Hey everybody and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be taking a look at the latest big budget Netflix original from the Russo Brothers. Based off of Simon Stalenhag’s acclaimed illustrated novel from 2018, the film is reportedly the most expensive movie the streamer has ever put out (which is really saying something when one looks at what some of their other projects have cost) with a budget of $320 million! That is a lot of money and one can certainly debate if any project is worth that much money. Still, this was clearly a big deal for the streamer and the Russos did make some of the biggest movies of all time with the last two Avengers movies so I guess I can see why so much money is being thrown their way (even if their non MCU projects haven’t been nearly as well received). That being said, most big budget Netflix projects don’t really do much for me as, most of the time, they feel like inferior approximations of big Hollywood features. Still, I do like me some big scale sci fi, and the concept certainly has potential. Was this able to rise above other would be Netflix blockbusters? Let’s jump right in and see what these machines have to say!
Set in an alternate past in the 1990s, the status quo here is that humans and machines have been at war with one another due to the latter feeling they aren’t being treated properly. With the world in disarray, Sentre CEO, Ethan Skate, comes up with Neurocaster Technology, which allows humans to upload their minds into drone bots which allows them to win the war. Thus, the robots are banished to an isolated zone, while humans use the technology extensively to do work. We a follow a teenage girl named Michelle, who lost her parents and brother and a car crash and is now living in foster care and struggling at school. One day, a lost robot named Cosmo stumbles upon her and claims to be her brother, Christopher. Not believing this, the two soon go on a journey to find the truth with a smuggler named Keats and his robot companion, Herman, joining the adventure as well. However, the stakes become higher once Skate finds out what is going on and sets out to stop them for good.
Exploring the relationship between humans and machines as well as the risks of being addicted to technology is certainly not a new idea. However, that doesn’t make it any less interesting as it can be explored in various creative ways as shown by the ones that execute it very well. Unfortunately, when it comes to The Electric State, not only do I feet it failed to do anything that sets it apart from similar projects, it also felt rather inferior to a lot of those same films (The Creator, Ready Player One, etc.). The 1990s setting infused with futuristic touches is pretty neat on the surface level, but I can’t say the Russos or writers, Stephen McFeely and Christopher Marcus, do anything that interesting with it beyond some cool design choices. Instead they opt to tell a very paint by numbers road journey where we have some characters go on a quest and encounter a bunch of obstacles and revelations along the way. The problem, is that this journey is not that investing with the character arcs not really registering or being developed in a meaningful way, and the script is really lackluster as it cribs from so much, has some really poor dialogue that sounds worse when spoken aloud, and fails to find its own identity.
Another aspect that the film can’t quite get right is the tone. There are times where it feels like the writers wanted to go for a more tongue in cheek approach (I mean its hard to hear that President Clinton signed a deal with Mr. Peanut and maintain a straight face) and not take things super seriously and admittedly there are a couple of amusing moments along those lines. The humor in general is just kind of there (and honestly kind of try hard at times) with only a few chuckles registering on the whole though. But, then the film also wants to go for extreme sentiment and attempt melodrama, but it just comes off as unearned and not that compelling. Maybe if the film picked a lane and stuck with it, the result might’ve worked slightly better, but as it stands we just have a fairly formulaic blockbuster that came out of it.
With a budget like this, at the very least the money should be on the screen? Well this is clearly not a cheap looking picture with various CGI characters and VFX work being utilized and a lot of it looks pretty good for the most part. The stand outs in this regard are the various robots we encounter as they look like fully realized creations that have a lot of detail to them and there is a lot of creativity in regards to the various designs of these machines that have a fun old timey feel to them. There are even some neat visuals throughout that show off this dystopian take on the Earth with various machine parts being strewn about the countryside with some 90s touches thrown in for good measure. Granted, I wish more was done with this aspect of the film beyond window dressing, but it at least made for a surface level interesting element and I do like when the film attempts to have a retro vibe (the use of a 90s looking cartoon throughout is one nice example of this) even if is not as prevalent as one would hope.
Now like other big budget Netflix films, there is a fair bit of obvious green screen and a scale that feels a bit smaller than one would expect from a typical Hollywood production. There are times where things do look a bit off in regards to lighting and other aspects like that but for the most part it looks fine. The action that’s presented isn’t anything to write home about with really only the big mass machine fighting climax delivering most of it. Oh and while it was nice to see Alan Silvestri do the score for this and his music is decent enough, it is fairly standard “sweeping, wonderous music” that really does try to make this feel like something Spielberg would do.
Another common trend with these types of films is that they tend to have a stacked cast filled to the brim with recognizable names, who may or may not doing it for a nice big paycheck. This is no different as we have various stars here filling roles that… aren’t the most compelling. We have Millie Bobby Brown (in another big role in a Netflix project) playing Michelle and she’s fine I guess, faring better in the attempted emotional beats than when she has to show a hard, rebellious personality. I just didn’t find the character all that interesting and while I think there is a solid foundation for something engrossing with the close relationship between her and Christopher (Woody Norman), with the latter seemingly inhabiting a robot’s consciousness and how Michelle bonds with him in that way, the proper development just isn’t there, leading to a lot of the emotional moments falling flat despite the two’s best efforts. Then we have Chris Pratt as Keats, who tries very hard to be funny like he is in other projects, but it ends up coming off as forced, it doesn’t come off as natural, and the character just doesn’t get much depth. He also has a dynamic with a sentient robot named Herman (unrecognizably voiced by Anthony Mackie) which sound neat on paper (former soldier who fought robots becomes partners in crime with them), but in execution its didn’t do much for me with them just constantly bickering most of the time in an annoying manner.
This idea of character arcs having inherent potential, but lackluster execution extends to pretty much every other character here. Ethan Skate is a pretty standard evil CEO who just wants to use technology for his own gain even if there are some scenes that hint at something more meaningful and nuanced (him using that technology to provide better experiences for people). At least Stanley Tucci tries as he usually does in this role, really doing his best to sell some of the really questionable at best dialogue he is given. Same goes for Giancarlo Esposito as famed robot killer, Marshall Bradbury, also called “The Butcher”. He mostly just exists as an obstacle for our heroes to face, but Esposito can do this kind of role in his sleep and his character is probably by default one of the more interesting. Oh and Ke Huy Quan also shows up in a pretty thankless role as Dr. Amherst, an important player in regards to what happened with Christopher, who is just there to spout exposition. Surprisingly enough, the best performance I felt was actually Woody Harrelson as the voice of Mr. Peanut. He’s actually able to give a genuinely solid vocal performance that made the material sound better than it actually was. It was poignant and made the character sympathetic as someone who just wants what’s best for the machines. It frankly felt like it belonged in a much better movie. We have plenty of other names filling out the various robot roles such as Jenny Slate, Brian Cox, and Hank Azaria among others and I’ll admit they sometimes got a chuckle out of me (Cox especially as a crazy baseball robot).
All in all, I found The Electric State to be a dud of a sci fi adventure that left me wanting more. It has some interesting aspects to it, a couple of moments of amusement, and most of the effects work and designs are solid. However, it can’t make up for a dull execution of a story that cribs from so many works, underdeveloped themes, some wonky visual stuff here and there, and characters that I either did not find compelling in the slightest or whose potential was not met. It is a shame that this ended up being another big budget Netflix misfire as from what I’ve seen of the source material, it had the potential to be something truly unique and interesting. However, it just becomes a mad libs of so many better executed works and it again showcases the struggles the Russo Bros. have had in making it outside of the Marvel system. I guess if one wants to randomly put something on in the background or pass the time, then maybe this’ll do something. But, honestly watching it really just reminds me of other things that actually resonate with me. So yeah, not the best use of $320 million out there, I’d say.
Rating: D+
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 