"M3GAN" could have easily called it a day and just made a generic sci-fi horror slasher without any "intelligence". But this film surprised us with its depth and approach. The kills in fact take their time to show up and the first half of the film was primarily a reflection of the perils of our modern-day technology. It was a film that balanced out its primal side and intellectual aspects quite well. While not everything works in "M3GAN", it could have been a whole lot worse than what they were able to deliver here.
When Gemma (Allison Williams), a brilliant toy-company roboticist, becomes the caretaker and custodian of her orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw), she has no clue how to raise the child properly. Pressured to make Cady's life better and deliver a product that could sell by her boss (Ronnie Chieng), she decides to introduce Cady to her latest creation M3GAN - both as a way to test out M3GAN and find the support that Cady desperately needs. The android toy can listen, watch, and artificially learn and improve over time making it very versatile in developing a kinship with its paired owner. As M3GAN and Cady develop a tight bond together, Gemma realizes that her decision to pair the two up could have unimaginable consequences.
Technology replacing the human touch has always been a contentious topic. With A.I. and machine learning ruling anything and everything these days, this is something most of us know is an important topic to ponder about but most of us probably push it into the back burner. The benefits simply outweigh the cons right? But "M3GAN" actually tackles these divisive matters head on. As a start and at its core, it begs the question if a machine can sustainably replace a child's parents and what are and should be the limits of artificial intelligence. This side of "M3GAN" was surprising and very much appreciated, and it is a huge reason why this film works and stands out. It wasn't all about the thrills and kills, as the film simply delivers more. What doesn't work for "M3GAN" though is the lack of characterization of the other characters aside from M3GAN herself. We just felt disconnected or uncaring on most characters including the lead character of Gemma. For us, she was simply a bad guardian who constantly made bad, inconsiderate, and stupid mistakes time and time again. Outside its weak characters though "M3GAN" was indeed an awesome experience and we're hooked and excited with what the franchise can deliver in its future iterations.
M3GAN Movie Review: Modern Day Child's Play
Comments
Post a Comment