Soulm8te: A Sleek but Hollow Detour in the M3GAN Universe
Katie Rife finds Soulm8te frustrating because it ends up repeating the very clichés it seems eager to poke at. A grieving engineer rewiring a robot companion to suit his own wants could have said something sharp about how women get blamed for men’s choices, she argues, but the film falls back on the old jealous-and-unhinged stereotype and lets David off easy.
Rife does enjoy a few bursts of camp, especially in the steamier scenes, yet the movie never goes wild enough to become a gleefully trashy ride. Its jabs at pop feminism feel forced, and she sees its weak impact as proof that not every sleeper hit needs a franchise. Katie Rife, RogerEbert.com
Jacob Oller sees a slick but shallow home-viewing thriller that recycles the rogue-android template without adding anything new. He does give it credit for moving fast, and he gets a kick out of Lily Sullivan’s deliberately stiff turn as Sara, which grows stranger and more interesting as things escalate. Claudia Doumit, he adds, outshines the leading man.
Tension is where it falls short for Oller. Kate Dolan rarely builds dread, so the R-rated shocks only register once the blood flows, and the M3GAN nods feel bolted on. A late speech about controlling women strikes him as a clumsy patch on a thin story. Jacob Oller, The A.V. Club
Tyler Nichols is warmer than most, ranking Soulm8te as the most enjoyable chapter of the M3GAN universe so far. He credits the cast: Sullivan keeps Sara mechanical while letting her visibly evolve, and David Rysdahl makes the widowed engineer sympathetic even at his most pitiful. The adult rating and an unexpected sincerity help it stand apart.
Nichols still stops short of a real recommendation. The plot sits too close to Companion, many kills happen off camera, and the loneliness theme is raised and then dropped. He’s most annoyed by how often the film spells out its message, which he feels drains the horror. Tyler Nichols, JoBlo
The consensus: Critics agree that Lily Sullivan’s eerie, robotic performance is the best thing here, but they split on whether the film’s sincerity makes up for its borrowed plot, low tension and heavy-handed messaging. Overall, Soulm8te is a watchable but forgettable M3GAN offshoot, best saved for a slow horror night.
