Skip to main content Tom's Guide Tom's Guide Search Tom's Guide View Profile Newsletters Best Picks Entertainment Prime Day Deals Switch 2 Restock Galaxy Z Fold 7 Wordle Today Best Mattress Best laptops Recommended reading Netflix’s new ‘Fear Street’ movie is like a dollar store version of that one ‘Stranger Things’ episode — but at least it’s nostalgic 5 best horror movie sequels to stream before seeing ‘28 Years Later’ and ‘Megan 2.0’ in theaters I loved ‘A Simple Favor’ — but ‘Another Simple Favor’ left me mostly disappointed One of my favorite horror movies just landed on Netflix — and it’s already crashed the top 10 2025's most romantic horror movie just crashed the Netflix top 10 — and it’s a frontrunner for my favorite film of the year Prime Video I went into this sci-fi thriller movie on Prime Video with low expectations — and it ended up being surprisingly gripping '28 Years Later' review: A brilliant new entry that infects the franchise with fresh terror and rage Entertainment ‘M3GAN 2.0’ takes the killer robot doll in a ridiculous new direction — and it mostly works 27 June 2025 I never expected ‘M3GAN 2.0’ to turn into a superhero movie When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Universal Pictures) The original “M3GAN” succeeded in part thanks to its simple, straightforward premise: Robot doll turns murderous. There’s nothing simple or straightforward about the new sequel “M3GAN 2.0” (in theaters Friday), which is both a strength and a liability for writer-director Gerard Johnstone’s film. It’s impossible to say that “M3GAN 2.0” is just a repeat of its predecessor, which is a trap that too many horror sequels fall into. But by shifting so sharply away from small-scale horror into what is essentially a superhero action movie, “M3GAN 2.0” loses a bit of what made the first film so appealing. Still, I’ll take an ambitious mess over a boring retread, and even at its messiest, “M3GAN 2.0” is lively and fun, full of the same snarky humor and gleeful nastiness as the original. You may like Netflix’s new ‘Fear Street’ movie is like a dollar store version of that one ‘Stranger Things’ episode — but at least it’s nostalgic 5 best horror movie sequels to stream before seeing ‘28 Years Later’ and ‘Megan 2.0’ in theaters I loved ‘A Simple Favor’ — but ‘Another Simple Favor’ left me mostly disappointed The first movie rose to popularity on a wave of memes, and there are times when “M3GAN 2.0” is clearly trying to engineer new meme-able moments. It’s tough to recapture that same kind of viral attention, but even if “M3GAN 2.0” doesn’t equal the first movie’s quotable charms, it has plenty of memorably outrageous bits. ‘M3GAN 2.0’ turns M3GAN into a reluctant anti-hero The biggest change between the “M3GAN” movies is that M3GAN herself is now more or less on the side of the good guys. Originally designed as an android companion for young orphan Cady (Violet McGraw), M3GAN (played onscreen by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis) went rogue in the first movie, taking her mandate of protecting Cady way too far by murdering anyone she perceived as detrimental to the child’s happiness. M3GAN 2.0 | Final Trailer - YouTube There’s now a much more dangerous threat in the form of Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno), a military-grade android who’s disobeyed her programming and seems intent on staging a robot uprising. Of course, M3GAN wasn’t actually destroyed at the end of the first movie, and her electronic consciousness lives on, keeping tabs on Cady and Gemma (Allison Williams), Cady’s engineer aunt and M3GAN’s designer. When government agents break into Gemma and Cady’s house demanding information about Amelia, who was built using M3GAN’s initial designs, M3GAN reveals herself and offers to help track down her megalomaniacal counterpart. The most obvious touchstone for this transition is James Cameron’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” which refashioned Arnold Schwarzenegger’s killer cyborg into an ally for potential human savior John Connor (Edward Furlong) and his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton). M3GAN even ends up with an inhibitor that prevents her from killing humans, just like the order that John gives to the T-800 in “Terminator 2.” (Image credit: Universal Pictures) But there’s also a long history of superhero stories about wary team-ups between heroes and villains in order to take on bigger enemies, putting M3GAN alongside characters like Magneto and Loki. Like those characters, she retains her devious edge even as she agrees to a truce with Gemma and semi-apologizes for her past behavior. In that way, “M3GAN 2.0” gets to revel in M3GAN’s violent actions and snarky asides while making her into a more palatable — and even nuanced — protagonist. The overstuffed plot weighs ‘M3GAN 2.0’ down It takes nearly an hour of the overlong two-hour movie before M3GAN is once again fully functional, though. There’s way too much set-up to get to that point, involving Gemma’s new role as an activist for responsible technology, working with her smarmy boyfriend Christian (Aristotle Athari), plus Gemma’s tech start-up with returning colleagues Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps). Jemaine Clement has an amusing supporting role as a grandiose tech mogul who wants Gemma to work with him, but he mostly serves as a red herring, disappearing from the movie far too early. By the time M3GAN convinces Gemma to build her a new, stronger, taller body, the world is already on the verge of an AI apocalypse, and “M3GAN 2.0” has practically turned into a “Mission: Impossible” movie. (Image credit: Alamy) There are multiple sub-missions within the main mission, leading to lengthy villain monologues and somewhat obvious plot twists. There are also some well-staged action sequences, including a battle between M3GAN and Amelia at a tech conference in a neon-lit corridor that looks like something out of “Tron.” There’s some genuine character development for Gemma, Cady and M3GAN, with strong performances (including Donald and Davis working well in tandem). It gets excessive and tiresome after a while, especially in the drawn-out climax involving multiple reversals. ‘M3GAN 2.0’ goes from horror movie to action franchise “M3GAN 2.0” doesn’t resemble a horror movie at all, but it’s not like the original “M3GAN” was all that scary. By expanding the character’s world, Johnstone and co-writer Akela Cooper set the stage for future installments, making M3GAN into a high-profile vigilante who could take on any future nemesis. The message about technology and AI is hopelessly muddled by the end, but the message about M3GAN herself remains clear: She’s fierce and formidable, and she isn’t going anywhere. “M3GAN 2.0” opens June 27 in theaters. More from Tom's Guide The best ‘Predator’ movie since the original is now streaming on Tubi for free Prime Video’s new psychological thriller just dropped — and it’s a tense watch 5 best action thriller movies to stream after 'Ad Vitam' Streaming service deals not to miss Disney+ Annual Premium Get first month fr... Hulu - Monthly (with Ads) Peacock Premium Paramount Plus Essential - Monthly We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He's the former film editor of Las Vegas Weekly and has written about movies and TV for Vulture, Inverse, CBR, Crooked Marquee and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Netflix’s new ‘Fear Street’ movie is like a dollar store version of that one ‘Stranger Things’ episode — but at least it’s nostalgic 5 best horror movie sequels to stream before seeing ‘28 Years Later’ and ‘Megan 2.0’ in theaters I loved ‘A Simple Favor’ — but ‘Another Simple Favor’ left me mostly disappointed One of my favorite horror movies just landed on Netflix — and it’s already crashed the top 10 2025's most romantic horror movie just crashed the Netflix top 10 — and it’s a frontrunner for my favorite film of the year I went into this sci-fi thriller movie on Prime Video with low expectations — and it ended up being surprisingly gripping Latest in Streaming Prime Video just revealed several generative AI features — including one I don't like How to watch MotoGP 2025 live online — stream every race this season Prime Video is losing an intense psychological thriller movie that’ll twist your mind — but it’s now streaming on Netflix instead New on HBO Max in July 2025 — all the new shows and movies to watch Netflix is losing this powerful film with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams — stream it before it's too late 'Emily in Paris' season 5 cast news confirmed by creator: Who's in and who's out? Latest in Opinion Want a finger massage? You can get one for over $30 off right now with this Bob & Brad massager I've been testing for weeks The Sonos Ace have one of my favorite wireless features — and it's not the ANC Just add speakers: I tested this amazing-looking streaming amplifier, and its filled with futuristic features to make your music sound epic Panasonic’s 2025 TVs are getting one of the neatest new features — LG and Samsung should copy it Forget Galaxy Fold Ultra — here's what Samsung needs to reveal at Unpacked I test gaming laptops for a living — here are 3 I recommend and would buy with my own money LATEST ARTICLES iOS 26 has 5 killer upgrades I can't wait to use — but only these iPhones will get them LG Display starts mass production of world’s brightest and fastest OLED gaming panels 2025 hiker’s gear guide — 9 pieces of outdoor gear I can’t live without Score! The excellent Surface Pro Copilot+ 2-in-1 just got a huge price cut at Best Buy Trump Phone no longer claims to be made in the USA — but it does have an 'America proud design' Tom's Guide is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Terms and conditions Contact Future's experts Privacy policy Cookies policy Accessibility Statement Advertise with us Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Please login or signup to comment Please wait...