But despite the promise, the film never engages with these ideas in any meaningful way – instead, it circles the same superficial point without offering real insight. To make matters worse, the film ultimately leans into some oddly pro-A.I. evolution messaging that feels more like a corporately mandated stance than a sincere creative choice by the filmmakers.

M3GAN 2.0 doesn’t quite fall into disaster territory – there are a few decent laughs, and M3GAN herself still delivers some fun moments here and there; but they’re few and far between. While I appreciate the effort to avoid a predictable rehash where M3GAN simply returns to torment the same characters, the film squanders its shift toward action by delivering a sloppily directed follow-up that is both hollow and predictable. By the end, it feels like a major missed opportunity, and one of the more forgettable entries in this summer’s lineup.