When a young girl’s parents are killed, her aunt takes her in and builds her a playmate.
These ideas never turn out well, do they?
Review © 2023 by Flytrap
M≡GAN
Written by: Akela Cooper, James Wan
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Jen Van Epps, Ronny Chieng
Complete cast and crew are here
Rated PG-13
Running time: 102 mins
Her aunt is a busy woman and doesn’t have time for trivial things like parenting, so she dusts off an old project, an advanced toy that is meant to be a playmate. This half sized Terminator bonds with the girl and becomes her protector, with somewhat predictable results unless none of these folks have ever seen a James Cameron movie.
There is a lot of self-aware silliness in this movie and I was in for it, along with a not-subtle morality lesson about shirking your social/family responsibilities, but that is kind of the point. The special effects are flawless and the cast is great; the robot/android/playmate is completely convincing. The music and score fit perfectly.
My only complaint is that there were some tense buildups without a real payoff; it looks like they left out some gore to get the PG-13 rating. I wonder if there’ll be a full, R-rated version to come?
I’ll recommend this one; it’s fun and sometimes scary. Probably not for the little ones. There are no scenes after the credits start so feel free to dance on outta there and give your bladder a break.
Flytrap rating: 7.5/10
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