Bambi: The Reckoning (2025) Film Review

After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated deer. The grief-stricken creature embarks on a rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother

Bambi: The Reckoning is directed by Dan Allen director of Unhinged (2017), Mummy Reborn (2019) and It Came From Below (2021) this film serves as the fourth installment in The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and is a horror retelling of the 1923 novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods.

Bambi is next to get the horror treatment and well it goes about as well as you would think, at the very least I can say that this is better than Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) but considering how terrible that movie was that’s not exactly an accomplishment.

This movie suffers from a lot of the exact same problems as the rest of these movies in this series do, they take themselves way too seriously and don’t lean into having this comedic tone. That’s especially evident with this one which surprisingly has a emotional ending that while is the best part of the movie, makes the rest of the movie a complete whiplash in tone. It’s an ending that works fine enough in the context of the story, but only proves how serious these movies want to be taken which ends up backfiring hard.

The creature design for Bambi is admittedly pretty neat, it’s far and away better than anything the first Blood and Honey (2023) had and I would go as far as to say it surpasses Blood and Honey 2 (2024) and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (2025) when it comes to design. The design is the closest to not taking itself seriously and at the very least it makes for a couple of fun kills.

With that being said however, the rest of the movie does not have a whole lot going on here. Much like the rest of these movies, the human characters are incredibly bland who are only there to add up the kill count. The acting isn’t dreadful here but nobody here gives a passable performance, the emotional family aspect of the movie is incredibly out of place here. Sure it makes sense for Bambi as that is part of the story, but for the human characters it’s just another dull plot point added into a movie that already feels way too long despite only being 80 minutes.

Overall Bambi: The Reckoning has a couple decent moments here and there but that’s really about it. There really isn’t anything special to be said here, it’s yet another movie in this series that settles with being a dull and forgettable horror movie with a bunch of kills rather than actually being decently fun.

Bambi: The Reckoning is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

The Home (2025) Film Review

Sentenced to community service at a retirement home, Max is told that residents on the fourth floor are strictly off-limits as they require special care. Suspicious and curious, he soon uncovers a chilling secret that puts everyone’s lives in danger.

The Home is directed by James DeMonaco director of Staten Island (2009), The Purge franchise (2013-2021) and The Is The Night (2021).

The Home is if you took Get Out (2017) and completely missed the point on why it was successful, quite frankly saying that the movie is trying to be Get Out (2017) is a bit generous due to how nonsensical the movie really is.

The performances are not great at all, Pete Davidson has shown he can give a strong performance particularly with The King Of Staten Island (2020). While I do appreciate the attempt by Davidson to go for something a bit different here it does not work in the slightest due to how much of a mess the script really is. Pete Davidson plays Max a foster child whose foster brother died by suicide, he ends up growing up to be a graffiti artist that ends up working out a deal with his foster father. The deal being he does community service which of course is looking after the retirement home.

As you probably predicted the retirement home ends up being strange and you can probably have a good guess as to what ends up happening from then, the writing is filled to the brim with horror cliches you have come to expect. The dialogue is wooden and has no personality at all going on here, John Glover and Bruce Altman who are otherwise great actors don’t get a whole lot to work with here at all.

Strangely enough it’s the editing that does this movie in. With so many abrupt cuts it’s next impossible for scenes to sit and breathe or create momentum. The Home feels like if someone was closing their eyes and trying to build a giant LEGO set, sure it might be a fun joke to do with friends but if you are seriously wanting to build that set it’s not going to happen that way. It’s a disorganized mess that lacks any sort of momentum due to how choppy the editing really often times leaning towards this amateurish feel.

Overall The Home is a disaster, at the very least it’s forgettable so you don’t have it on your mind for that long.

The Home is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

Together (2025) Film Review

After moving to the countryside, a supernatural encounter starts to transform a couple’s love, their lives, and their flesh.

Together is directed by Michael Shanks which is his directorial debut!

Body horror as a genre as a resurgence over the last few years with a lot of excellent films and Together is yet another one to add to the list. This film opts to go for something a bit different…throw this romantic and comedic feel into the mix which works marvelously with the rest of the film.

Dave Franco and Alison Brie are both absolutely fantastic here, part of why the two work so well is because the two are married to each other in real life. The premise along with the film’s themes centers around their characters Tim and Millie’s up and down relationship, bond and exploring their co dependency. All of this is shown effortlessly through their performances, it’s a natural fit that has a lot of quite romantic moments along with this emotional weight that’s shown through the actions of Tim and Millie. Franco and Brie are able to capture everything to make this beast of a film work, there’s even some powerful moments where the two embrace each other in these quiet moments. Franco and Brie being actually married in real life only makes the film’s themes that much stronger and surprisingly quit grounded.

The body horror elements are magnificent, they start small but end up having absolutely bizarre results that compliment the narrative. The body horror mixed with romantic elements to some comedic moments that get a laugh out of the viewer, the body horror elements might not be as extreme or as gory as other body horror films of the past. However the idea of being stuck together and never coming apart is more than enough to really get to the viewer, even still the body horror scenes are spectacular and any fan of the genre will adore them. There’s inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) along with the film’s own unique feel that will make the viewer both terrified but feel charmed (by the romance) at the same time.

The script and direction from Michael Shanks are both wonderfully done, the script allows Franco and Brie to go all out with their performances while the direction is able to make the film surprisingly raw at times. The moments of the two just discussing their relationship is genuinely fascinating and makes the viewer realize that the film isn’t just trying to be another body horror film, it’s trying to be far more and throw many different ideas into the mix which the film succeeds. The use of humor feels natural, it does not feel forced at all it has this passion that connects both Tim and Millie as characters.

Finally there is the atmosphere that is hauntingly beautiful, it has this B-horror movie type of feel mixed with this claustrophobic and unsettling nature that really brings the viewer into the film. At the same time you have moments where the atmosphere is comedic and romantic, the film juggles all of this masterfully and never drops the ball with any of them, there’s striking visuals that compliment each scene that tell the story on their own.

Together is a film that you should absolutely go into knowing as little as you possibly can, it’s an incredibly fun ride from beginning to end as well as just being a fantastic film that will leave you with a lasting impression.

Together releases tomorrow in theaters!

10/10 A+

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) Film Review

When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. One year later, the past comes back to haunt them as they learn someone knows what they did last summer. Stalked by a mysterious killer, they soon seek help from two survivors of the legendary Southport massacre of 1997.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson director of Someone Great (2019) and Do Revenge (2020). The film is the fourth installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise and serves as a sequel to I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998).

In the age of the classic slasher franchises such as Halloween and Scream getting legacy sequels it was a matter of time until a franchise that while is not as recognizable still has its fans gets its turn. The I Know What You Did Last Summer series never really did it for me, while I do like the I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) along with its sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) I’m not as in love with them as some other people are. I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) is flat out one of the worst films I’ve ever seen so let’s just skip talking about that, especially since this new film ignores that one (gee I wonder why.)

This new film is pretty solid, it shares a lot of what I did like or appreciate from the first film plus adding its own flavor into the mix. The film does have a lot of hiccups but in between the film’s flaws is something quite fun and surprisingly takes some swings where even if not all of them fully work, you cannot help but respect it for even attempting them.

I know I often say this a lot in my reviews but the cast is what really brings this film together and makes it work as well as it does. Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders and Sarah Pidgeon are far and away the standouts who really give such fun and investing performances. Chase Sui Wonders works incredibly well as the main protagonist we follow and her character Ava’s bond with Danica (played by Madelyn Cline) is genuinely heartwarming at times as well decently comedic, there’s a layer of warmth here that we do not often see in some slasher films so it’s a a breath of fresh air.

Which leads to Madelyn Cline who I believe to be the standout, she’s genuinely funny and really captures the spirit of some of the campiness that is going on around her with the atmosphere. She has this nice balance of dramatic and comedic moments that doesn’t overshadow each other, she works especially well with the rest of the cast having these fun exchanges that work so well in the context of each scene. She’s able to quickly switch from being serious to comedic or vice versa without making it feel forced or awkward.

Sarah Pidgeon is really fun here as well, she might not be in it as much as Wonders and Cline but she still turns in a great performance that does leave a lasting impression by the end of the film. It’s also worth noting that Gabbriette Bechtel gives a fun performance as well, she is not in the film for very long but that doesn’t stop her from being such a fun part of the film.

The writing is a bit of a mixed bag, when the film is focusing on the newcomers the film shines and builds up the mystery of who this mysterious killer can be. The legacy character portion of the film is not anything bad, it’s great to see Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. return and they do a pretty solid job acting wise. But I do think that when the film focuses on them it’s a bit on the weaker side…at first. That’s until a huge swing at the end of the film that I’m obviously not going to spoil happens. The huge swing in question either going to piss off fans of the series or is going to make you surprised to the point where you love it. It’s something I genuinely was not expecting and is largely what makes the film quite memorable.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson does quite a solid job in the director’s chair, it’s clear she wanted to focus on building some of these characters like Ava and Danica and explore their bonds not in this super in depth way. But in a way that is just enough for the viewer to care for them and what they are going through, while there are some very forced social media references that can potentially take you out of the film. What Robinson is able to get out of the characters is quite great and gives the film personality.

Everything else here is pretty alright, the kills are nothing to write home about (besides a certain kill towards the beginning of the film) but they are decently fun for what they are. The cinematography from Elisha Christian has some quite beautiful moments that actually do recapture the feel of the first film.

Overall I Know What You Did Last Summer is a decent addition to the franchise. The cast, the direction and the swings the film makes are enough to push this one to the finish line and to recommend giving it a watch!

I Know What You Did Last Summer is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+

House Of Eden (2025) Film Review

Setting out to film their next paranormal investigation, Kris, Celina and Jay encounter a malevolent, ancient spirit that resides in an abandoned house deep in the woods.

House Of Eden is directed by Kris Collins which is her directorial debut.

I’m not going to sit here and declare who and who can’t make a film, the number one reason why I love film so much and love talking about it is that anyone can have their go at it. With that being said right from the beginning of House Of Eden you immediately get the vibe that this feels like something straight out of the horror side of TikTok, you would be correct if that is what you immediately think. Kris Collins (director and actress) as well as Celina Myers are both TikTokers and Jason-Christopher Mayer is their editor. I respect that they took a stab at trying to make a film but almost everything here does not come together in the slightest.

The acting is what you imagine it to be…not good, if the goal was to play annoying TikTokers then I guess mission accomplished but even then it still does not make for a fun or interesting movie. None of these characters have any sort of development, intriguing background information or even chemistry towards one another. We are told they are friends but we really don’t get to see anything meaningful about their friendship, it feels more like you got a few people together and see how they would react sort of deal.

The story tries way too hard to capture what made The Blair Witch Project (1999) so great, first and foremost the story isn’t anywhere as intriguing. A lot of what happens in The House Of Eden is basically any other found footage horror film that has come out in the last several years. You get a bunch of one note characters who are searching for something or someone, predictable scares, a very vague urban legend that sounds neat on paper (the best part of the movie) but in execution is incredibly lacking. The whole checklist of the found footage genre is here with none of it leaving a lasting impression.

The biggest problem here is it takes an excruciatingly long time to get to the point of the movie, a lot of time is spent with the characters messing around and not really doing anything that moves the plot forward, I’m sure a lot of these moments were thrown in to try and get the viewer to care for these characters and their supposed friendship between one another. But the problem stems from none of these characters having the script to back it up (written by Kris Collins.)

Making a TikTok and a film are two incredibly different skillsets which is shown throughout this movie. From the sluggish pacing that fails to capture any of the rich slow burn that The Blair Witch Project (1999) had to the shoddy script that depicts these characters as internet brain rotted Individuals.

I’m sure that Kris Collins, Celina Myers and Jason-Christopher Mayer are great people and have made some excellent horror videos for their viewers, but it’s clear that when it comes to filmmaking there was a lot of struggle leaving a gigantic mess of a movie that feels like it missed the found footage horror film craze train.

House Of Eden releases tomorrow in theaters.

1/10 F

Push (2025) Film Review

When a violent attack at her open house sends her into premature labor, a pregnant realtor must find a way to escape before she gives birth.

Push is directed by David Charbonier and Justin Douglas Powell directors of The Boy Next Door (2020) and The Djinn (2021).

It’s not hard to be reminded of Inside (2007) a brutal and quite disturbing film that was part of the New wave of French horror while you watch Push. The main difference here is Push is nowhere near as brutal, the film might also not be as good as Inside (2007) was but there is still quite a lot to really appreciate here.

What does help this movie stay on its feet is the committed performance from Alicia Sanz, her being front and center gives her the opportunity to go all out with this performance. Between the range of survival instincts and the constant running, hiding and fighting she really delivers each and every scene. She also does a fantastic job of matching the atmosphere the film provides, she really does feel like someone who’s desperately trying to survive which in the end does make the viewer care for her.

Raúl Castillo is also quite great here, he plays this mostly silent antagonist who is genuinely intimidating. While the effect does wear off towards the end as we get a lack of character writing as well as a motivation, in the earlier parts of the film he remains threatening and quite unpredictable which does have some quite raw moments thrown in for good measure.

The filming combined with the interior of the home is strong as well, there’s moments of urgency when it comes to finding where to hide. There’s only so much in the home to hide before you are found, the cinematography from Daniel Katz captures this incredibly well and in this raw like style that helps the film become more grounded. The sharp corners along with some of the long hallways make for some anxiety filled moments that will sure get under the viewer’s skin.

The biggest flaw is the character writing, outside of Natalie’s (played by Alicia Sanz) current circumstances we really don’t get a whole lot about her. Sure there are mentions of her past but that isn’t explored all that much, luckily this isn’t quite enough to make the viewer not care for her as a character but it is still admittedly very frustrating because there were opportunities to dive deeper with her character.

As far as solid home invasion horror film goes, Push mostly gets it right. The atmosphere is there, a likable protagonist and some great camerawork help this one stand tall and cross the finish line. It’s not anything mind blowing or saying anything of note, but it is a thrilling little movie that I recommend giving a watch if you are a fan of the genre.

Push releases tomorrow on Shudder.

6/10 C+

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story (2025) Film Review

Max and Rudy Van Helsing confront the terrifying legacy of their father’s history with Dracula.

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is directed by Natasha Kermani director of Shattered (2017), Imitation Girl (2017) and Lucky (2020).

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story has such an interesting setup and really great ideas that I’m sure any fan of vampires could get behind. A story tells the later years of Abraham Van Helsing himself and his two sons where he moves to the U.S. to escape his past. An intriguing idea that has the misfortune of being surrounded by a very dull and boring (I hate using that word in my reviews but there is genuinely no other way to describe it) movie that completely fumbles the ball with its execution.

The performances are at the very least decent, Titus Welliver gives an intimidating performance as Van Helsing and is by far one of the films better parts. His performance alone is able to give the scene some sense of solid thrilling atmosphere, Brady Hepner and Judah Mackey are also not bad here as well. They aren’t as strong as Welliver mainly due to the very basic script, but they make the most of what they have and leave a somewhat solid impression. Unfortunately there’s just not a whole lot going on with their characters.

The cinematography is quite well done, with this old-school visual style that does at least for a brief moment bring you into the movie’s world. The score is also quite chilling at times, there’s tons of quiet moments that help the score sink into the viewer as each scene plays out, when it comes to technical aspects the movie is a success. The atmosphere is there, the cinematography is genuinely beautiful in this haunting type of way and the score is chilling.

The movie struggles when it comes to the script, unfortunately the movie quickly abandons its neat ideas and instead trades them in for a collection of scenes where very little is going on. This isn’t a slow burn horror film where the setup and wait might payoff, this is the type of slow burn horror movie where you can really feel it drag out. Which is a bit of shame because there are moments in between that are genuinely effective. There’s one particular moment that resulted in the same sort of atmosphere as Night Of The Living Dead (1968) where you are wondering what’s going on in the outside world of the movie. Those moments are almost immediately followed up with scenes where very little happens or is learned (mainly due to there not being any mystery since we already know who Abraham is.)

If you are going into this movie expecting to see vampires you are going to be very disappointed, because weirdly enough there’s a huge lack of them. Instead it plays as this picture of a family trying to deal with their traumatic pasts. Which makes sense in the context of the movie but it’s not done in an investing way for the viewer to care for these characters. How they took such an interesting premise that includes Van Helsing and made it completely dull and even quite forgettable is the real mystery.

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story releases in theaters Friday.

4/10 D+

The Ritual (2025) Film Review

Two priests — one questioning his faith and one reckoning with a troubled past — must put aside their differences to perform a difficult and dangerous exorcism on a possessed woman.

The Ritual is directed by David Midell director of Nightlights (2014) and The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2019).

Do you remember The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) and The Exorcism (2024)? If so imagine those two movies only take out Russell Crowe and put in Al Pacino and Dan Stevens, then proceed to make a movie that is truly baffling in every sense of the word (and in the worst way possible.) The end result is The Ritual a complete and total mess of a movie that has very little going for it and offers nothing new to the exorcism sub-genre.

The only positive here is the acting and even then there are tons of questionable moments, Al Pacino and Dan Stevens are trying their best to make the movie somewhat interesting but the lack of chemistry between the cast really keeps this movie down and prevents any real character moments. It does not help at all that the character’s are dull and the movie barely gives any compelling information about them, leaving the viewer to care very little about them.

Visually this movie is incredibly bland and just baffling, the movie is shot like an episode of The Office (2005) and almost immediately it becomes noticeable. Sadly that’s probably the most memorable thing about this movie, because the rest of it is nothing but horror movie cliche after horror movie cliche. The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) and The Exorcism (2024) were not visual masterpieces but at the very least they looked presentable and the filming matched what they were going for. With The Ritual you get tons of shaky camera moments, terrible editing and an almost parody like style. This type of style does not work for a movie that wants to take itself seriously, the reason it works for The Office (2005) is because the show is comedic and does not take itself incredibly serious, this movie however does.

Everything else about this movie is bland, the direction from Midell has no real identity. Midell spends a majority of the time on the camerawork and a bunch of arguments between the characters, it’s a shame because the movie is based on a true story. But it’s presented in such a sloppy and very amateurish way that the viewer almost immediately checks out right from the beginning.

Overall The Ritual is yet another terrible exorcism movie, when some people say that the exorcism sub-genre is becoming the shark movie sub-genre The Ritual is a prime example of what they are referring to.

The Ritual is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

Bring Her Back (2025) Film Review

A brother and sister witness a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.

Bring Her Back is directed by Danny and Michael Philippou directors of Talk To Me (2022).

The main reason why it took me so long to review Bring Her Back is because there is so much to think over, I saw this a month ago and it really has not left my mind since then. I liked Talk To Me (2022) quite a lot but I was curious to see if the Philippous could go even further and deliver something even better…that was absolutely the case here. Bring Her Back is a quite disturbing ride from beginning to end, this is if you took the mean spirited nature that Talk To Me (2022) was leaning towards and made it into a huge part of the film. Combine that with some absolutely incredible performances, some quite heartbreaking and horrifying writing as well cinematography plus gore and you have yourself one of the best films of the year.

Starting with the performances everyone here does a fantastic job across the board, but the one who makes this film horrifying is Sally Hawkins. Her performance is what makes the experience feel so real, the flip like a switch like performance where she presents herself as a kind grieving mother to an insane and disturbed person who has no problem doing a lot of psychological manipulation that damages Andy (played by Billy Barratt) and his sister Piper’s (played by Sora Wong) relationship. As the film goes on you grow to hate Laura (played by Sally Hawkins) more and more that is until the ending, where the film has this interesting direction you still hate her but at the same time can’t help but feel some sort of sympathy towards her. The way this is executed is masterfully done, the score combined with the cinematography and of course Hawkins’s acting makes the ending perfect. Sally Hawkins is unbelievable, her performance alone is an experience along with bringing this disturbing nature to the film that gets under your skin.

Billy Barratt, Sora Wong and Jonah Wren Phillips are all fantastic here as well. Barratt plays this realistic brother type of role that shows he clearly cares about his sister Piper. Andy is guilt-ridden due to his father’s death and it haunts him throughout the film, the way this is portrayed and executed is simple yet very effective. He constantly blames himself for something he had no control over, these moments where he hears his father’s voice are just some of the film’s most chilling moments.

Sora Wong plays a realistic sister type of role, Piper slowly gets manipulated by Laura into turning on her brother over the course of the film. Which is heartbreaking and horrifying to watch, also Sora Wong was actually born with coloboma and microphthalmia which left her with limited sight much like her character Piper. This representation helps make her character all the more grounded and even more devastating. Finally there’s Jonah Wren Phillips who plays Oliver, we learn more about his character as the film goes on I won’t say too much about him since it does lead into spoiler territory. But I will say that he does bring some quite neat body horror moments as well as gore that is quite disturbing. His performance is also quite chilling.

The writing is filled to the brim with this dark atmosphere, the two compliment each other incredibly well. What makes the film all the more disturbing is just how well written the characters really are, the dynamics between the characters is so well done with a lot of tension and dedication from the cast fully fleshes out the character writing and moves the story along at this very focused pace.

The disturbing parts come in both a psychological or theme wise and as well as gore. The gore is incredibly gnarly and you get a little bit of everything, including body horror, simple slashes, splatters and so much more. It all adds up to be this incredibly uncomfortable watch that you can’t look away from, then you have the themes of grieving and manipulation which are incredibly effective here. A lot of films have the film of grief but the mean spirited nature of the film along with this surprisingly beautiful ending is more than enough to disturb the viewer.

Overall Bring Her Back is one of the best films of the year, it’s incredibly well acted, written, directed and will leave you disturbed. Definitely one to watch if you haven’t already.

Bring Her Back releases tomorrow on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

M3GAN 2.0 (2025) Film Review

Two years after M3GAN’s rampage, her creator, Gemma, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down Amelia, the military-grade weapon who was built by a defense contractor who stole M3GAN’s underlying tech.

M3GAN 2.0 is directed by Gerard Johnstone director of Housebound (2014) and M3GAN (2022). M3GAN 2.0 is a serves as a sequel to M3GAN (2022).

M3GAN 2.0 is one of those sequels where they go in a completely different direction genre wise, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something you have to make sure you execute it well, where as the first film was a campy horror movie that I actually quite like (I am not as high on it as I was back when it first released but still a solid movie.) M3GAN 2.0 is an action sci-fi film that goes for this Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) type of feel, which although the movie mostly lands there are some glaring issues.

The performances are fine enough, with the exception of Jenna Davis who once again does a really great job as the voice of M3GAN. Plus Ivanna Sakhno does great as AMELIA although the lines she is given are a bit basic she makes them work quite well, the action scenes involving Sakhno work mainly due to AMELIA as a character actually being quite interesting and fun. M3GAN as a character gets some nice development here, there’s this light theme of redemption going on here which I do think is actually some of the movie’s best moments. There’s some decent dialogue between M3GAN and Gemma (played by Allison Williams), it’s not anything special but it is admittedly quite fun.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw unfortunately aren’t as good here as they were in the previous film and I honestly can’t exactly pinpoint why, maybe it’s because their characters worked a lot better in a traditional horror film or they never really match up to the chaos the script is asking for. Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps are given a lot more to do this time around, it’s nice to see them more involved but this still does not push their characters in the interesting territory. They fill their roles fine enough but that’s really where it ends.

As I said before this movie goes for a completely different direction from the first movie, if you loved the horror and the tension from the first movie you are going to be incredibly disappointed with this one. Because the horror just isn’t here with the tension being nonexistent, instead we have an action sci-fi film that has very light horror elements. The action scenes are actually pretty fun, there is not anything super impressive here but the fun factor is there. It’s quite neat to see M3GAN and AMELIA fight and I do like the use of the environments while these action scenes are occurring. The choreography is also quite well done which also helps these action scenes stand on their legs.

The writing is a mixed bag, while there is some commentary about AI it’s very surface level. The character writing unfortunately really does not go anywhere (M3GAN is the only one who actually gets some real meat from the writing) and the jokes are the definition of a hit or miss type of situation. There’s some jokes that I found decently funny while others just make you roll your eyes, there’s a lot of ideas that are interesting such as the commentary on AI and the theme of redemption. But they are done in this very surface level way that you ultimately forget about by the end.

Finally there’s the pacing combined with the runtime, this is one of those cases where you can really feel that the movie is dragging out and unfortunately it ends up costing the movie, which is a shame because I do think for the most part it’s a fun little ride.

Despite my problems with M3GAN 2.0 I do not think it’s necessarily a terrible movie, there’s a lot of fun to be had here and I do think M3GAN is a fun character. This is just a sequel that is a step down from the previous movie and not something that I think I will ever revisit, if you like action sci-fi movies you may like this one.

M3GAN 2.0 is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+