M3gan 2.0 (M) – 120 minutes

M3gan (Amie Donald and the voice of Jenna Davis), the highly evolved AI creation that created havoc before being destroyed in the first film in the series is resurrected.

Two years post the events of M3gan, the movie, M3gan is challenged to take on one of her own.

Cady (Violet McGraw), now aged 12, still doesn’t see eye to eye with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams).

Gemma has become a strong advocate for government oversight of AI.

Now the underlying technology used to create M3gan has been stolen and misused by a powerful defence contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno).

Amelia is the ultimate killing machine and spy, but she is no longer interested in taking orders from humans.

The threat is real and despite her better judgment and natural suspicion, M3gan’s creator Gemma is all but forced to revive M3gan, with a few important upgrades.

For, as it turns out, only the new, improved M3gan has the smarts and physical capability to tackle Amelia head on.

Mind you, having trained in martial arts and being tech literate, Cady has a few sweet moves of her own.

Meanwhile, a government body known the Defence Innovation Unit, is running around like a chook without a head tailing Gemma to try to bring down Amelia.

M3gan 2.0 has more twists and turns than a cheap garden hose, as the ground is forever shifting.

We are kept on edge throughout about whose side M3gan is on, while Amelia proves to be a formidable opponent.

M3gan 2.0 is action packed and fun filled … and leaves room for continuation of the franchise, subject to box office success.

I appreciated the push/pull between Gemma and her AI conceit.

Allison Williams’ strong willed characterisation suits her role well.

Violet McGraw, too, proves that she is built of the same stern stuff. Nobody can pull the wool over Cady’s young and emerging eyes.

Many of their human adversaries are painted as buffoons.

Humour, puffery and arrogance are built into the screenplay by writer and director Gerard Johnstone, who also directed the original film.

A case in point is Jemaine Clement, who plays over-the-top billionaire tech guru Alton Appleton.

There is tough, don’t mess with me, edge to Amie Donald and Jenna Davis’ representation of M3gan, while Ivanna Sakhno is cold and mercenary as Amelia.

Straight out horror gives way to humour, hijinks and science fiction in this sequel.

While M3gan breaking out into song at one point was plain weird and the script could readily have been pared back, M3gan 2.0 is nevertheless a worthwhile follow-up.

Rated M, it scores a 7 out of 10.