A lot of fun, even if it could have been better if it had taken itself just a smidge more seriously. M3GAN, about an AI doll that turns on its creators, begins as a sharp satire seemingly made to skewer parents of the iPad generation. After her mother and father are killed in a car accident, young Cady (Violet McGraw) moves in with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). A workaholic tech toy inventor, Gemma pawns off her parental responsibilities on the life-size robot companion she’s been developing. Let’s just say the bond becomes a bit too intense. Employing a combination of animatronics, puppetry, digital effects, the physical performance of child actor Amie Donald, and the vocal performance of Jenna Davis, the special-effects artists behind M3GAN know just which button to push for the needs of each scene. The result is something like an American Girl doll who becomes the Evil Queen of Uncanny Valley. The movie’s front-loaded social satire is sharper than the scares, which become a bit silly by the time a pressure washer is involved. Directed by Gerard Johnstone, from a script by Akela Cooper and James Wan.
(6/16/2025)
