The Electric State is an upcoming American science fiction adventure due to release on Netflix on March 14th. Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo, the film stars Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Key Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito, and Stanley Tucci. Based on the novel of the same name,
Simon Stålenhag, the film is set in a retro-futuristic past, orphaned teenager Michelle (Brown) travels the American West with an eccentric drifter, Keats (Pratt), and a sweet, but mysterious robot, Mr. Peanut, (Harrelson), in search of her younger brother.

I was not particularly excited for this. Much like my opinion of Marvel, I have also remained optimistic of the Russo brothers post-Endgame. The idea of the Russo brothers branching out into different projects has always been exciting to me, but it may be time for Marvel and the brothers reunite again. They need it. After spending an egregious $320 million for this film, I am of course as frustrated as others as that money could have been used elsewhere. For a film that’s not even going to get a box-office return, it’s sort of beyond me. After seeing the final product, I am very mixed with the reception here.

After watching the film, I immediately agreed with one of my friends who also it early saying that it wasn’t as the reviews have said. After spending some time with it, I began to like it less and less, but I have found sort of a middle ground with the film. For one, the film embraces a tone that made me love film to begin with. The film certainly replicates other films that did it much better. That’s also where the film succeeds. The adventure style reminds me of when I used to watch The Pagemaster as a kid. That film has a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes where this film completely sports a 22% on the site. Needless to say, not everything has to be perfect. I just can’t see this being for everyone.

I’m calling it now. Viewers are either going to see “this is the worst thing I have ever seen” or “it wasn’t that bad. I had a good time and it could have been much worse.” I get both perspectives. The script is rough right from the jump. I was immediately taken back by how poor the dialogue was for how much the film cost. It just never gives the talent to showcase their actual talents. With such a bloated cast with way more than the film can juggle, it’s clear this film serves more like a trailer for Netflix more than anything else.

Netflix doesn’t have many franchises. If anything, I’d argue the Knives Out films are their biggest property, but the first film didn’t even start there. Netflix wants every big property to get their own franchise. Spending more money is not going to cut it. For context, the first Iron Man had a budget of $140 million, but they were able to find success through the box office to spawn a franchise. With the negative reception, I can’t imagine this being a huge success. Netflix made $49 billion in revenue and $8.7 billion in net income in 2024, so I am sure that $320 million price tag won’t hurt them, but why do that when the money could be used for better movies and TV shows?

With the huge price tag also comes with CGI galore. As of lately, I have been so much more in tune with CGI that I can’t really deal with it anymore. It takes you out of the magic of the characters, the setting, and the story. The film has a lot of it. While I found the action to be somewhat entertaining and the style to be adventurous, the desaturated color looks unappealing and the sets are clearly fake. I just found myself being taken out of the film with how fake an expensive movie looked, when it should have been the complete opposite.

The film boasts a large cast ensemble that’s certainly going to be the film’s biggest draw more than anything else. The problem is that the film doesn’t always know what to do with them. Millie Bobby Brown’s dialogue doesn’t properly showcase her talents. Chris Pratt has some of the strangest character development as the time goes on. Stanley Tucci’s dialogue seriously made me question what I was watching at times. Brian Cox also has might have been miscast with his bubbly personality. I will say I was surprised by some of the cameos that won me over even if I wanted more from them. It’s a shame Ke Huy Quan & Anthony Mackie can’t catch a break so far this year. Those guys need something better and soon.

With a 2 hour and 8 minute runtime that also includes about 15 minutes of credits, you’d think that would give the film plenty of time to flesh everything out. The problem is that the film boasts way too many characters that are more focused on drawing story power over characterization. The pacing can be exciting, especially in the action, but I also found myself struggling to connect with a story that’s been done too many times before. The film had more potential to be something unique like Fallout, but in the 90’s. Instead, I found myself underwhelmed with the lack of urgency the film needed.

Overall, The Electric State is completely fine for what it is. I can understand where viewers are going to sway negatively towards it. It’s bloated with the amount of star power that doesn’t give everyone enough time to shine. Personally, I felt like I was watching something nostalgic based on what I grew up on. I am having a hard time with recommending this one since I can see people leaning more negative. This is a perfect example to reiterate what I always try to convey: if there is a movie you want to watch, watch it for yourself and be in on the conversation with those who have seen it.

VERDICT: 2.5/5 (Okay)