A bigger, better killer robot in ‘Megan 2.0’
2022’s “Megan” (stylized as “M3gan”) was a surprise smash, earning $181 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. While it was expected to be good, and scary, what with the involvement of cowriter/producer James Wan (“The Conjuring,” “Saw”) and director Gerard Johnstone (“Housebound”), it was surprisingly effective at launching a new horror icon in the titular killer robot: It was a favorite at Halloween, and clips of her dancing and her cover of Katy Perry’s “Firework” went viral.
The movie also provided Allison Williams with another great role post-”Girls.” With this and a standout turn in “Get Out,” maybe horror is her new lane.
“Megan 2.0” is a terrific evolution. Bigger and bolder, it triples down on the darkly ironic humor, and slides sideways into a different genre, moving from suspense thriller to techno action. In an interesting turn, returning director Gerard Johnstone is now sole scriptwriter, and he has a ball, injecting timely themes and heaping helpings of jokes.
A few years after the events of the prior film, Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) are trying to make a go of it with their new lives. Cady’s having some trouble making friends at school and is into robotics like her aunt, though is heavily regulated when it comes to gadget/screen time. Gemma has her own company, and they’re working on an exosuit while she also campaigns for more artificial intelligence (AI) regulation with a foundation led by potential paramour Christian (played by “Saturday Night Live”’s Aristotle Athari).
Unbeknownst to them, the original plans and schematics for Megan were sold to the Department of Defense, who sought to weaponize it. But things have gone awry, as the new robot, named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno, “Ahsoka”), has disobeyed her programming and gone rogue, killing people related to her creation. The FBI comes to Gemma, full of suspicions, but also warning her that she is likely on the list of targets. With seemingly no recourse, Gemma has to turn to the original Megan (voiced by Jenna Davis) for help if she wants to survive.
Punchy pace
If you strip down that plot, you would be forgiven for mistaking it for the classic sequel “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” but there are enough differences (and more jokes) that it wouldn’t come close to being accused of imitation. Even with similar and timely themes of the dangers of unchecked AI, an overreliance on technology, and the greed of capitalist technocrats, things are generally kept light and breezy, a punchy pace leavened with witty quips and asides.
It’s thoroughly entertaining how bonkers “Megan 2.0” can get. At one point, the killer robot, on a mission to confront a different killer robot, has to don a wingsuit to infiltrate a secret underground lair. Megan gets to dance the “robot.” Amelia dons a suit that is an homage to both Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” and the paintings of Hajime Sorayama.
With a game cast, the material never gets cartoonish. It’s the best kind of sequel, featuring organic growth and development without repeating the original while also taking risks that, thankfully, pay off in spades.
