The Electric State Review: An Utter Waste

In this Netflix sci-fi action comedy film, Michelle makes her way across the American West to find her brother with the help of a cartoon-inspired robot, a smuggler, and his sidekick in a society where sentient robots live in exile from humans after a failed uprising.

The film has a runtime of 128 minutes and is loosely based on the 2018 illustrated novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag.

The Electric State Review

In this journey film starring Millie Bobby Brown, there’s a social issue underneath the family drama that unfolds as one fine day, Michelle gets a visit from Cosmo, who apparently is his dead brother come to life through a robot. The film brings us close to these characters, even the robots, and we follow them somewhat willingly as they go through this perilous journey while being chased by the big bad antagonist.

The Electric State, a film that is one of the most expensive with a budget of $320 million, is extremely cliched. We have seen a variation of this plot in every other sci-fi journey film, complete with an antagonist who has absolutely no nuance or depth. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Ethan Skate but boy is his character dull and utterly lifeless. Everything else about this film is equally annoyingly obvious and there’s no life in anything that it says. It’s a formulaic abomination and reminded me of Uglies in more ways than one.

The problem with the film is that it’s not fun. I am okay with a formulaic crowdpleaser if it leaves me on the edge of my seat but this Netflix film is just so utterly obvious and without a voice of its own that it’s almost shameful to witness such a waste of money. And sure, the special effects are good but that’s not just what a film boils down to. All the metal and glass needs soul to come together and this film truly misses that on a spectacular level.

I couldn’t even find myself feeling for the social aspect of its plot. The idea of these robots being used by human beings for their own benefit and then exiled when they turned out to be of no use is not just annoyingly obvious but also presented in the most basic, grating way possible. Again, it’s like Uglies somehow… it’s almost uncanny. It’s almost like every other Netflix sci-fi film/series, pushed out to get as many eyeballs as possible without trying to do anything more with it.

The characters are somewhat likeable thankfully. I liked Millie Bobby Brown’s Michelle and she showcases her character’s heartbreak beautifully. I failed to understand the point of Chris Pratt’s character’s existence but he’s funny enough to not hate. Lastly, I loved the cute robots — they are voiced fantastically. Again, the VFX is great and is one of the best parts of this movie.

Final Thoughts

The Electric State is entirely unmemorable and thoroughly corny. There could’ve been something truly mesmerising and hard-hitting about this film but it doesn’t try to be anything more than the unremarkable trash that we see every day on OTT. Either way, the film has good performances and very beautiful VFX and that’s gotta count for something, I guess.

Also Read: Picture This Review: Cliched and Tropey in the Worst Ways