“M3GAN” is a perfect product. We have to give the genius of producers Jason Blum and James Wan a standing ovation. This scifi horror comedy (!) is the best example of how to conceive, package and sell an idea using all the means of modern marketing.
The design came from James Wan, who was thinking of expanding on the “killer doll” concept he had worked on so successfully on “Annabelle,” which was already an expansion of The Conjuring. Working alongside screenwriter Akela Cooper on Maligno, Wan traded the supernatural for fear of technology, and voilá!
With the parts in hand, “M3GAN” left the shipyard like a puzzle. Blum and Wan hired Gerard Johnstone, a New Zealand talent revealed in the interesting “Housebound,” to direct the venture. The look of the cybernetic doll that hits the beam in the uncanny valley was designed for maximum use in cosplay.
When the scene of a murderous M3gan bizarrely dancing in a hallway went viral, it was time to embrace it. Horror films generally attract young, loyal audiences, and the mild censorship of Johnstone’s film — a PG13 appeal to teenage audiences — opened the doors wide.
Even with the second “Avatar” soaring, “M3GAN” has already grossed $100 million at the worldwide box office, a tenfold increase on its budget. The sequel, dubbed “M3GAN 2.0” without a hint of irony, is already planned for 2025. Blum and Wan’s creation was to be a successful product from start to finish.
But cinema is not (only) numbers. Among all the extremely attractive retail packaging is a film that doesn’t last. At “M3GAN” there is no original idea. There is no concept that lures the characters, there is no motivation anywhere. It’s a hollow film that’s as easy to like as it is to forget.
Gemma (Allison Williams) introduces Cady (Violet McGraw) to M3gan
Image: Universal
It centers on Gemma (Allison Williams), a scientist and engineer who develops toys powered by artificial intelligence. In the midst of a career crisis, tragedy strikes: an accident takes her sister’s life and Gemma soon finds herself guardian of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw).
Without the slightest ability or calling to care for a child, let alone one who has experienced such severe trauma, Gemma draws on the language she knows: technology. She sees Cady as the perfect person to test M3gan, an artificial intelligence doll. Soon the girl and the toy live together like sisters, inseparable, a bond that is reinforced by the android’s programming.
At this point, “M3GAN” strictly adheres to the “Danger of Technology” playbook. The knowledge M3gan absorbs arrives without experience or responsibility, and soon the puppet will do anything, however fierce, to protect “its human”. By the time Gemma realizes the extent of the trouble, the circus is already primed for an inevitable confrontation.
M3gan imagines the mischief she can do to director Gerard Johnstone
Image: Universal
At this point, the film has been running on automatic for some time. The script reads like an instruction manual, with elements casually thrown into the first act that will be crucial to the climax. Not that it all makes sense. The M3gan runaway comes without a prompt. When she starts collecting victims, it’s hard for the audience to care as no character develops beyond stereotypes.
There is an air of depth in the text, a discussion of the ills of our dependence on technology and even uncontrolled outsourcing in childrearing. Any subtext, however, is secondary to the scathing humor and light violence that underlies the plot. “M3GAN” is pure style and zero substance.
Still, Gerard Johnstone is an extremely capable director and keeps the ball on the field, aided by the behindthescenes experience and efficiency of Jason Blum and James Wan. The shameless ending, which leaves not one but two notsosubtle hooks for a sequel, confirms “M3GAN’s” vocation as a product, not a creative expression. It’s not a sin and it works like a charm for two hours. Sometimes that’s all it takes.