Submitted by MarvelsGrantMan136 t3_103fbk0 in movies
M3GAN - Review Thread
- Rotten Tomatoes - 98% (51 Reviews)
- Metacritic - 73% (20 Reviews)
Reviews:
Variety:
>“M3GAN” fits into a tradition of demon-doll movies going back to the Karen Black episode of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) and the “Annabelle” trilogy (also produced by Wan), but it has its own amusing throwaway token relevance. The film’s real satirical target is all of us — or, at least, those who now think of the mirror offered by artificial intelligence as an actual form of interaction.
Empire (4/5):
>With impressive performances by McGraw and Get Out star Williams, and seamless technology bringing to life the film’s robot havoc-wreaker, M3GAN may be silly but it’s a toy story like no other.
The Independent (4/5):
>Williams is a smart piece of casting here, building off the in-built distrust of her manipulative role in Get Out. She gives Gemma a few more shades of ambiguity: her concerns about Cady seem genuine, but what about her apparent willingness to exploit her niece’s trauma? M3GAN, god bless her, would never do something that treacherous. And that’s, inevitably, the most devilish trick of this film – you end up rooting for the killer doll.
Hollywood Reporter:
>M3GAN might be too frequently funny to be terrifying, but it’s never too silly to deliver tension and vicious thrills. It seems a safe bet that the killer doll will return, not to mention become an in-demand costume next Halloween.
The Guardian (3/5):
>Derivative though M3gan undoubtedly is – with creepy fake toy TV ads that are a ripoff-homage to Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop, and a freakout finale that references James Cameron’s android meisterwerk – there are some adroit satirical touches about dolls as toxic aspirational templates, dolls as parodies of intimacy and sensitivity and tech itself as sinister child-pacification, with kids given iPads the way Victorian children were given alcoholic gripe water. It is funny when M3gan sings Titanium to Cady as a lullaby, but is then capable of switching to snarling rage, and Chieng is good value. A entertainingly nasty film for the new year.
IGN (7/10):
>M3GAN lives up to its memeable pre-release hype for mostly better and sporadically worse. Gerard Johnstone was the correct director choice, and Akela Cooper attempts deeper storytelling explorations centered around contemporary technological distractions — but you're watching for M3GAN. That's why she dazzles as the titular tyrant ready to rumble in the name of hardcoded primary user love, even at a detriment to the scenes where she's relegated obsolete. Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, and other performers are granted their momentary standouts (Williams anchors scene after scene), only to concede spotlights because M3GAN is the reason for the horror season this winter. A genre star is born from motherboards and violence in a movie that begs to be a tad leaner yet delivers clip-worthy "horrortainment" nonetheless.
Collider (A-):
>M3GAN might just become the Malignant of 2023. It doesn’t have a twist, but it is a weird, bonkers movie. Director Gerard Johnstone knocked it out of the park with his second film. It’s not traditionally scary, but it is existentially scary.
SlashFilm (8.5/10):
>From a horror standpoint, "M3GAN" could be scarier, but it's difficult enough for a film to balance suspense, a nuanced look at grief, and intelligently meta jokes, and "M3GAN" does all that surprisingly well. The long and the short of it is that, while "M3GAN" could perhaps be scarier and it doesn't feel entirely conceptually novel, it's a genuinely great addition to the horror-comedy canon. It's breezy without being too quick, suitably tense, and an often hilarious watch with solid execution of a high-concept premise. There's even a surprising amount of depth, as a film that tackles a very serious situation head-on. Most centrally, "M3GAN" is a ton of fun, and there's something to enjoy in just about every single minute of its runtime. "M3GAN" knows exactly what kind of film it is, and it elegantly sticks the landing.
IndieWire (B+):
>By the time Gemma gets hip to M3GAN’s real nature (which hello, Gemma created), the bloodbath is just beginning, the dance sequences are just starting, and co-star Ronny Chieng (as Gemma’s useless tech-bro boss) has somehow only screamed for a kombucha from a minion but once. The beats that get us there might feel predictable, but the film is still a triumph. Its creators are so clearly on the same insane wavelength, nimbly blending camp and social satire and actual terror, that “M3GAN” is poised to crack the murder-doll pantheon and stay there forever. Oscars!
Consequence (A-):
>M3GAN is a true riot, a rollicking and campy romp full of absolutely bonkers moments that will have you cackling with laughter.
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Movie Info:
Release Date: January 6th
Synopsis:
>Gemma, a brilliant roboticist at a toy company, uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN (short for Model 3 Generative Android), a lifelike doll programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. After unexpectedly gaining custody of her recently orphaned niece, Cady, when the child's parents die in a car accident, Gemma enlists the help of the M3GAN prototype, a decision that has horrific consequences when the doll becomes self-aware and overprotective of Cady, leading her to kill and harm anyone that gets in her way.
Cast:
- Allison Williams as Gemma, a roboticist and the inventor of M3GAN
- Violet McGraw as Cady, Gemma's orphaned niece who lost her parents in a car accident
- Amie Donald as M3GAN
- Jenna Davis as the voice of M3GAN
- Ronny Chieng as David
- Brian Jordan Alvarez as Cole
- Jen Van Epps as Tess
- Stephane Garneau-Monten as Kurt
- Arlo Green as Ryan