4.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div> Say hello to M3GAN, a child-sized, self-learning robot doll with a glitchy operating system that gives a terrifying new meaning to FATAL ERROR. If that sounds like some Bride of Chucky rip-off with an AI makeover then you\u2019re in for a pleasant surprise. And a fair few insanely unpleasant ones too.<\/p>\n
Gemma (Allison Williams) creates hi-tech toys for a living, and her latest project is M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), a fully interactive, life-like doll that looks like a manga school girl who\u2019s crawled out of the uncanny valley. M3GAN is designed to bond with a child, and to protect them and guide them, like a robot nanny in the guise of a playmate. Or a surrogate parent.<\/p>
So when workaholic Gemma becomes the reluctant guardian to her niece, Cady, after the child\u2019s parents die in a road accident, she offloads parenting duties onto M3GAN. Besides, Cady and M3GAN\u2019s growing relationship will serve as a test case that\u2019ll look great at the swanky, prestige product\u2019s press launch.<\/p>\n
Problems arise, though, when Cady\u2019s reliance on her new plastic pal proves increasingly unhealthy and M3GAN starts to interpret her programming \u2013 especially that bit about \u201cprotection\u201d \u2013 in increasingly extreme ways.<\/p>\n
At heart, there\u2019s little new about M3GAN. Based on a story co-concocted by the Saw series\u2019 main orchestrator James Wan (the film comes from his Atomic Monster production company), the basic plot is as old as Frankenstein: hubristic scientist oversteps moral boundaries and creates a monster.<\/p>\n
The film also shamelessly embraces a plethora of genre clich\u00e9s with a cheery we-know-you-know abandon. The very last shot, for example, is an utterly predictable old chestnut of a final twist, but it\u2019s more likely to make you grin than groan.<\/p>\n