Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
So many things about the retro-futuristic movie The Electric State are great: it has a intriguing premise, a cool cast, fantastic CGI, some lovable robot characters, and they are all shockingly underutilized. Okay, well, not ‘shockingly’, but it’s simply fun to to pun with the title – an element largely missing from the movie.
Directed by the Russo brothers, ‘The Electric State’ is based on the book of the same name by Simon Stålenhag which re-imagines 1990s as a dystopian era where robots & humans go to war after robots become more sentient, demanding more rights for themselves. Against this backdrop, the film follows orphaned teen Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) as she goes on a dangerous quest to find her younger boy-genius brother Christopher, along with a mysterious robot called Cosmo. They are joined by black-marketeer Keats (Chris Pratt) and his cheeky robot BFF Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie) in their journey, while being chased by villains who want their robot sidekicks dead (or worse).
After playing the special kid who needs new friends to save her and the world in Stranger Things, it was refreshing to see Millie Bobby Brown take on the role of the one saving the special kid. Stanley Tucci plays the primary antagonist, Ethan Skate, a billionaire entrepreneur who copyrights a groundbreaking technology that allows humans to inhabit and control robotic bodies, enabling them to be in two places at once. It’s this tech that helps them to crush the robots in war and sign a peace treaty, which includes banning humans from harboring robots. Woody Harrelson voice Mr Peanut, leader of the robots, while Giancarlo Esposito plays ‘The Marshall’, an anti-AI figure famous for butchering several robots in the war. Ke Huy Quan is criminally wasted in a cameo as Dr. Amherst, someone who holds the key to finding out where Michelle’s brother is.
Throughout its 2-hour runtime, Electric State maintains an overwhelmingly underwhelming tone, sticking to familiar formulas despite an intriguing premise. The comedic elements fall flat, while the jokes aren’t necessarily bad, they don’t make you laugh out loud either. The first half suffers from a lack of energy, and the blame falls squarely on the scriptwriters, as the cast delivers strong performances.
Things do pick up slightly toward the climax, with a tense “robots versus humanoids” battle, though the direction feels somewhat chaotic. I remember watching the Fallout, the 2024 retro-futuristic dystopian series, and recommending it to everyone I knew. Electric State had the potential to be something similar, but uninspired direction really holds it back. Still, give it a chance if you’re open to a middling sci-fi film with a great cast.
Rating: 2.5 on 5. Watch ‘Electric State’ on Netflix.
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