M3GAN (2022) is directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper. It stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis, Amie Donald, Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Stephane Garneau-Monten, Lori Dungey, Amy Usherwood, Jack Cassidy, and Michael Saccente. After 8-year-old Cady (McGraw) loses her parents in a devastating tragedy, she’s sent to live with her Aunt Gemma (Williams), a skilled robotics engineer who’s entirely unprepared to be a parent. Although unsure about the arrangement, Gemma eventually sees it as an opportunity to test her new AI, a childhood companion named M3GAN (Davis & Donald). This is initially a roaring success, but quickly goes south when M3GAN begins to behave in surprising and, ultimately, violent ways. 

Although Cady is written to be a complete moron (even for someone so young), McGraw injects a certain adorable innocence that keeps the character from being frustrating. Regardless of her age, it’s also easy to see how someone in her situation would be blind to the potential danger. Having someone who cares for you in a truly unconditional way is a tempting prospect for anyone, let alone someone who has just lost their parents. I prefer child characters who are intelligent, because in reality, they’re often a lot smarter than we give them credit for. That being said, Cady ultimately works because we’re able to empathize with her reasons for being so dense, even though it’s still slightly frustrating. 

Other than the titular robot herself (whom I’ll address soon), Allison Williams’ Gemma is one of the reasons this otherwise goofy movie works so well. She brings a certain attitude/sass that sells Gemma’s status as a loner despite her supermodel-level looks. The character is flawed in the sense that she’s a truly clueless and often crappy parent, but it’s always made clear that it’s not her intention. Flaws are easy to forgive when the characters are also aware of them. This hints at an individual who wants to improve, which is a highly likable trait. The only real frustration with the character is that she continuously gives M3GAN an absurd amount of freedom long after it’s clear that something nefarious is happening. Look, it shouldn’t take a knowledgeable robotics expert to figure out that if weird things start happening right after you give autonomy to an untested AI robot, they most likely have something to do with it. I mean, it’s an untested robot! As soon as something goes wrong and there’s even a chance of the AI being involved, it should be shut down immediately. I understand that Gemma doesn’t want to acknowledge her mistakes, but any technology at this level requires numerous trials and errors, and everyone knows that. The film portrays the tech world as a group of people who believe products should be flawless from the start, as if a slightly buggy version of M3GAN wouldn’t still be the most impressive piece of AI in the history of the world. It’s like handing a person a bag of silver and them slapping it away because it’s not gold. 

Obviously, the real star of this film is M3GAN, and rightfully so. There are so many aspects of this character that could’ve felt annoying or overly cartoonish, but they ultimately work because the writers consistently embrace her inherent silliness. Because she’s designed to be an 8-year-old’s best friend, a childlike whimsy informs everything she does, no matter how depraved. This leads to a lot of effective self-aware comedy because the adult characters are as aware of M3GAN’s absurdity as the viewer. The character’s motivation isn’t exactly new for the genre, but it is (in a sense) an admirable one that keeps the character from coming across as irredeemably evil. This, and the fact that she never actually kills anyone who doesn’t somewhat deserve it, makes her a lot more fun, as opposed to scary/intimidating. I would usually knock a horror film for this, but this is clearly a horror-comedy that leans more toward the latter. Whatever it lacks in scare, it more than makes up for in goofy laughs. 

The film is easily 20 minutes too long and features a cookie-cutter Blumhouse story structure. However, this is balanced chiefly by the previously mentioned self-aware, comedic tone. For example, there’s a scene where M3GAN randomly breaks out into song, but it completely works in the context of the scene. You laugh with the moment, not at it, which is generally the thing the movie does exceptionally well.

Overall, this is, by most traditional standards, a bad film. That being said, it’s an intentionally ‘bad’ film designed for the viewer to laugh at its flaws and quirks. However, it doesn’t entirely overcome these flaws; it just makes them more palatable. It’s not some kind of original masterclass in horror-comedy filmmaking, but it is entertaining. M3GAN is the kind of original, exciting character that we rarely see in modern cinema, and that alone is enough to justify seeing the film. Even the special effects used to bring her to life are something to behold. This isn’t high art, but boy is it great entertainment. I just wish the bones of its story were a touch more original. B-