ArcaMax

Despite her (obviously bogus) death-by-moppet in the first film, saucy robot girl M3GAN is back in action in the new sequel, "M3GAN 2.0." And how is it? Well, the movie suffers from narrative sprawl and thematic overkill, unfortunately, but it's still fun. Just not quite as much.

In the two years since the events of the original movie (which grossed $181 million on a budget of $12 million, thus the reincarnation), M3GAN's inventor, robotics designer Gemma Forrester (Allison Williams), has become a bestselling author warning about the existential risks of artificial intelligence. And she's still the guardian of her orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 12, a budding science nerd herself and conveniently adept at the martial art of aikido.

As for the original M3GAN (Amie Donald, once again synched with the voice of Jenna Davis), she's taken up residence in the digital innards of Gemma's fancy new smart home and, for limited real-world mobility, a vintage Teletubby doll. She is not a happy camper. (Berated by Gemma for trying to murder her in the first film, M3GAN snaps, "I was upset!")

Plot complications quickly proliferate. The M3GAN software has been hijacked and installed in a new, more sultry killing machine called AMELIA (short for Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android, whatever). Played with the deadest of pans by Ivanna Sakhno, AMELIA is currently running wild and threatening the very foundations of Western Civ. M3GAN volunteers to help stop this new menace: All she'll need are some tech upgrades, a few fancy new cyber outfits, a new haircut (borrowed from Hit Girl in the old "Kick-Ass" movies), and an indelible Britney Spears hit to fuel the picture's expanded dance consciousness. (It worked once; work it again.)

Unlike the first "M3GAN," this one tries to be a full-on action film. But at a time when the "John Wick" movies have raised the standard of action choreography to a new high, it's hard to compete on a more modest budgetary level; the stunt work here is fine, but not what anyone would call buzzworthy, I don't think. The vintage sci-fi references are clever, though -- the plot clearly echoes the 1991 "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," and the visual allusions to the 1927 "Metropolis," a movie with its own angry robot girl, are beautifully done. It's also good that writer-director Gerard Johnstone has brought back Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps as Gemma's lab support team. Their characters' official duties may be ambiguous (as another character candidly observes), but their comical bemusement helps stitch the story together.

Less successful are Johnstone's attempts to turn the picture into an old-style Bond film. These involve the introduction of a cyber-mogul named Appleton (get it?), played by Jemaine Clement, complete with luxury lair; and the introduction of a Musk-like but entirely underwhelming evil mastermind whose identity I'll leave you to guess. It won't be hard.

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To find out more about Kurt Loder and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com.

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