M3gan

 Reviews From the Dark Side

M3gan

Released 1/6/23

My first anticipated film of 2023 starts early with the release of sci-fi horror/thriller, M3gan.  Based on a screenplay by horror guru extraordinaire, James Wan, M3gan is my hope for the continuation of another stellar year in the genre.  That's a tall order considering 2022 was one of the genre's better years in recent memory.  

M3gan (Model 3 Generation Android) is the story of an orphaned nine-year-old girl, Cady, who is taken in by her roboticist aunt, Gemma.  More comfortable with the development of her team's scientific creations for the toy company she works for than tending to the emotions of a distraught pre-teen, Gemma ramps up the development of her team's latest project, M3gan, the greatest interactive toy ever created.  As a sophisticated android capable of processing life information while activated, Gemma "pairs" M3gan and her niece and, before long, the two become inseparable.  Cady is happy and all is well with the world.  End of story.  Ahhh, but this is a horror movie mind you.  So, you know it's not that simple, right?  As the two become closer and Gemma's company is about to reveal this advanced toy to the world, what happens when M3gan takes her prime directive of protecting Cady emotionally and physically to another level?  And trust that M3gan takes her job very, very seriously.

Ultimately, M3gan is a film that makes a strong commentary about human dependence on technology.  We take Gemma, a well-meaning aunt who wants to provide a stable environment for her orphaned niece but finds that she's ill-equipped to do so emotionally.  She's not evil or emotionally stunted like say, a Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory if you've ever seen that show.  But it's very obvious she's a young woman who is much more comfortable with science than she is with human interaction.  She creates M3gan as almost a self-defense strategy because she doesn't know what else to do.  And, once created, M3gan becomes a surrogate nanny for Gemma to somewhat resume her life prior to Cady.  Ironically enough, it's another one of Gemma's robotic creations that initially starts the bonding process between Gemma and her niece.

For Cady's part, we're told from the beginning she's a child obsessed with tech.  She can't put down an interactive "pet" her aunt's toy company developed.  We see her parents are a bit troubled by her dependence on it just before their deaths.  Because she's unable to bond substantially with her aunt, she becomes much more susceptible to M3gan's "charms."  So dependent that she becomes violent if separated too long from her.  Technology is almost like a drug for this little girl.  

Even though the film has an underlying message, that doesn't mean M3gan isn't a ton of fun in a campy, creepy way.  M3gan's transition from child companion to murder bot is equally hilarious and chilling.  You can see the "Uh-oh" moments coming but you don't care because you're having a blast between laughing and pondering "What the hell did I just see?"  The "M3gan Dance" is a perfect example.  If you've seen the trailers, you know exactly what I mean.  

Tonally M3gan is a little all over the place.  It's family drama.  It's comedy.  It's horror.  It's social commentary.  Normally having your fingers in these many pies can be a narrative mess.  But all of these elements have been masterfully constructed to maybe not fit together seamlessly, but entertainingly.

But since we are dealing with horror as the primary source material, the question is whether or not M3gan is scary.  It's creepy.  That's undeniable.  The concept of AI run amok is frightening.  But I can't say I was truly scared by M3gan.  However, all the elements of the movie were glued together so well, the fun I had with it overrode the lack of true scares there were.  I understand the director did reshoots just before the release to backtrack an original R rating to a PG-13.  I would be very interested to see what was actually cut out of it.  What I did see onscreen was a very satisfying banger of a movie to start the new year.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

**** stars

0*= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!

1 *= Fuggedaboutit!

2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special

3 *= Worth a look.  Better than a poke in the eye.

4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!

5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good