M3GAN 2.0

Prequel: “M3GAN” (2023)

Following the events of the first “M3GAN,” the murderous and downright evil AI Robot, Megan, has been destroyed by Cady (Violet McGraw) and her Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). Life, it seems, can finally return to normal. Cady is part of her local soccer team, Gemma no longer builds robots, per se, but rather technology that can help those who have physical handicaps (such as someone with total paralysis being able to walk again).

Gemma also travels across the country warning others about the dangers of uncontrolled AI programming and not allowing technology to dominate our culture.

Everything seems pretty normal, except for one thing, there’s another murderous robot on the run named Amelia. Amelia, says one federal agent, is bent on going after and killing all those who helped create her. Since Gemma’s design wasn’t destroyed, at least not completely, Amelia is after Gemma and, by association, Cady.

Gemma realizes in order to take out a murderous robot you need another murderous robot to do the trick.

And it just so happens Gemma knows one of those robots, Megan. While Megan’s body was destroyed, her AI programming did not disappear and in fact has been watching over Katie and Gemma as they go about their routines. Megan tells Gemma she knows how to take down Amelia, but Megan wants a new robot body in order to do this.

Double the robots, double the trouble…

When an original film is shown towards the end I am on my knees begging that Hollywood won’t make a sequel. After all, as a general rule of thumb, sequels are usually not as good as the original (well there are always exceptions, of course, like “Inside Out 2”). Why ruin the legacy of a film by creating a sequel, that most would agree, is simply a cash-grab. It’s so rare to find a sequel that is just there to strengthen the appreciation of the franchise.

In many instances, sequels try to reinvent themselves. Sometimes this works and sometimes it really doesn’t. Take the Terminator films, for example. The first one was such an iconic sci-fi action film that really brought action and sci-fi together in ways that films before it just couldn’t capture as well. Terminators 2 and 3 never held up to the standard that the original did. While some of the sequels add more context or more character development, the main story arc in each Terminator became more and more complicated to the point where there was this feeling that the initial plot and reasoning behind the Terminator (a Terminator robot going back in time to save Sarah and John Carter) got lost.

“M3gan 2.0” does, to a certain degree, bring a lot of aspects and elements from the first film that made it so successful in the first place: A female-version of the Chuckie doll with not so good intentions running amok. What makes this sequel different are two things: Megan’s role and the film’s genre change.

Megan’s role in “M3gan 2.0” is more of that of an anti-hero. This is shown about half-way through the film where Gemma instructs Megan not to kill anyone, even enemies, but simply knock them out. Megan’s very nature is to protect those in her circle, no matter the cost. Megan, though, begins to evolve. She starts to feel, she starts to relate: she gets mad but also happy, funny—emotions that emulate that of a human being. This turning of the leaf of Megan 2.0 is genuine, thought provoking and occasionally a little unorthodox.

The genre change for “M3gan 2.0,” from slasher-horror, to action sci-fi actually works, in more than one strange way or another. While yes the violence is still a major issue, it’s not front and center like in the first “M3gan.” Don’t get me wrong, there is still a lot of slashing, stabbing and fights to go around, Megan’s motive and motivation feel, well, different. She’s trying to prove her worth, that she can change, adapt, and understand, and there are moments, believe it or not, where I empathized with Megan.

As I said, though, the violence is still very problematic. Remember, Megan was a killer robot and those killer instincts (pun intended) are still there in a few cases, which seriously makes this film unsuitable for the young ones. The vulgar and profane language has increased as well. While the character “Megan” may be more “honorable” (I use this word VERY loosely), the rest of the film is not. Speaking of which…

Offensive Content

VIOLENCE: Note, I’m not going to list every moment of violence, as it’s a lengthy list. For starters, a hostage is killed off screen by a robot. We see shadows against a wall of two people having their heads cut off. Various people are shot, knifed, kicked and punched throughout the film. A guys neck is snapped. In a flashback, Gemma is seen being choked by Megan. Some elite soldiers break into a house. Someone is seen being electrocuted. A robot rips a sensor off of someones neck. A robot chokes a character.

Megan reminds a character of their past. Megan reminds another character of when she tried to kill him and set the lab on fire. People are seen choking and dying of chlorine gas. Someone is stuck with a spear and another has their head cut off (offscreen). Characters are thrown in the air. Someone is almost killed. Someone is shot with an EMP. Megan’s jaw breaks, and we see all the robotic hardware from her very loose jaw. A robot is zapped with an EMP. Numerous guards are knocked out. Someone is killed by a laser. A character is beaten with a helmet. A robot dislocates someone’s arm. Someone’s head splatters. A character’s arm is cut off. A character sacrifices themselves.

VULGARITY: F*ck (1), What the F*ck (1), Sh*t (8), Sh*tbag (1), B.S. (1), A** (2), Meats*cks (1), D*ckrash (1), and there are the phrases “Portuguese Prostitute” and “Hold on to your v*ginas”

PROFANITY: J*sus (1), J*sus Ch*ist (1), G*d*mn (1), G*dd*mnit (2), For the love of G*d (1), H*ll (3)

SEXUAL CONTENT: Someone tells a female character how to “distract a guy.” A female character is encouraged to look up sexual gratification. Someone mentions it’s time to procreate with the males. Someone makes a joke about the size of a man’s privates. The phrase “a yeast infection on a v*gina” is spoken. When Megan is on top of someone, she states, “Yeah it feels weird to me too.” Someone mentions they are disturbed but also slightly aroused.

NUDITY: Amelia wears outfits that show some cleavage. A male character takes his shirt off and makes out with Amelia. There are shirtless males and a scene where Amelia is naked from the shoulders up.

DRUGS: A character is sedated. Some people are knocked out with chloroform and some are knocked out with chlorine gas.

ALCOHOL: Characters are seen drinking in a few scenes.

OCCULT: When Amelia becomes more powerful she says she is omnipotent like a god.

OTHER: Gemma steals a car. A robot is shown in just their robot parts and a little hair. Amelia kidnaps Cady. A character has a neuro-link drilled into their head (nothing graphic). Someone throws up. There is some messaging about the dangers of technology and AI and what unregulated technology leads to.

Lesson

The main lesson of “M3gan 2.0” is that people can change when given the opportunity. When Megan is given the chance to atone for her past by fighting instead of killing, and protecting Cady and Gemma instead of hurting them, it shows that, even robots, can change, and people especially can.

Change is one of the foundations of Christianity. When we accept Jesus into our lives, we change. We have to because to live for Christ is to walk and talk and share God’s love like Christ did. We change because Jesus comes and frees us from our past, sinful life.

In the book of Ezekiel, God states…

“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” —Ezekiel 11:19

King David even proclaimed in the book of Psalms…

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” —Psalm 51:10

And lastly in the book of Galatians it states:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” —Galatians 2:20

Closing Thoughts

It easy to become stuck in our ways. It’s easy to become accustomed to what we know, and not expect anything different. However, when we are unwilling to change, the rest of the world changes without us.

Case in point, “M3gan 2.0.” Those that are accustomed to seeing Megan slice and dice a bunch of bad guys won’t see as much this time around. And perhaps that’s a good thing. It’s nice to see, especially in a sequel, the main character or a former villain to have a change of heart (or in this case programming).

However, “M3gan 2.0” isn’t a complete deviation from the original. There’s still a large body count (whether characters are killed or knocked out), the profanity and vulgarity has increased, making this film very, very close to an R-rated film.

Since this is the case, like the first “M3gan,” “M3gan 2.0” is different: slightly funny, more developed, but it is still overly graphic at times. In short, I don’t recommend “M3gan 2.0.” It’s not spiritually uplifting in any way. It’s certainly not appropriate for viewing by children or teens. If you plan on going, know what you’re getting yourself into or you may walk out feeling as empty as a broken robot.

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Profane language: Moderately Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderately Heavy
• Nudity: Moderate
• Sex: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Mild
• Occult: Minor

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