M3GAN

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.