M3gan

It seems especially in the horror genre nearly everything lately is regurgitated and advertised as something new. Blumhouse does this more than anyone lately and yet still manages to rake in profits from mostly generation z unfamiliar with the old classic horror films that came long before. The glaring similarities and material borrowing comes from basically every Chucky film, though it's presented in a way that's more appetizing to the newer tik tok gen z crowd. Not saying the film isn't still executed solidly or isn't effective. It just feels like such an obvious rewrapping of an old classic.

The film itself has a solid enough story and decently intriguing visuals to keep it interesting. The acting is subpar at times but the shock value makes up for it. The true issues lay in the blatant lack of originality toward the overall product. Slight futuristic advancements in plot points and cgi can only differentiate from the old so much when something feels so familiar.

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.

There has been so much advance interest in this movie, with the trailer and the snippets posted online. I was afraid finally seeing it would be a disappointment. But it wasn't at all, My wife and I were thoroughly entertained, at home streaming on the Peacock channel. Then I watched it twice more during the following week, knowing the entire story arc, I found it to be an even better movie. When you really pay attention you realize how well-conceived the whole story is.

Then, a month later I watched it yet again, this time on BluRay from my public library. What a step up! The picture and especially the sound take it to another level. Plus the extras show how they used puppets, animatronics, and a real actress seamlessly combined to portray M3GAN.

This is a slight futuristic story, a tech company is working with AI to make toys that can speak and react. The next step before a truly sentient robot. But one scientist (Allison Williams) is a step ahead and her ultimate motivation is when her young 9-yr-old niece Cady loses her parents in a winter road accident. She is depressed and could use an ideal companion.

So M3GAN is created. She is "paired" with the young girl with the duty to be her companion and not let anything bad happen to her. But no one is prepared for how well her learning abilities work or how advanced she will become so quickly. In the process of "protecting" Cady she adopts tactics her creator would not have imagined and a series of really bad things happen.

This is fiction, of course, and wicked fiction. There is a bit too much, unnecessary foul language here and there. And the actor who plays David, the head of the company, isn't very good. And Allison Williams often drops into this gravelly, "vocal fry" voice, especially ending sentences, that is very annoying. But overall I really enjoyed it as a wicked and entertaining movie of a robot learning rapidly and going rogue. Maybe this is a realistic warning of future AI out of control.

The two young girls, one who plays Cady the other who plays M3GAN with the prosthetic face, are both excellent.

Most movies seem to either be underwhelming or just fine. Once in a great while, they over-deliver and exceed your expectations. But possibly the rarest result is when you are excited to see a movie and you get exactly what you'd hoped for. For me, M3GAN was a blast of entertainment, a perfect concoction of a well-paced story that is just there for you to have fun with. Okay, if I'm honest, it did have some moments that elevated my enjoyment even a little more than I'd hoped--they went to a few places I could not have expected. That doesn't mean that the story wasn't predictable; it was pretty clear where this was going the whole time. But it was still fun and memorable, and I expect that if I ever happen to walk into a room where someone has this movie on, I will sit and watch with them to the end. I enjoyed it.

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.