Most of the charm that resonated with 2022’s horror comedy “M3GAN” is the natural flow of memes that originated from it. Even with the unrated cut, which added a hint of an “R-rated” feel to the kills, the film committed to the bit, considering the humor. A sarcastic talking, murderous robot who does dance routines before wreaking havoc on humankind is a modern dream only SKYNET could have thought of. 

Like the “Barbenheimer” craze of 2023, it came from fans and was then uplifted by the corporate structure. It’s a primary reason why both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” elevated one another. Writer/director Gerard Johnstone approaches “M3GAN 2.0” from a diverse range of inspirations, both in the real world and in fantasy. Instead of opting to double down on the “Child’s Play” elements of the original film, the sequel opts to be a sci-fi retelling of 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” with war games flavors. 

(from left) M3gan and Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) in M3GAN 2.0, directed by Gerard Johnstone. / Credit: Universal Pictures

While Cameron’s film speaks to the dangers of a sentient computer program becoming self-aware and leading to the world’s destruction, “M3GAN 2.0” tries to hide its cards early. When it’s all said and done, it completely reverses the premise it charts by film’s end. Instead of examining the dangers of unchecked AI and technological advances, the film becomes a ‘can’t we all’ (humans, androids, and artificial intelligence alike) get along infomercial. That would be fine if “M3GAN 2.0” didn’t spend much of the runtime displaying the ways we all should be wary of robots gaining any autonomy. 

In a quasi-espionage introduction, a government weapon upgrade of M3GAN’s model, AMELIA (Ivana Sakhno), is overseeing a covert mission overseas. All of a sudden, she goes rogue, and the secret branch of the Pentagon has a big problem on their hands. As AMELIA goes on a quest to obtain the entirety of AI, Cady (Violet McGraw) and Gemma (Allison Williams) are doing the best they can (considering they were almost killed by M3GAN in the film prior). Cady is now a 12-year-old preteen who joined a karate class to channel her angst and gained an affinity for Steven Seagal films. Gemma is strongly opposed to technology in general. She has become an advocate for stricter regulatory laws and a reduced reliance on screens. 

Despite that, Gemma is not yet ready to go back to the Stone Age. On the side, she’s helping her partners, Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tessa (Jen Van Epps), construct an exoskeleton prototype. Sleazy tech billionaire Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement) wants Gemma to build another robot in the spirit of M3GAN, but there’s no amount of money in the world that will impel her to do so. When Army Colonel Sattler (Timm Sharp) finds Gemma and notifies her (and blames her) about the presence of AMELIA, she has to turn to an old adversary for help. Lucky for everyone, M3GAN copied herself into the cloud and strikes an uneasy alliance with our protagonists to hopefully get the job done. Yes, she’s our sassy, well-dressed “T-800.”

With a sequel, it’s natural to go bigger, and in “M3GAN 2.0’s case, longer with an added thirty minutes of runtime. What is delightful is Jenna Davis’s voiceover, especially with the quick quips concerning Williams’s Gemma. They play off of each other well in an almost odd-couple way, all in the service of finding a common ground. The fight scenes are still present, but oddly spaced out throughout the film. There are times when the kinetic progression of things is interrupted because a subplot requires exposition. The comedic tone works best when it’s not simply a duplication of what the first film achieved. 

For a film like this, “M3GAN 2.0” has a lot to say. There’s a mother/daughter like relationship between Gemma and Cady, and how that plays out after the trauma. Building off of that, Johnstone also wonders if androids like M3GAN and AMELIA also want a community of their own. While it’s a question posed and expounded upon in previous sci-fi films, there were potential layers for the story to explore. But “M3GAN 2.0” sounds the alarm of a technological crisis and then elects to choreograph dance moves to its loud, discordant melody, like a cobra entranced by a digital snake charmer.