Synopsis: When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.
Like it or not, AI is here to stay, at least for now. We knew it coming, television and movies showed us, and Stephen Hawking warned us yet here we are with automated restaurants, homes, bartenders, and policing in some places. Before we know it, AI will completely take over. The only issue is if humans have a hard time discerning facts from fairytales and artificial intelligence pulls from our information, and humans create the algorithms that are the base process and function of how the AIs operate, how can it not be flawed? It’s going to be an interesting future.
“What are you?”
Unknowingly on a collision course towards a 4-way intersection with no stop sign are Annabelle, Frankenstein, iRobot, and The Orphan. Out of the fiery, metal-fusing wreckage is an unexpected fast-learning, and menacing M3GAN. Directed by Gerard Johnstone, M3GAN is a creepy, comical, and instantly fun experience. Coming out of the gate with humor, it immediately becomes evident that this film isn’t going to be taking itself too seriously. Nevertheless, the concept preys on our collective initial excitement, hesitation, and fear of artificial intelligence even while poking fun at it. The balance of scary to funny is pretty even as there is a somewhat sinister event or jumpscare for every chuckle or memeable moment. It keeps you on your toes as you don’t know whether you’re going to laugh or shit yourself from moment to moment. It’s campy and absurd in some of the best ways and aside from killing and attention-stealing tendencies, you’ll want a disturbing M3GAN of your own.
“This is the part where you run.”
Exploring a generation of parents that aged alongside technology, it takes a stab at modern parenting and the crutch technology awards us as a digital babysitters. It also dances around grief, parenting instincts or a lack thereof, attachment theory, and bullying. However, it fails to lean too hard into any one subject, leaving it to feel like someone brought all their homework from every class except for the class they’re currently in. It doesn’t even get as maniacal or homicidal as it could have—it would benefit from an R-rating. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun and enjoyable theater experience, especially with a packed house. No one wants to witness M3GAN’s TikTok dancing or her singing of Titanium as a lullaby alone, and you shouldn’t. Unfortunately, if you have seen all of the trailers and released clips, you’ve seen a great deal of the bigger moments almost in their entirety. But again, it’s never uninteresting and I see a franchise in the making. When M3GAN gets pissed is when the film is at its best, it just doesn’t happen as much as it should. As she quickly learns that the deceitful and conniving human traits that she has witnessed can better serve her in the long run, unaliving someone isn’t always the first option—unless you’re complete trash. Allison Williams, Violet Mcgraw, and Henry Chieng give great performances, the cinematography is chilling, and I hope we see M3GAN in the future. Its rewatchability is medium.
Pacing & Pop
The film’s pacing is a little off. As it attempts to relay many messages and pump fakes different story directions, it speeds through scenes that it should’ve leaned on drags in other areas. What popped for me was M3GAN herself. Her presence is eerie and ominous the entire film (it’s the eyes) and her quick wit coupled with her comedic timing make for a potential new horror icon. Especially since there is room for vengeful murderous growth.
Characters & Chemistry
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Lori Dungey, Stephane Garneau-Monten
They made the right decision in casting Allison Williams and Violet McGraw. Both horror legends in their own right, they are comfortable in the genre and it shows. After Get Out, we still can’t look at Williams the same, however, you can’t help but want Gemma to succeed because she is put in a very difficult situation, even if she is a bit selfish. And I’m not sure if McGraw’s Cady is simply supposed to be playing a grief-ridden child or if she’s a representation of kids today, but I didn’t know whether I wanted to give her a hug or “accidentally” leave her at the store. Either way, she delivered another great performance.
M3GAN releases in theaters on January 6, 2023. Remain safe and enjoy.
Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 1h 42m Director: Gerard Johnstone Writers: Aleka Cooper, James Wan Producers: Jason Blum, James Wan Executive Producers: Allison Williams, Mark Katchur, Ryan Turek, Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath
M3GAN is a creepy, comical, and instantly fun experience.
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GVN Rating 6.5
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User Ratings (1 Votes)
9.5