M3GAN 2.0 (PG13)

Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, Jemaine Clement

Directed by Gerard Johnstone

Released shortly after the launch of ChatGPT, Blumhouse’s M3GAN perfectly taps into our fears of AI via a creepy super-doll. She’s basically Chucky for the social media generation — a reminder that what’s truly terrifying isn’t just AI, but AI that goes rogue.

Cut to the present: From Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to Blumhouse’s own Afraid, stories about the perils of AI are now a dime a dozen. Does M3GAN 2.0 bring anything new to the table? Not much, really.

Its main upgrade is to take a page from the Terminator 2 playbook: turn the villain into the hero. Now, M3GAN (still creepy-looking AF) must protect her creators (Allison Williams and Violet McGraw) from Ivanna Sakhno’s AMELIA — short for Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics Infiltration Android — who’s chasing a MacGuffin that could trigger a robopocalypse.

The result? More action (AMELIA at times recalls the title cyborg in Alita: Battle Angel) and more laughs (including a Steven Seagal gag) than actual frights. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Pity Ronny Chieng’s toy company CEO in the first movie was killed off. Big mistake — the sequel can always use an endearing a-hole. (2.5/5 stars) out in cinemas

Photo: Universal Pictures