Two-and-a-half years ago, a saucy little doll-like robot named M3GAN danced — and slashed — her way into our hearts.

“M3GAN” — which, with a budget of $10 million or so, earned 18 times that at the box office and gave us all one more reason to fear artificial intelligence — has been responsible for memes, Halloween costumes and a “Saturday Night Live” sketch.

And while“M3GAN 2.0” borrows its title from that sketch, it is anything but the slapped-together sequel promised in that parody.

What it is — surprisingly, given the success of the original — is a romp that all but abandons the horror genre for a lot of fun in the realms of action and comedy.

Turns out M3GAN is the hero we didn’t know we needed.

Returning director Gerard Johnstone wrote the screenplay for “M3GAN 2.0,” sharing the story-by credit with “M3GAN” scribe Akela Cooper, and has given us something that borrows ideas from 1991 megahit “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” However, “2.0” never takes itself remotely as seriously as that James Cameron action classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The story picks up two years after the events of the first movie, with the tech used to create M3GAN having been stolen and used to create a super-spy android, Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno of “Ahsoka”). While on loan from the United States to Saudi Arabia, Amelia, naturally, goes rogue and seemingly has intentions that could be very problematic for humankind.

Although she’s no longer in her body, M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis and later represented physically by Amie Donald) works to convince her creator, Gemma (Allison Williams), to help her with that. Sure, she got a bit out of hand before, she allows, but she’s only ever sought to follow her programming that commands her to protect Gemma’s niece and pseudo-daughter, Cady (Violet McGraw). Gemma doesn’t truly trust her, but Cady, who’s taken an interest in computer science, does.

Once M3GAN is rebuilt and given some upgrades, she’s something akin to a little robot Batman, complete with a lair and a gliding apparatus. Along with Gemma and Cady, Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) and Tess (Jen Van Epps), Gemma’s longtime colleagues, round out this rag-tag Justice League of sorts.

Notable newcomers include Aristotle Athari, as Gemma’s brilliant boyfriend, Christian, and the typically funny Jemaine Clement as Alton Appleton, a not-so-likable tech titan interested in acquiring a project Gemma’s financially strapped team has been developing.

Gemma doesn’t fully trust M3GAN, and we’re never sure we should, either, which helps give the proceedings that little edge. That said, Amelia most certainly is a threat, so it’s not too hard to buy that Gemma would go along with rebuilding her former foe.

Most importantly, M3GAN continues to be a major source of entertainment, thanks to the actors, tech and effects used to bring her to sassy life. She dances some more — and even sings, which is hilarious — when she’s not engaged in fights with nefarious humans and Amelia.

As was the case with the first movie, the supporting cast is merely fine, with Williams (“Girls,” “Get Out”) mostly required to play it pretty straight — until the final act, which she, too, is able to get in on the action-heavy fun of his increasingly over-the-top endeavor. And, hey, Alvarez (“80 for Brady”) is good for a few laughs.

“M3GAN 2.0” does go a little haywire in its action-packed final act, but, by then, the movie already has delivered more entertainment than perhaps was reasonable to ask of it.

It would seem a very safe bet that a version 3.0 of “M3GAN” is in our not-too-distant future. And as we wait to see what genre that potential flick will dance in, we can look forward to the (gulp) spinoff “SOULM8TE,” which is slated for a theatrical release in January.

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'M3GAN 2.0'

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language, sexual material, and brief drug references)

Running time: 1:59

How to watch: In theaters June 27

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