James Wan’s latest project Malignant was awesome and nothing like anything you’d have seen. It was so weird and yet so satisfying. One of my favorite horror films of 2021. The director is currently with his upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom however, he will never leave the horror genre untouched as he returns to the genre in form of a producer to Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN. The film is supposed to be a Sci-Fi horror flick as its premise surrounds around, “a life-like AI creation who is programmed to be the perfect companion to a recently orphaned girl. But, ultimately, it’s a horror movie about a demonic-looking doll, so it’s probably safe to assume things take a turn for the worse.” The film recently had its premiere and has gotten raving reviews from critics. Let’s take a look at them.
M3GAN Reviews Round-Up: 2023 Begins With A Bang!
M3GAN is written by Akela Cooper and stars Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Kimberly Crossman, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Brown and Arlo Green. Johnstone’s latest film has received great reviews from almost all critics and despite being a January release it seems like the film’s quality is amazing. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a rating of 95% while the film’s IMDb score is 6.3/10, however, the hasn’t released yet so the IMDb score cannot be taken too seriously. Now let’s look at the what the critics think about the film.
A.A. Dowd
Chron
“M3gan runs with its low premise. It’s a preposterous hoot with some actual ideas in its silicon head.”
Jason Zinoman
New York Times
“While there are some hints at social commentary on how modern mothers and fathers use technology to outsource parenting, this movie is smart enough to never take itself too seriously.”
Meagan Navarro
Bloody Disgusting
“Entertainment is the sole aim here, and on that, M3GAN delivers. The memes are only getting started.”
Original Score: 3/5
Perri Nemiroff
Perri Nemiroff (YouTube)
“It’s only the first week of January, but we already have one of the best villains of 2023.”
Original Score: 4/5
Katie Walsh
Tribune News Service
“The jump scares in the fun, funny thrill ride that is “M3GAN” elicit more giggles than groans, but there are also intriguing connections being made on “M3GAN’s” motherboard, behind the glossy surface.”
Original Score: 3/4
Robert Levin
Newsday
“A cautionary tale about a deranged, dancing doll. Sign us up.”
Original Score: 3/4
Derek Smith
Slant Magazine
“There’s enough sardonic humor to keep the proceedings edgy enough, but it’s hard not to wish that the filmmakers would’ve taken a cue from their eponymous villain and really pushed things past the boundaries of good taste.”
Original Score: 2.5/4
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
“A scampering Blumhouse caper that turns out to be blithely self-aware, negligibly jump-scary, and mostly very fun.”
Original Score: B+
Kristy Puchko
Mashable
“Hold onto your wigs, because the next queer monster has arrived, and she’s got better rhythm than the Babadook.”
William Bibbiani
TheWrap
“Johnstone’s film captures the same alchemical blend of heart, humor and havoc you find only rarely, in crossover classics like ‘Gremlins,’ and it yields more entertainment than most would-be blockbusters.”
Kimber Myers
Crooked Marquee
“… M3GAN and M3gan herself are more than just memes; this is a killer crowd-pleaser that is perfectly sinister and silly.
Full Review | Original Score: B+”
Izzy Ampil
BuzzFeed News
“M3GAN’s plot is functional, and its thrills are solid, but its sense of humor is uniquely vibrant, both weirder and funnier than expected even after months of hype.”
Adam Graham
Detroit News
“M3gan is part Child’s Play, part Terminator, and all fun.”
Original Score: B
Kyle Smith
Wall Street Journal
“M3gan is wittily written and smoothly plotted by Akela Cooper, from a story by her and James Wan, as well as tautly directed by Gerard Johnstone, who hearkens all the way back to Mary Shelley’s warning.”
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
“Look more closely into M3GAN’s tech-enabled eyes, and you can almost make out the word “franchise.””
Original Score: 2.5/4
Chase Hutchinson
Seattle Times
“One of those films that deserves the hype and then some.”
Original Score: 3.5/4
Leigh Monson
AV Club
“‘M3GAN’ is a blast, especially with a crowd that’s game to laugh along with a doll’s ominous stare and her inhumanly humorous attempts to be the perfect best friend.”
Original Score: B
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
“A pleasantly nutty thriller about a crafty, high-end toy.”
Original Score: 2.5/4
Brian Truitt
USA Today
“A film that packs a healthy amount of absurdity alongside an insightful exploration of 21st-century parenting, though you might never trust Alexa ever again afterward.”
Original Score: 3/4
Randy Myers
San Jose Mercury News
“Stocks up on jump scares and keeps the violence PG-13, but fails to make us care about any of the humans in the path of M3GAN”
Original Score: 2/4
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
“An entertainingly nasty film for the new year.”
Original Score: 3/5
Owen Gleiberman
Variety
“Its trivial way it’s a diverting genre film, one that possesses a healthy sense of its own absurdity.”
Al Horner
Empire Magazine
“M3GAN may be silly but it’s a toy story like no other.”
Original Score: 4/5
David Rooney
Hollywood Reporter
“A satirical tale of treacherous technology in which the shocks and scares and even the cautionary notes are not lessened by the enjoyable vein of campy humor.”
Clarisse Loughrey
Independent (UK)
“M3GAN — thank god — delivers the goods. Under the canny, high-spirited direction of Gerard Johnstone, whose past work includes the New Zealand horror-comedy gem Housebound, it’s incisive, sardonic, and totally mean-spirited. A perfect mix.”
Original Score: 4/5
Matt Singer
ScreenCrush
“A g00d horror comedy.”
Original Score: 6/10
Richard Lawson
Vanity Fair
“It’s funny in ways anticipated and not, and there is enough suspense — or something like suspense — to balance out the coy winks to the audience.”
K. Austin Collins
Rolling Stone
“A better version of this movie would really go for it… What’s here is fine enough. The movie is PG-13 and not entirely worse off for it.”
Kate Erbland
indieWire
“Its creators are so clearly on the same insane wavelength, nimbly blending camp and social satire and actual terror, that M3GAN is poised to crack the murder-doll pantheon and stay there forever.”
Original Score: B+
Hoai-Tran Bui
Inverse
“From the moment that M3GAN twirled, twerked, and cartwheeled her way toward one of her many bloody kills in the latest Blumhouse movie, it was clear: campy horror is in a new era, and it is thriving.”
Check out the Full Trailer of M3GAN on YouTube:
M3GAN will release in theatres near you from 13th January 2023.
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