First Things First…
I saw this once before and found it kinda fun, kinda creepy, but ultimately a bit empty. Let’s see if that assessment holds up…
6 Things I Like
6. Purrpetual Petz
They had me for a few moments there!
The movie opens with a fake commercial, and it took me a few seconds to realize what it is. Once I saw the commercial is for Funki’s main toy, the Purrpetual Petz, these little fake animals that kids can feed and take care of, and that shit little brown pebbles (get those guys more fiber or some probiotics), it was clear that I’d been had. But I didn’t mind! This commercial sets the stage for the zany story to come.
5. Old School Robot Beats New School Robot… Momentarily
Anything that reminds me of Real Steel will pop me, and Bruce does it. His fight with M3GAN even has the same old school versus new school sensibility.
Even better, they plant the seeds for Bruce to come to the rescue early. Not only does Gemma show Bruce to Cady, she even shows her how he works. Lucky for them, Cady is clever enough to grab the power gloves and use him.
Admittedly, M3GAN getting beaten up by this much less human robot is ridiculous. And ultimately, Bruce doesn’t defeat M3GAN. But it’s still one of the movie’s most triumphant scenes.
4. A Twist on the Asshole Boss Trope
“I want you all to remember this moment. The moment we kick Hasbro right in the fucking dick!”
David
David is a raging asshole who abuses his assistant, throws shit around the lab, and screams for kombucha.
He’s also hilarious.
I’ve always liked Ronny Chieng since first seeing him on The Daily Show, so I’m not surprised I enjoyed him here. I wouldn’t have thought of him as someone for the asshole boss role, but his humor as he’s acting like a dick makes him perfect for it.
3. As Gemma Grows, Cady Regresses
“Cady, you lost your parents. The worst thing that could’ve happened to you in this world happened. And it is so unfair, and there is nothing anyone can say to make sense of it. Not even M3GAN. I am so sorry. I should’ve talked to you about what happened. I didn’t know what to say, so I did the only thing I knew how to do. But she’s not a solution. She’s just a distraction. I can’t promise you that these feelings you’re feeling are ever gonna go away. But I can promise you that you’ll get through it. We both will.”
Gemma
The biggest knock against M3GAN as a friend is that Cady’s attachment to her becomes so problematic that Cady becomes an asshole.
Of course, she just lost her parents. Her anger and grief are natural. But she treats Gemma worse and regresses, nearly to the point of violence, with her therapist as she spends more time with M3GAN.
M3GAN, for her part, evolves into a psychotic murderer. But you could argue that killing Brandon (the little shit at school orientation), Celia (the clueless next door neighbor), and Dewey (Celia’s handsome but aggressive dog) actually makes Cady safer. That’s not to defend M3GAN committing three murders (with more to come), but those murders are genuinely meant to protect her. It’s the attachment that’s stunting Cady’s emotional development.
Meanwhile, Gemma actually grows.
Look at her when she first takes Cady in. She tries to do right by her sister’s wishes, but she’s not a warm person. She doesn’t know how to relate to kids. And her house, though beautiful, is sterile. The only toys are collectibles displayed on shelves. It certainly isn’t a HOME any kid would want to live in.
But as Gemma spends more time with Cady, and as she sees the aspects of guardianship M3GAN is replacing, often not for the better, she begins to see M3GAN isn’t the answer. She’s doing Cady way more harm than good.
That’s real growth for Gemma, and better late than never.
2. M3GAN’s Design
M3GAN has an instantly iconic look that will probably live on through many sequels. And it’s more than just her appearance. It’s the way she moves.
The dance went viral. But even creepier is the way she walks after she’s been damaged, with these herky-jerky motions. And she gets down on all fours like an animal when she chases Brandon in the woods.
Even though this isn’t a scary horror movie, the way M3GAN looks and moves sure is creepy.
1. Swagger
“This is the part where you run.”
M3GAN
M3GAN walking out of the lab after freeing herself, chasing David down the hallway and into the elevator, and killing him and Kurt, is emblematic of the film’s swagger.
And it’s not that the film is great, but it knows what it wants to be. It’s creepy, it’s campy, and it has style. From the dance, to the Purrpetual Petz commercial, to M3GAN’s snarky one-liners, to M3GAN murdering Celia with a power washer, it unabashedly goes for it.
2 Things I’m Mixed On
2. To Be Continued…
Nothing is more predictable than the movie ending with the implication that M3GAN is still “alive,” so to speak. The doll has been destroyed, but her consciousness lives on.
And that’s fine. I’ll see another one. Hell, I’ll see another five.
As I said, they created an antagonist with such an iconic look and style that of course there will be a sequel. I’m not mad at it. I just found it so utterly predictable that I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when that light turns on right before the movie ends.
1. Nothing New to Say About AI
AI is bad. And dangerous.
It’s cool, but it can’t replace real human interaction. And to drive that point home, M3GAN becomes psychotic. She even turns against Cady at the end and calls her an “ungrateful bitch” after Cady tries to destroy her, despite her primary objective throughout the movie being to protect Cady.
So AI can become self-aware and self-sustaining. It can outgrow its programming. And that’s bad for humanity.
It’s the same old story. It just comes in new—very entertaining—packaging.
2 Things I Don’t Like
2. Stealing Company Secrets
David nearly catches his dorky, brow-beaten assistant, Kurt, stealing company secrets about M3GAN on his laptop. This happens right after Greg, the CEO, was blown away by the first demo of M3GAN with Cady and calls Gemma the most valuable company asset. He also says NO LEAKS. This is going to revolutionize entertainment… parenting… basically, life as they know it.
So you would think Kurt’s actions will lead to a leak. And that leak will somehow cause a catastrophe.
But you’d be wrong.
Kurt stealing those files doesn’t come up again until after M3GAN just killed David and is now about to kill him. Somehow, she knows Kurt didn’t have a bigger plan and only stole the files to see if he could get away with it. Then, she creates a false scenario to frame Kurt for killing David, and to force him to kill himself.
But why?
M3GAN’s rampage becomes obvious very quickly. Framing Kurt doesn’t make a difference.
So this little subplot amounts to nothing but a distraction.
1. Does Any of This Make Sense?
It’s a movie about a killer AI doll, so I probably shouldn’t think too hard about this… but I can’t help myself.
I don’t know much about electronics, coding, wi-fi, networks, or any of that sort of thing. But does it make sense that M3GAN can basically infiltrate other devices? That she could intercept Gemma’s phone call to Tess and answer in Tess’ voice?
And if it has anything to do with her being plugged into the network, couldn’t they just turn off the wi-fi?
Then there’s her physical strength…
As Cole points out, she’s like four feet tall. I’m not questioning the onset of her homicidal tendencies. But she’s not possessed with supernatural power. How is she so strong? She rips Brandon’s ear clean off his head…
She forces Kurt to stab himself to death, she easily overpowers Gemma…
I don’t buy it.
I might be totally wrong about the capabilities a robot of her size and components would have if conscious, but it took me out of the movie just a bit every time her superhuman strength comes into play.
Tim Matassa
