The Electric State (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – An orphaned teenager traverses the American West with a sweet, but mysterious, robot, and an eccentric drifter in search of her younger brother.

My Take – Though they had honed their talents by working as producers and directors on popular comedy series like ‘Arrested Development‘ and ‘Community‘, filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo rose to global fame came by helming Marvel Studios‘ arguably four best films: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Massive critical and box office successes that guaranteed the two could pick up and green-lit any and as many projects they wanted.

However, most surprisingly, their post-Endgame works have been mostly miss than hit. Particularly, their directorial efforts, Cherry (2021) and The Gray Man (2022), which despite all the star power, ended up being damp squibs at best. And while their latest effort is not as out-and-out terrible as some of the critics and the early reviews have made it out to be, it unfortunately does fall short considerably considering the talents attached, both in front and behind.

Loosely based on the 2018 illustrated novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag, the Netflix release is actually backed by an interesting premise that could have resembled a fun, creative blockbuster, but the execution is terribly uneven rushed and fails to deliver anything beyond its initial setup.

Sure, it is engaging and delivers the marketed big, inoffensive action spectacle with recognizable performers, but it also pales in comparison to the ones it is trying to imitate: Gareth Edwards‘ excellent but criminally under-seen The Creator (2023) and director Steven Spielberg‘ last blockbuster Ready Player One (2018). It is more frustrating to know how its massive price tag of $320 million could have funded at least half a dozen mid-budget genre films for the streamer.

Set in an alternate, retro-futuristic 1990s, the story follows teenage orphan Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), who lives in a world where sentient robots, who after being initially created for the opening of Disneyland, were integrated into society to carry out the burden of humanity’s heavy duty jobs and other unfit chores. And as one would expect, this eventually led to a failed uprising led by the Planters mascot, Mr. Peanut (voiced by Woody Harrelson), who rallied for robot rights and started a war, but ended up signing a treaty that allowed him and his kind to continue living, but exiled to the massive Exclusion Zone, a walled-off enclave.

Though Michelle and her certified genius younger brother, Christopher (Woody Norman), had a certain fondness for robots, with his death, Michelle has pretty much given up on everything and is simply going through the motions, living with her nasty foster father, Ted (Jason Alexander), who like most population after the war, spends his entire time plugged in to a virtually reality simulation.

However, her sad existence is interrupted at the middle of the night, when she is visited by Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a mascot robot of a once popular cartoon that seemingly contains the consciousness of a still-living Christopher. Determined to find his physical self, Michelle embarks on a journey across the American Southwest with Cosmo, and teams up with Keats (Chris Pratt), a former soldier turned nostalgia goods smuggler, and his wisecracking robot companion Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie).

Their quest leads them to the walled-off zone, where they uncover a sinister conspiracy involving tech mogul Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), even as they are hunted by the relentless former Col. Marshall Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito).

Without a doubt, the film starts strong, presenting a mysterious and engaging world that is packed with nostalgic elements-from the soundtrack to countless pop culture references of the era. Indeed, the world-building is impressive, with a great variety of robotic designs that feel both inventive and visually distinct. The CGI, unsurprisingly given the budget, blends in seamlessly.

But stunning visuals alone can’t compensate for a lackluster narrative that becomes increasingly formulaic as it goes on. Turning what could have been a thought-provoking sci-fi journey into something simplistic and uninspired. Here, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely‘s world building is painted in broad strokes, hurtling from an all-out robot war, complete with some properly impressive large-scale visuals, to a dystopian wasteland of techno-junkies in mere minutes.

Though the premise has all the makings of a throwback adventure, the kind of high-concept spectacle that dominated the big screens until a decade ago, but it never fully embraces its tone. Instead, feeling more like it is caught between providing heavy-handed moral lessons on acceptance and making light commentary on technology. Honestly, it’s never quite clear whether the film is warning of tech’s dangers or reveling in its possibilities.

It doesn’t help that Millie Bobby Brown brings in an underwhelming turn. A complete miscast after already aging out of high school roles, her performance lacks the emotional weight needed to carry the story, making it difficult to connect with her character. On the other hand, Chris Pratt is firmly in his familiar form and brings his usual humor and charm to the table.

Unfortunately, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander and Ke Huy Quan are saddled with one-dimensional supporting roles. Comparatively, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Alan Tudyk and Woody Harrelson are better off in voice roles. On the whole, ‘The Electric State‘ is an incredibly formulaic sci-fi blockbuster that relies on spectacle rather than substance, delivering a pretty but hollow experience.