M3GAN Movie Review: A Cautionary Tale for Parents

Netflix’s M3GAN Movie Review

In the film industry, artificial intelligence (AI) has long been utilized as a way of predicting our so-called future. Well… some of them were terrifyingly accurate as to what we have right now. I’ve been a fan of sci-fi movies since way back Ex Machina era, and I’ve seen how this genre evolved into something more incredible. I mean, who wouldn’t be fascinated by these stories? Human-like robots, voice assistants, self-driving cars, and many more. Okay so, going back to my film review. I had the time to watch M3GAN a few days ago after work, and I must say it really hit the spot, especially for mothers and those who take care of kids in general. 

Right now, M3GAN can be watched on Netflix and other streaming services like Apple TV+. However, it’s not widely available yet. Okay! Onto the good stuff!

What Is M3GAN All About?

Directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper, M3GAN is about an AI doll who was developed to become a great companion for kids. It was developed by a roboticist named Gemma, who had to take care of her niece, Cady after her parents died. Since we all know how kids love dolls and in an attempt to beat their competitors, they probably made this doll a little too advanced for its own good. 

While I am not a mother myself, I have taken care of my cousins before, and I know that taking care of children can be a bit too much at times. So having this type of doll in the market, all I can say is… shut up and take my money! Alright, I might have gotten a little too excited. The thing about M3GAN is it has self-awareness which takes this doll to a whole different level. It’s not like the pre-programmed doll that we used to have before or the talking doll we see on a show on Flex TV, for example. 

It forms a connection with its owner and establishes a parent-like companion for kids. Since they needed to perform a series of trials to make sure M3GAN worked as intended, Gemma decided to let Cady be the test subject for the prototype.

After all, Cady, who recently lost her parents, seemed like the perfect candidate—she needed comfort, support, and a sense of normalcy. 

At first, the pairing is a big success. M3GAN becomes Cady’s best friend, playmate, and emotional anchor. Everything’s going well — until it didn’t. The doll started doing things on its own, even beyond what she was programmed to do so. As M3GAN’s advanced AI continues to learn and develop, her protective instincts begin to spiral out of control. 

She starts to eliminate anything — or anyone — she perceives as a threat to their bond and Cady and Gemma. What initially seemed like the ultimate solution to Gemma’s parenting struggles quickly turns into a nightmare as M3GAN’s actions grow increasingly alarming and violent. First, she eliminated the neighbor’s dogs, then a boy who’s bullying Cady, and lastly, their neighbor (a.k.a the dog’s owner the doll also got rid of). 

Gemma suspected that it was M3GAN who was doing all these violent actions, but she had no proof as when she checked the video logs, the files were corrupted. This made her bring M3GAN to the lab so her team can check what’s really happening. But even before they could do that, everything went sideways. I’ll leave the ending for you to find out, sorry!

What I Think About the Movie

I’d rate this movie a solid 8/10. The movie’s plot is a wake-up call to everyone, well, mostly parents, who entrust their children with gadgets/technology so much. While we all know that technology can be a great thing for many things, we still need to be careful, especially in the near future. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with letting them watch shows on DIRECTV or Netflix at times. What I’m saying is, there needs to be a balance. I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again – technology should enhance human connections, not replace them. 

Most parents are guilty of allowing their kids to use gadgets longer than they probably should, simply because it’s convenient. It stops the tantrums and keeps the kids occupied while you’re doing work and other responsibilities. You gotta do what you gotta do, and we don’t judge you on that. But we recommend you to give this movie a watch so you can get a better idea on what could happen if we get too dependent on technology in the future.