1.16.2023

Knee-jerk review: "M3GAN"

1. The styling of that title... it's a little too cute, right?  Can't we just call it Megan?
2. The movie is way better than the B-movie vibe suggested by the trailer.  There are jump scares, but this is more of a creepy techno-thriller than a traditional horror movie.
3. In fact, it's a pretty sharp allegory on the dangers of letting technology babysit childern and the guilt parents feel for letting technology babysit children.
4. Seems like the murders have been toned down considerably to get that PG-13 rating.  Which certainly accounts for the rowdy teenagers in the theater where we saw it.
5. Filmmakers go out of their way to make sure the victims of Megan's murder spree - at least the first few victims - are more than deserving of their fate so as to extend audience sympathy for the robot doll as long as possible.  That's our theory anyway.  Even so, what happens to the neighbor seemed particularly cruel.
6. It will come as no shock that the door was left over to a sequel.  In fact, we counted two possible avenues for a second Megan (M3GAN) movie.
7. It's perhaps nitpicking, but the movie asks us to believe the primary coder of a successful line of robotic smart toys lives in a modest Seattle suburb.  Also that the coder looks like Allison Williams.
8. "Megan, turn off."
9. Some pretty deep themes about death and loss and the dangers of avoiding dealing with personal trauma.
10. Then again, we see someone get their ear ripped off. 
11. It's a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
12. The effects used to create robot doll Megan are pretty amazing.  It looks like a real girl, but not quite real enough.  The Los Angeles Times has more on the effects.
13. We have to agree that when it comes to toy collectibles, you don't play with them.  That's just common sense.
14. When a psycbo robot doll says "This is the part where you run," you should run.

No comments:

Post a Comment