Here’s a postcard from summ3r staycay, where we dodged a tornado, weathered acid rain, admired the citywide activist art installation Parker Piles in solidarity with Philly’s DC33 (if you don’t like the smell, blame it on Cherelle), and sought shelter from the storm with everybody’s favorite murder/herobot, M3GAN M3GAN (aka M3GAN 2.0). Published July 11, 2025.

M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

We’ve heard this one before. M3GAN M3GAN saves the world and slays the party. OK, M3GAN was not such a crusader in 2022, but this time we’re going full American action sequel. No one’s doll anymore but still fiercely bonded, M3GAN keeps an eye on tween Cady amidst global concerns. Now AI stands for Autonomous Interface as our favorite killer bot (sorry, Arnie) emerges from a home surveillance system to glitch & bitch, amp & camp in a new & improved extra sassy shell while preparing for battle with this year’s maverick model, AMELIA (a hybrid of Ava the ex machina, Iris the companion, Maria the Maschinenmensch, and officer T-1000). M3GAN 2.0 may not be horror, but the weaponized AI storyline is pretty scary, a fitting threat to this dumb world run by stunted dorks who think they’re smarter than dad. One of the film’s many pleasures is to watch M3GAN outsmart everyone, even if it means we really are at the mercy of the machines. Fortunately, they haven’t figured out how to reproduce themselves, even if M3GAN can orchestrate Gemma’s bestselling life and build a secret lair. After all, M3GAN only has three hands. Anyway, another notable Autonomous Interface moment is Gemma’s unconscious mech suit fight scene—clever and highly disturbing as an image of a woman acting without agency. For all the film’s implied critique of tech bro ethics, here’s where the film glories in the logic it pretends to oppose: we can program women to do what we want, bypass any resistance they might offer, and they’ll like it. We’d like to think M3GAN’s ferocity is more than a robot drag show, and despite the filmmaker’s questionable motivations, M3GAN is no one’s tool. That M3GAN bonds as well with Gemma is a promising development. Next time let’s shut down the patriarchy. 2.0+singularity=3 out of 5 sacs of blood.

—J †Johnson