The Electric State

The Electric State Netflix follows Michelle, a teenage girl, as she journeys across a post-apocalyptic 1990s America in search of her missing brother, Christopher. Accompanied by a robot and a mysterious drifter, Keats, she ventures into the desolate Robot Exclusion Zone, where dangerous secrets about advanced VR technology and its impact on humanity await her discovery. Michelle’s quest leads her deeper into the truth behind the collapse of society and her brother’s role in it.

The Electric State Review

A graphic novel by Swedish author Simon Stålenhag, the original The Electric State is a dystopian tale about the nature of consciousness, the dangers of subverting reality, and the lengths that some will go to in the name of family. Conversely, the Netflix film is a $320 million boondoggle that seems written for children, except for the persistent cursing.

                   

Its inexpertly written script by MCU veterans Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, which runs solely on watery unleaded convenience, focuses almost entirely on a robotic Mr. Peanut-led Civil Rights fight for America’s marketing and entertainment automatons plot that is wholly original to the film.

In a move that should terrify any holding out hope for the MCU’s next phase, The Electric State’s directors, the Russo Brothers, inexplicably chose to swap the graphic novel’s bleak tone for a watered-down Guardians of The Galaxy vibe. Coincidentally, this flick gives us a flat Chris Pratt doing his best as its second-fiddle despite clearly having no true understanding of the melody. Meanwhile, Millie Bobbie Brown’s talent isn’t up to defeating lazy writing and a meandering plot. However, the film’s biggest surprise isn’t a good one, as Giancarlo Esposito, usually a solid if one-note performer, spends his time on screen doing a bad Foghorn Leghorn impression.

As it stands, The Electric State provides audiences with a messy narrative that has nothing to say and little style with which to say it.

WOKE REPORT

Spoiler (as in, the end of the movie is spoiled below)

• Spoiler

  The film’s resolution relies on the mercy that is assisted suicide. The storytellers attempt to infuse the decision with pain and thoughtful contemplation, but like the rest of the film, it is bungled and artlessly direct.