ELECTRIC STATE, THE
(directors: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo; screenwriters:Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, based on the book by Simon Stålenhag; cinematographer: Stephen F. Windon; editor: Jeffrey Ford; music: Alan Silvestri; cast: Millie Bobby Brown (Michelle), Chris Pratt (Keats), Woody Norman (Christopher), Stanley Tucci (Ethan Skate), Giancarlo Esposito (Colonel Bradbury/The Marshall), Ke Huy Quan (Dr. Amherst/P.C.-voice), Woody Harrelson (Mr. Peanut-voice), Anthony Mackie (Herman-voice), Alan Tudyk (Cosmo-voice), Jason Alexander (Ted/Wingman, Michelle’s foster dad); Runtime: 126; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, Chris Castaldi, Patrick Newall; Netflix; 2025)
“It flounders in its derivative juices.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
The Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony (“Avengers: End Game”/”Cherry”), co-direct in a heavy-handed manner this cautionary adaptation of a YA graphic novel by Swedish sci-fi artist Simon Stålenhag. It’s an ambitious futuristic dystopian sci-fi flick that’s actually set in the past (goes back to a time before social media). Under co-writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely it flounders in its derivative juices.
The brilliant but scurvy tech guru Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) has developed deadly virtual-reality devices that allow the humans to defeat the uppity robots.
In a 1990s alternate, retro-futuristic state, Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) is a feisty teen orphan (parents and brother were killed in an auto accident). She’s residing with her foster father (Jason Alexander) in a world where bots resembling cartoons and mascots now live in exile from humans after an uprising by humans refusing their request for equality led to their banishment in the desert.
One night Michelle is visited by the sweet ball-like robot Cosmo (Alan Tudyk-voice), who is controlled by her supposedly dead genius younger brother Christopher (Woody Norman). This inspires Michelle to see if he’s alive and treks across the American southwest with Cosmo to try and find him. She’s joined by Keats (Chris Pratt), a smuggler and his partner Herman (Anthony Mackie-voice). The group enters into the Exclusion Zone, a walled-off part of the New Mexico desert where the robots live in isolation. The group soon learns that Christopher’s disappearance has something sinister about it, as his body is being held against his wishes while his soul is in Cosmo.
Too bad this visual treat was so poorly executed and that the novel’s gravitas comes up vapid, as it warns of unchecked technology and the damage it could do if in the wrong hands. The end result is a sanitized, forgettable and underwhelming film.
It seems such a waste that its budget was for $320 million.
REVIEWED ON 4/3/2025 GRADE: C-
dennisschwartzreviews.com