M3GAN (2023)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, January 05

PG-13 Running Time: 102 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Check your ego at the door and let it wash over you. M3GAN is a blast.

  • Absolutely a crowd-pleaser in the best way. See it with an audience or see it with friends. You won’t be disappointed.

  • Prepare for M3GAN to become a cultural phenomenon.

NO

  • Of course, the movie struggles with logic and you can pick holes in a whole lot of it. But when you are this entertained, why?

  • Though it pushes the boundaries for a PG-13 movie, if you are expecting M3GAN to be a horror movie, like in the traditional sense, you are going to be greatly disappointed.

  • The movie is so over-the-top and campy that those who aren’t down for that form of escapism, will grow weary of this fairly quickly.


OUR REVIEW

At times, movies can overdeliver, defy expectations, and leave us with our jaws on the floor. And then along comes M3GAN, a movie so outta pocket, so wild and over-the-top, you may be willed into the theater only to find yourself stumbling into one of your newest favorite movies.

Rare is it that we receive a great January movie, much less a horror one. And while M3GAN is not completely a horror movie - more a hybrid of comedy, suspense and science fiction, with elements of horror infused into its impressively coded DNA - this four-foot-tall, silicon-skinned, smart doll gives us one of the best starts to a movie year in recent memory. 

M3GAN, which stands for Model 3 Generative Android, is something of a secret project developed by toy designer Gemma (Allison Williams), who works at a Northwest tech company that designs the wildly popular PurRpetual Pet toys. Groundbreaking and innovative, these Furby-style creatures talk, eat, pass gas, and are as obnoxious to parents as they are endearing to young kids.

Gemma’s niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), adores her PurRpetual, recently gifted by her aunt. However, on a fateful road trip, she becomes orphaned and suddenly lands in the custody of Gemma, who quickly becomes the legal guardian to the brokenhearted 8-year-old. 

For a while, director Gerard Johnstone lives in the sorrow of the family dynamic. Gemma is not ready to be a motherly figure to Cady, who really, really needs some support. A custodial ad litem is appointed to do site visits and observe Cady and Gemma’s interactions. Gemma is also trying to placate an erratic boss (Ronny Chieng), yet remains consumed with the clandestine robot she and her colleagues have been working on. And that’s where we finally meet M3GAN, the groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind, quasi-sentient doll with coding that allows for continual self-improvement.

That type of self-improvement means memorizing literally everything about everything and adapting to situations in real time. M3GAN is fully aware and able to engage in lucid conversation and make decisions and respond like a human being might do. “M3GAN turn off” sounds like a nice voice feature, but what if the doll learns how to override it? Or pretends to turn off while secretly remaining on and aware of its surroundings. What if she picks up slang? Learns how to protect a child at all costs? Understands the finality of death. And so on and so on.

With any depth of thought, you can pick holes pretty easily in M3GAN. This pseudo-Frankenstein story has some things it tries to say about technology and its invasiveness on today’s youth. Cady has strict screen time rules she follows, but is constantly obsessed with her toy. Gemma is lectured multiple times about M3GAN’s increased protective instincts and Cady’s reliance on M3GAN to always be at her side.

Is the movie profound? Nah. This is surface-level commentary. Does it love throwing these ideas around and then just doubling down on entertaining its audience? Absolutely it does.

I have no idea just how much of M3GAN consists of CGI or practical makeup and effects. This creation, which quickly pairs with Cady by a touch of the girl’s fingers to M3GAN’s smart palm, is a marvel. Embodied by actor Amie Donald and voiced by the terrific Jenna Davis, this character is simply captivating. Johnstone’s sense of pacing is terrific but Akela Cooper’s screenplay, with story collaboration by horror maven James Wan, delivers cheesy dialogue, funny banter, and a wicked gamesmanship in pushing PG-13 boundaries to the test with scenes of violence and suspense.

Davis absolutely steals the show; her ability to nail a one-liner or shift her female-tinged, electro-robotic voice ever so slightly from friendly to sinister, or break into song in the most random of moments, is rather awesome.

My kids, now 23 and 16, were quoting lines the entire way home. They were talking about their favorite moments: the sunglass removal, the hallway dance, the unflushed toilet, the shoe, Sia’s “Titanium,” and an in-depth comprehensive explanation of condensation. 

None of that makes sense right now, and that’s alright. Much of what Johnstone creates here is a crowd-pleaser of the highest order. M3GAN will absolutely hold up for a great number of rewatches and future movie nights.

An instant cult classic is born.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Jen Van Epps, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Ronny Chieng, Lori Dungey, Jack Cassidy, Stephane Garneau-Monten, Arlo Green, Millen Baird

Director: Gerard Johnstone
Written by: Akela Cooper (screenplay); Akela Cooper, James Wan (story)
Release Date: January 6, 2023
Universal Pictures