You know who can take on Avatar: The Way of Water and hold her own? M3GAN, that’s who! The AI robot doll who is everyone’s best confidant has sailed to second place in the weekend box office, blowing past what was predicted she would make and holding her own against the James Cameron juggernaut. And for good reason—M3GAN is our new best friend.
The minute that the trailer showed us a dancing robot who maybe had a taste for blood, many were in. And the marketing campaign for the movie (which included many dancers dressed up like M3GAN taking to the streets to dance in places like the Empire State Building and at the premiere) has made it so M3GAN was destined to be a hit. And it helps that the movie itself is a great commentary and hilarious to boot.
But M3GAN’s success is something that is both shocking and justified all at the same time. A horror movie that would have easily been something we briefly talked about and then moved on from, her staying power is in how funny the movie actually is. With a PG-13 rating, there isn’t much in the way of gore in M3GAN, but there is something about her that just works.
I’d let M3GAN murder for me
The concept of the movie is simple: M3GAN is created as a new “toy” to help parents balance their working and social lives with being there for their kids. When they can’t remind their children to use a coaster, M3GAN does it for them. But her programming also makes it so that M3GAN learns and adapts to the child she is bonded with, and that bond grows until she protects her no matter what—which, of course, means murdering people.
And if M3GAN wanted to murder, I’d let her do it! Go off. girl. Slay, queen (literally). The movie is a commentary on AI taking over our lives, and not in the way The Terminator franchise works, but for how much we rely on it in the real world. Gemma (Williams) had her own AI system in her home but M3GAN was a completely different juggernaut. She was essentially a replacement parent. That’s what she did for her niece Cady, and that was her design for other households, had she been mass produced.
Instead, we saw the destruction that M3GAN caused and the bloody battle it took for her to stop trying to be Cady’s best friend. The movie as a whole had a great marriage between humor and frights in a way that made it easy to watch (as opposed to other AI/toy horror, which isn’t for the faint of heart), but one thing is certain about the craze: Everyone is ready to be best friends with M3GAN.
Just imagine how stylish you’d look if you let M3GAN dress you and dance with you? She is a style icon with cool sunglasses and great dresses. Just maybe keep her away from any and all paper cutters. That isn’t a good time for anyone involved.
(featured image: Universal Pictures)
