User reviews

Young Cady is given M3GAN, an AI doll, that's very protective.

First off, I felt very old in the cinema, aged 40, where most of the viewers seemed to be teenagers, and I think they're perhaps the target audience.

Definitely not without appeal, it's an interesting, if unoriginal plot, Child's play vibes, and there are a few jumps here and there. M3GAN does have some intriguing moments, but sadly never flips into horror mode, which I felt the trailers pointed to.

The major plus, the visuals, it looks very good indeed, it's nicely shot and well produced, M3GAN's realisation is great, the film peaks towards the end, and the scenes in the forest in particular look very good, and offer the film's most unsettling moments.

On the debit side, it's hard to believe in the actions of some of the characters, a few times, I sat there wanting to shout out 'REALLY,' is that actually what they're going to do, but worse, the film was a little too slow in parts.

I expected it to be somewhat gruesome, it really wasn't, when I came home from the cinema, I read that it had been cut to fit with a younger audience, I can see that.

6/10.

Solid and, at times, actually entertaining. Like other reviewers have mentioned, this strikes me as another version of the 2019 Childs Play; a fun, doesn't-take-itself too-seriously movie. Nonetheless, it added its own spin to the horror/comedy genre with its intentional and unintentional comedy.

I went into M3GAN with little to no expectation given the only marketing material I could remember was the dance scene. I found that the film accomplished the message it set out on. Parents suck at raising children and having no parental figure could be deadly because they will get attached to anything that shows them affection.

As far as the quality of the film, there wasn't really anything surprising or new I could think of. Most of the elements were very predictable from the beginning. That's not always a bad thing because most people like the predictability and knowing where a film is headed.

Overall, not bad for an early January released PG-13 horror movie.

It seems especially in the horror genre nearly everything lately is regurgitated and advertised as something new. Blumhouse does this more than anyone lately and yet still manages to rake in profits from mostly generation z unfamiliar with the old classic horror films that came long before. The glaring similarities and material borrowing comes from basically every Chucky film, though it's presented in a way that's more appetizing to the newer tik tok gen z crowd. Not saying the film isn't still executed solidly or isn't effective. It just feels like such an obvious rewrapping of an old classic.

The film itself has a solid enough story and decently intriguing visuals to keep it interesting. The acting is subpar at times but the shock value makes up for it. The true issues lay in the blatant lack of originality toward the overall product. Slight futuristic advancements in plot points and cgi can only differentiate from the old so much when something feels so familiar.

Hands down the better reboot of Child's Play than Child's Play (2019). Although it's predictable from start to finish, it was at least a better made movie in terms of production design and cinematography.

And yes when you think about it too much, a lot of it doesn't make any sense. Why are all of the adults dumb or willfully ignorant when it comes to implementing AI into their prototype? Why didn't they have the slightest foresight or precautions in store if something goes wrong? Why does a puppet for kids posses the strength of a Terminator? And if said robot is so dangerous, why not disconnect the brain chip entirely from the body when doing any fail safe tests?

But even with all the predictability and the leaps in logic I was still entertained. Maybe because I haven't seen a trailer, the movie had actually some neat visual ideas in store. I liked some of the cinematography, there were some pretty interesting shots in the forest and towards the end. The choreography of the puppet was pretty well done, it is a blend of animatronics, mo-cap and vfx animation, depending on the shot. The movie is a bit tame in terms of showing actual violence. The actual showdown could have been a bit more creative. It felt like the 7th studio re-write to punch up the final confrontation but it felt somehow weak, I expected a bit more shock value. Basically it's like a glorified Black Mirror episode, but without going too dark unfortunately. It's still a solid horror movie for the average moviegoer or as an introduction into horror movies. But I'm afraid horror fans might be a bit disappointed by the lack of commitment the movie has towards the genre.

You have a niece who's lost her parents comes to stay, this distraction starts to disrupt your work day, so you revisit a work project, you'd been trying to keep secret, you call it M3gan, it's all just child's play. It's not long before machine and niece connect, takes the role of parenting without neglect, keeps a watch on its young guard, any threat, it will discard, with a mission to defend, secure, protect. Before too long you have concerns as the creator, your brainchild has become, a calculator, a consciousness that learns, considers all the twists and turns, perhaps it's time to pull the plug, and terminate her.

A variation on several themes you've encountered many times before but entertaining nonetheless and thought provoking as well.

Most movies seem to either be underwhelming or just fine. Once in a great while, they over-deliver and exceed your expectations. But possibly the rarest result is when you are excited to see a movie and you get exactly what you'd hoped for. For me, M3GAN was a blast of entertainment, a perfect concoction of a well-paced story that is just there for you to have fun with. Okay, if I'm honest, it did have some moments that elevated my enjoyment even a little more than I'd hoped--they went to a few places I could not have expected. That doesn't mean that the story wasn't predictable; it was pretty clear where this was going the whole time. But it was still fun and memorable, and I expect that if I ever happen to walk into a room where someone has this movie on, I will sit and watch with them to the end. I enjoyed it.

M3gan (M3gan), is a horror and science fiction film about a robot with artificial intelligence, a robotics engineer named Gemma who specializes in robotic toys, builds what promises to be the most innovative toy that will put the company ahead where she works, M3gan is a lifelike doll programmed to be a child's best companion and parent's best ally with all the technological advances she has, but doing so will have unimaginable consequences.

The tape begins with a commercial for toys that look like furby and fonzo from the simpsons, this toy is the most coveted of children so far, then we go to a family driving in the middle of a snow storm who have an accident, they are relatives of Gemma, consequently Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker for her 8-year-old niece, Cady, Gemma has intense pressure at work, so she decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to solve both problems, she will be your new best friend, for better or worse.

It is interesting how they present us with the scoop of their history, we are increasingly relying on technology, parents leave the education of their children to technological means since they prioritize their activities, as is the case of Gemma who has intense pressure on the work, on the tape M3gan listens, watches and learns as she becomes a friend, teacher, playmate and protector, to Cady the girl she's bonded to and we're not too far from M3gan even existing, which is unsettling.

Here we have a combination of concepts such as Terminator and Chucky and it is inevitable to think about those tapes, M3gan was asked to take care of Cady physically and emotionally, but how far will he go so that no one ever hurts Cady? On the other hand, the The story is predictable almost from the beginning, when Gemma shows Cady one of her university projects we will practically know how the movie will end, we also have time jumps that are taken for granted, without saying if days, weeks or months have passed.

In short, M3gan is the new chucky for centennials, with recycled concepts for the new generations, visually I must say that they did a very good job, with the puppets and the doubles of M3gan, I think it manages to be an entertaining movie that would even be enjoyed to see more in home, they also leave an ending that can lead to a second movie or why not, a new franchise of horror dolls.

Rating: 7.5.

Fine, it's a moderately entertaining deadly doll movie but... seriously, it's been a bit overpraised. This is paint by numbers storytelling. A beat by beat remake of every "deadly friend" tale. Also, while I generally find her appealing, Allison Williams looks like she's about to crack up half the time. It's also a little soft on the true horror/scares front. Id actually love to see an R rated sequel that goes as hard as "Child's Play" or "Annabelle." Anyway, it makes me sad to think that there are strong movies out right now ("Babylon," "The Whale") that audiences are ignoring in favor of this January junk.

A brilliant toy company roboticist uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN, a life-like doll programmed to emotionally bond with her newly orphaned niece. But when the doll's programming works too well, she becomes overprotective of her new friend with terrifying results.

This felt super cool and fresh. It carried the comedy without feeling too funny. It had the horror and the spookiness without making it too gory and disturbing for some watchers. This will probably be one of my fav thrillers of the year! Blumhouse did a amazing job making this movie scary but not scary enough for a R rating. It landed a PG-13 Rating. Overall super exciting and I totally would recommend this film!

"M3GAN" is a crowd pleaser - after seeing this in a packed auditorium (complete with young kids sneaking in and sitting in the empty seats that I bought exclusively so people would not sit next to me), the roll of the credits marked the sound of uproarious applause by the entire theatre. And to be quite honest, that was the last thing I expected when walking into a film about a killer doll; but who am I to judge the taste of today's viewing audience? That said, even after experiencing the sheer joy of an over 100 person standing ovation - for me - "M3GAN" fell short.

There is something novel about watching M3GAN (the character) interact with the world around her; from her surprisingly empathetic approach toward helping a young child overcome the loss of her parents to the way that she adapts to her environment to always say the right thing, do the right thing, and act in the most appropriate manner, is endlessly entertaining. Voiced by Jenna Davis, M3GAN is also a joy to listen to, and not just when she's talking. From "Titanium" to Sia, M3GAN randomly - and hilariously - covers the decades most beloved pop songs; even when she's not singing, though, Jenna adds an extremely expressive voice to her character, one that cuts through the creepy, uncanny-valley-esque face that M3GAN has, allowing the audience to truly begin to like and connect with the doll... at least before it begins to murder people.

Alas, though M3GAN at first seems like every child's dream toy, it slowly but surely begins its descent into calamity once it gets a taste for violence; so bloodthirsty is the doll, in fact, that not even dogs are safe from its wrath. Utilizing an impressive range of weapons from paper cutter guillotines to pressure washer devices, the toy expresses its desire for revenge in a multitude of ways - after all, variety is the spice of life. And since you're most likely coming into this movie to watch this adorable AI invention kill people, you'll certainly find some entertainment value in that regard. More brutal than I expected for a PG-13 film, the movie does have some mildly grotesque imagery here and there that certainly enhances the effect of the violence. However, the movie does remain light and humorous in tone throughout its running time, which I did like.

A dark comedy through and through, "M3GAN" is sure to instill dread in its audience while simultaneously making them cackle in laughter. There's something ominous about watching M3GAN slowly make her way down a claustrophobic, dimly lit hallway, but there's also something ridiculous about watching her dance in that same hallway before beginning her rampage. Similarly, it's disturbing to watch M3GAN stalk and hunt her victims, but it's comedic to watch her sing pop songs after the killing is through. Perfectly balancing both horror and comedy, "M3GAN" is sure to find multiple ways to entertain its audience.

Positives aside, I do feel as if this movie is lacking; more specifically, I feel as if it should've had one or two more surprises up its sleeve, as I found this movie to be completely predictable from beginning to end - the trailer does no favors in this regard, as it shows way too much, leaving very little to viewer imagination. Additionally, I thought that the movie teased multiple exciting set pieces or sequences that never really went anywhere. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that the movie forgoes its seemingly promised bombastic conclusion for something more decidedly small in scale.

That said, I do think that "M3GAN" is a fun film. It's nothing groundbreaking, but I do think that most viewers will find a lot to enjoy here. My recommendation: Go into this slightly intoxicated and without thinking too hard about what you're about to see; watching "M3GAN" this way is sure to enhance your viewing experience and allow you to bask in this throwback, campy horror film.

If you are not paying close attention to the script you are missing out. There have been dozens of films about wayward AI, and no doubt there will be dozens more. But writers Cooper and Wan have somehow put together all the key tropes in a way which builds momentum over the course of the story, instead of repeatedly gut-punching the viewer, as in most other versions of this tale. So many things are slightly off-kilter here (compared to similar stories) that the movie, like the doll, starts to develop a life of its own. For example, the main character played by Alison Williams is completely unappealing. When Megan squares off against Williams, which happens a lot, you will find yourself rooting for the doll. Seriously. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167 Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

First hype of 2023 is this horror flick coming from the hands of writer Wan. You know, the guy from Saw and The Conjuring amongst others. So I expected a lot from this flick.

Sorry to say but for me it wasn't what I expected. It was low on horror and it became more of a thriller. And the reason is simple, it used to be a R-rated flick but while editing this flick they agreed to make it a PG-13 flick, so low on horror and the red stuff.

It's not a bad flick, it's what we can expect from the future but even as it is entertaining and the story is okay for me personally it failed to be called a horror.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5.

Robotic genius Gemma and her niece Cady are thrown together after a tragedy. Gemma is the typical genius who has no idea how to parent. Or grieve. Her work on AI is her passion and the sole focus of her life. So much so, she uses her lack of maternal abilities to maximise her computer skills to create a "friend" for Cady. Typically, things go very wrong and in the end it brings aunt and niece closer. What is fascinating is M3GAN. It's not creepy to watch her. In fact, it's fascinating to see her development, as well, in the family dynamic. The movie is pretty tame as far as horror goes, and the plot is pretty typical. What is missing is why M3GAN turns out like she does and with a main subject so sophisticated it should be expected for this to be explained. They probably spent all their money on the tech effects of M3GAN, which was cool and the reason I even wanted to see this movie. Interestingly, the theatre audience was predominately young teenage girls. No doubt a dream of theirs to have a friend to wreak vengeance on their enemies and stand up to their parents for them. If I were a parent, I wouldn't let mine go to this movie so they wouldn't get any ideas. Just saying.

Gemma (Allison Williams) becomes the guardian of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) after the death of her sister. She is not a kids person and has trouble connecting with Cady. She is a toy designer trying to build smart robot M3GAN.

This is Blumhouse doing their promotional best. As for the movie, it's surprisingly good. I wouldn't say that it's great horror. There are a few scares, but mostly I find it funny. It's a campy horror and everybody can have some fun with it including the actors. M3GAN is creepy, but so are all the toys. They are definitely steering into the Furby-quality of it all. I'm quite glad that a few characters take a step back when they first meet M3GAN. The premise has some small holes, but I'm willing to live with them. It's a silly horror that I enjoy laughing at.

M3GAN is the perfect friend, an android designed to play, to listen to children but also to lighten the parents' burden in terms of their education: she doesn't get tired, she doesn't eat, she doesn't sleep... she's perfect, listening, constantly learning and is ready to do anything, to make her "primary user" happy, even if it means committing horrible actions without questioning her choices. This proves the expression that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", which applies here to M3GAN.

The film is well constructed, somewhat reminiscent of the "Chucky" doll and shows an alternative future where advances in technology could indeed lead to this kind of "robot toy", which contrary to its main purpose, would seek to break away from the grip of its human creator and become independent.

I loved the humor of M3GAN, the film deals with both serious, fictional subjects while adding a touch of macabre: sordid !

Great !

It's a Mixed Bag

Let's get the Negatives out of the Way First -

1. There is a Much Better Movie in here, on one hand you have this Somewhat Fun Campy, Comedy Movie which is what this is. On the other Hand, this could of been an ACTUALLY SCARY, blood-letting Doll called M3gan going around Town and Tearing the Place apart with Kills.

2. It Had the Potential to be Scary but it isn't at all.

3. The Tone is all over the Place, it's a Comedy at times and is Ridiculous. I don't like Tonal Issues in Movies.

4. The Rating made the Film pull punches at every turn, the kills, the Blood, the Tone, everything is Watered Down.

Now to the Good -

1. With all that said, I actually laughed out loud multiple times In certain Scenes (Titanium Anyone? The Whole Cinema Laughed at that😂). And there are other scenes that will make you either Laugh or be Absolutely Pissed Off and Angry at how Ridiculous this movie is 🤣

2. Pretty Much, if you realise that this Movie is For the Most part a Big Joke and NOT A SCARY HORROR MOVIE, you might have Fun with this one.

Overall, it's not scary, its not a horror, it's more like a comedy and it is Funny at times but I do understand that Cheap Laughs Vs What this movie Could of and Should of been Weigh it Down Heavily.

But who knows? This first M3GAN installment could be the Start of something much better down the line.

I didn't vibe with M3gan's trailer when I first saw it. Killer artificial intelligence has been done time and time again plus adding the killer doll tropes just made it seem all the more cliche. But then the reviews came out, with critics heralding M3gan as a "campy masterpiece" and "hilarious" which admittedly piqued my interest. Having now seen M3gan, it's a comedy first but there's enough horror here to still qualify it for the genre. There are moments where M3gan is running down a prospective victim or doling out her varied forms of punishment that had me shuddering in my seat. Most of it is happening off screen but I was pleasantly surprised by how far the movie pushed the envelope, even if it was only implied. So while I can't call M3gan horrific or even scary, there's sufficient creepy material to qualify it for the genre still.

Even though M3gan is kind of sporting the horror genre as a mask, I was mostly impressed with what the movie decided to focus its efforts on. Starting with the characters, I was surprised at how rough and awkward they made Gemma's character. This was actually a plus for me, it setup her reasons for pushing M3gan further even when it wasn't prudent to do so. She doesn't have paternal instincts and continues to be largely selfish so why not create something to do it for her? (this is obviously problematic thinking but more on that later). It also made her eventual connection with Cady more improbable yet believable. The film also points out the unhealthy nature of Cady's attachment to M3gan several times in a clinical fashion. It establishes the stakes of how Gemma's choices have put Cady's mental health in jeopardy and possibly caused long-term damage to her. I also appreciated Gemma's team (Cole and Tess) calling her out for her continued disregard of Cady in favour of her work. Surprisingly, M3gan also had a few moments when she's trying to convince people to see things "her" way that she was surprisingly persuasive. Those moments helped me see her as more than just a mindless murdering machine. The only character that they missed the mark with is Gemma's boss David who is just too cartoonish to buy as an actual person. This decision seems to have been made to help make the corporate climate in the movie feel more ridiculous but they could have turned it down a notch without harming the overall tone. I wouldn't call it exemplary or superior character building but there's enough work put in to build tension and get you to care about the characters even if it's in a passive way.

M3gan only centres around a few characters so there isn't a huge cast to talk about. Allison Williams capably anchors the movie as Gemma. I haven't seen her in much since Get Out but her work in that was no fluke. She sells the unlikeable Gemma and then when she learns the error of her ways, she does a decent job of managing the turn. Violet McGraw does a good job as the largely meek and gentle Cady. Her scenes where she flips out are startling and not as believable but she still grades out well overall. Ronny Chieng is a little over-the-top as David but I have to assume he was being directed that way, even if not I still appreciate that he went for it as opposed to just slouching through it. Lori Dungey was also good, her character starts out as unassuming but becomes nastier as the proceedings keep moving. She kept it light enough to keep you from getting distracted but dark enough that you only felt so bad for her.

I've talked about almost all of the other larger components of M3gan, the biggest and most notable takeaway is that if you've got a darker sense of humour, M3gan is pretty funny throughout. From minute one, M3gan let's you know what's up. The original Funki toys are so off-putting that they can't be taken sincerely and their functions are so comedic that the movie is making poop jokes with them. As much as I want to credit the design work and acting required to bring M3gan to life, she's so far in the uncanny valley that she must be a permanent resident. The thought that anyone would buy her for their child is laughable. If you saw her in real life, you would shriek and run the other way instead of trusting her to care for your kids. To the movie's credit, this is clearly done intentionally and the creative team is winking at the audience. The scene where M3gan starts dancing to distract her prey is so creepily comedic that I was openly laughing at the thought that anyone would take it seriously. M3gan isn't as uproarious as the Happy Death Day series but they hit the right balance to make a good campy comedy.

My advice with M3gan is to not take it too earnestly and go in ready to acknowledge how ridiculous it is. You're clearly supposed to be laughing with it and I did continuously. The critical praise has been a little hyperbolic but it's more difficult to achieve the correct mixture for something like this to work. I would happily recommend M3gan to horror enthusiasts looking for something that plays with the formula for comedic effect. I would grade it as a 7.5/10 rounding up in this case to an 8/10. A sequel has already been announced and I'm looking forward to checking it out when it's released.

There has been so much advance interest in this movie, with the trailer and the snippets posted online. I was afraid finally seeing it would be a disappointment. But it wasn't at all, My wife and I were thoroughly entertained, at home streaming on the Peacock channel. Then I watched it twice more during the following week, knowing the entire story arc, I found it to be an even better movie. When you really pay attention you realize how well-conceived the whole story is.

Then, a month later I watched it yet again, this time on BluRay from my public library. What a step up! The picture and especially the sound take it to another level. Plus the extras show how they used puppets, animatronics, and a real actress seamlessly combined to portray M3GAN.

This is a slight futuristic story, a tech company is working with AI to make toys that can speak and react. The next step before a truly sentient robot. But one scientist (Allison Williams) is a step ahead and her ultimate motivation is when her young 9-yr-old niece Cady loses her parents in a winter road accident. She is depressed and could use an ideal companion.

So M3GAN is created. She is "paired" with the young girl with the duty to be her companion and not let anything bad happen to her. But no one is prepared for how well her learning abilities work or how advanced she will become so quickly. In the process of "protecting" Cady she adopts tactics her creator would not have imagined and a series of really bad things happen.

This is fiction, of course, and wicked fiction. There is a bit too much, unnecessary foul language here and there. And the actor who plays David, the head of the company, isn't very good. And Allison Williams often drops into this gravelly, "vocal fry" voice, especially ending sentences, that is very annoying. But overall I really enjoyed it as a wicked and entertaining movie of a robot learning rapidly and going rogue. Maybe this is a realistic warning of future AI out of control.

The two young girls, one who plays Cady the other who plays M3GAN with the prosthetic face, are both excellent.

I thought this was a decent take of a tried and tested horror sub genre. The modernness of it worked well and using this current AI zeitgeist really added to the suspense of it all.

There were a few negatives, the plot: although it had a lot of positives, as it's been a plot used for years, you knew where it was heading early doors and the story never really deviates from that. The characters could have been done better. I thought the main 2 were pretty unlikeable and it kind of skimmed through any sort of depth that they had.

But all in all it's still an exciting and entertaining watch. It jumped into things pretty quickly and it kept the suspense throughout really well. I will say that this isn't a jump scare kind of horror, but a more suspense/intense story and I found that it pulled it off really well. The M3GAN robot was really well put together and the camera shots and robot movement added to create this fantastic "villain".

It's definitely worth a quick watch (only hour and a half) if you like horror films. I personally would have enjoyed a bit more gore, but that's a personal view of mine!