The Electric State Review
A tangled web of wires and whirring machines, where the line between human and machine is increasingly blurred. Sound familiar? The Electric State, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame), taps into the idea of robots becoming sentient as it follows an orphaned teen on a quest to find her brother in a world ravaged by a robot uprising. Succeeding in its performances, this film struggled to tone down the humour and ultimately needed a more human touch.
Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) leads this story as Michelle, a character who has lost everything. But when she has a run-in with a robot, she discovers all is not as it seems. Her thought-to-be-dead brother, Christopher (Woody Norman), has possessed this machine to reach Michelle. Brown nails the emotional beats of this character, invoking poignancy in the smallest of moments.
She is accompanied by Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Keats, a courier of illegal goods who works alongside his wisecracking robot sidekick, Herman (Anthony Mackie). In contrast to Brown’s protagonist, Pratt and Mackie keep things light with quick wit and fun exchanges. It’s clear much of Pratt’s improvisation was kept in the final cut, with a few moments kept lengthier than needed for banter between characters. The likes of Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Alan Tudyk, Hank Azaria, Jenny Slate, Ke Huy Quan, and Brian Cox all lend their vocal talents to the misfit band of robots the central characters finally meet at an abandoned shopping mall, and all bring so much life to the dialogue written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The robots are dejected when audiences first meet them, but as they gear up to fight for their lives, the comedy chops from every single actor are revealed brilliantly.
The great Stanley Tucci is the villainous Ethan Skate, a tech mogul who created the virtual reality headsets “neurocasters”, which the world finds themselves sucked into—an echo of our world. He’s as watchable as ever as the man who believes his own lies and misdeeds. The misgiving, however, was not having Brown and Tucci share any scenes, which leaves a notable hole in the narrative. To not have the hero and villain meet once doesn’t land well in a story like this and, sadly, it leads to a deflated final act. Giancarlo Esposito, fresh from his escapades with Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World, backs Tucci as Colonel Bradbury, who goes through the biggest character arc, but we won’t reveal too much here.
The film is adapted from the book The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag, however, the novel itself is much darker, while the Russos choose to cater to a younger audience. This largely works until a particularly dire plot point occurs and audiences are left suffering from severe tonal whiplash. It sometimes felt like the plot was running on a slightly faulty processor, with a need for the comedy to be toned down more often to make room for essential emotional beats.
Although the CGI is serviceable, the film is in desperate need for more of a human element. It can be difficult for audiences to watch a screen they know is so hefty with visual effects, so much so it makes us yearn for the directors to have taken a more practical route, which would have allowed viewers to connect with the robotic characters even more, and would have enhanced the incredible actors’ performances even more.
In the end, The Electric State delivers a tonally uneven journey into this world. While the film occasionally stumbles with pacing and a softened narrative compared to its source material, Brown’s compelling performance anchors its emotional core. And, despite a few glitches in its programming, the film’s undeniable spectacle and exploration of timely themes offer a worthwhile, if not entirely seamless, experience. It serves as a reminder that even in a world of machines and digital landscapes, the human connection remains the most vital circuit.
★★
On Netflix from March 14th / Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Brian Cox, Woody Norman / Dir: Anthony and Joe Russo / Netflix / 12A
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
