“M3GAN 2.0” tries to surpass its predecessor, but its upgrade is a bit less fun to my little dissatisfaction. While its titular character gives us some naughty entertainment as expected, the movie is no more than a conventional genre variation which will remind you of many other genre flicks including “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991), and we are mildly amused by its occasionally preposterous aspects.

Two years after what happened due to her AI doll called “M3GAN” (Model 3 Generative Android), Gemma (Allison Williams) and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) have been trying to move on with their life, though their relationship remains rather strained as before. While Gemma is busy as often working on her campaign on the ethical usage of AI with her cybersecurity expert boyfriend, Cady is about to enter adolescence, and she is certainly not so happy about how her aunt often still treats her like a child.

Anyway, there soon comes a big threat against Gemma. The US government recently developed an AI android not so far from that AI doll in the previous film, but this AI robot, called “AMELIA” (Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics & Infiltration Android), suddenly goes rogue in the middle of its first field operation, and now it is targeting Gemma for some reason besides threatening not only US but also the whole world.

As Gemma tries to handle this serious situation, she gets an unexpected help from M3GAN, which, as many of you remember, managed to survive as implied at the end of the previous film. It has actually disguised itself as the main control system of Gemma’s house which turns out to have a number of surprises, and Gemma and Cady have no choice but to accept its help because, well, M3GAN is probably the only tool available to them for fighting against AMELIA.

Now you will certainly be reminded of the strained but interesting relationship drama between the titular character of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and several main human characters, and the screenplay by director/writer Gerard Johnstone, who previously directed “M3GAN”, has a wry fun with how Gemma and Cady reluctantly interact with M3GAN. After all, M3GAN was once quite murderous to both of them as simply following its programmed nature, but it emphasizes that it has been changed as going through some program upgrades during last two years, and it also seems to be capable of feeling besides occasionally showing dry sarcasm.

Around the narrative point where M3GAN eventually gets a new physical body thanks to Gemma’s cooperation, the movie goes for several wild and crazy moments including the sequence where M3GAN disguises itself as a human dressing like an AI robot at a big convention where it may locate its powerful opponent. Later in the story, the movie willingly enters the realm of conspiracy theory, and you may get some laugh from a certain old entity not so far from that evil AI in “Terminator: Judgmental Day” – and how this has been hidden somewhere in California for many years.

However, as busily hopping from one narrative point to another, the movie feels rather clunky in terms of characterization. For example, the relationship problem between Gemma and her niece is quickly solved and then put aside as our formerly murderous robot naturally steals the show at its every minute, and several other substantial human characters including Gemma’s boyfriend are more or less than mere plot elements. In addition, AMELIA is not exactly a memorable villain compared to the programmed villainy shown from M3GAN in the previous film, and that is another disappointment in the film.

At least, M3GAN remains as the most compelling part of the film as it was in the previous film, and Amie Donald and Jenna Davis, who respectively performed the body and voice of M3GAN, did a good job of bringing some personality to their AI robot character. On the opposite, Ivanna Sakhno is relatively less impressive while being simply required to look cold and ruthless, but she has some small fun with playing an AI Robot (Well, who wouldn’t?), and she and Donald are also fairly convincing in several action scenes later in the movie.

In comparison, the main cast members playing the human characters in the story are unfortunately stuck with their thankless jobs. While Allison Williams, who also participated in the production of the film, and Violet McGraw provide some human elements to the story as demanded, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, and Jemaine Clement do not have much to do except filling their respective spots. At least, Clement willingly chews every moment of his as an obnoxious tech billionaire, and you may cheer for how his character gets punished for his arrogance later.

Overall “M3GAN 2.0” does not impress me enough for recommendation, but it is not entirely devoid of fun and thrill mainly thanks to its colorful AI robot character. In my humble opinion, it has more presence and personality than that villainous AI character in “Mission: Impossible – the Final Reckoning” (2025), and it is a shame that the movie does not support this interesting AI character enough on the whole. Its upgrade is a little too flawed, but you will still not forget this AI robot easily.