The only reason I even knew about this movie was because people were talking about how outrageously expensive it was… and how bad it turned out to be. It’s currently sitting at what feels like 177% on Rotten Tomatoes (critics are tearing it apart), and now that I’ve seen it, I get why.
I’ve ranted before about how out-of-control movie budgets have become (Borderlands is another example), but this? This feels like a money-laundering scheme. Where did that $320 million even go? Chris Pratt is in it, so maybe he took a fourth of the budget just to show up. If I were a Netflix accountant, I might be contemplating a career change right now because this is outrageous.
The movie is directed by the Russo brothers (yes, the Marvel guys), so maybe Netflix thought they were getting their own Avengers—instead, they got the Ass-vengers. Not the most creative insult, but this film has drained my neurons.
I only found out The Electric State is based on a graphic novel after watching it. Maybe they spent half the budget just to get the rights because they clearly didn’t allocate much to the script. That’s the most frustrating part—this film has a fascinating world and amazing robot designs, but the story is so generic it hurts. There’s zero depth or originality. Within 15 minutes, you know exactly how the entire thing will play out.
The plot is painfully predictable. Millie Bobby Brown plays a girl whose family died in a car crash—well, not all her family. Her brother, a child genius, was secretly kidnapped and used to power an entire tech company. His consciousness somehow transfers into a cartoon-inspired robot, and he finds his sister to help him escape. Along the way, they meet Chris Pratt and his robot buddy, while Giancarlo Esposito plays a villainous robot hunter.
It plays out exactly as expected—they find a secret robot refuge, learn that the robots aren’t the bad guys, and then work together to take down the actual villains.
What’s really strange is the lack of humor. Given the premise and the Russo brothers’ history, you’d think they’d inject some comedy, but nope. The few jokes they attempt are terrible. Would some witty dialogue have saved the movie? Probably not. But it would’ve at least made the experience less mind-numbing.
The weirdest part? The movie’s tone and target audience are completely unclear. It’s meant to be for all ages—barely any swearing, no extreme violence—but I can’t imagine kids caring about it. Who’s going to get excited about a Planters Peanut-looking robot? There’s no Fortnite or Minecraft references to draw in younger audiences, and most of its nostalgic 90s aesthetic would be lost on them.
Even the action is bizarrely weak. One robot fights bad guys by slingshotting gumballs at them. Millie Bobby Brown’s weapon is a paintball gun. How are these things supposed to stop highly advanced military robots? The bad guys just kind of flail around and accidentally defeat themselves.
Ultimately, The Electric State is just another massive waste of money. It’s not the worst movie ever, but at $320 million? It’s a disaster. Netflix barely marketed it, and honestly, I don’t even know who they thought would watch it. It’s a generic, soulless mess that does nothing that cheaper films haven’t already done.
0 Comments