Simon Stalenhag’s graphic novel The Electric State was a poignant, melancholy look at an alternate version of war-torn America. The Russo Bros. made their name with big bombastic blockbusters with a maximalist visual sense. One would think that these two creators wouldn’t be interested in a graphic novel that so heavily focused on the simplicity and quiet of its environment.
But, in a surprising twist, The Russo Bros announced they would be adapting Stalenhag’s work for the big screen. However, they only took the loose premise from the original work, instead choosing to tell a different story about human-robot relationships, deep state corporate surveillance, and prejudice in a post-war world.
Complete with two bonafide Hollywood A-listers and a boatload of Netflix money, The Electric State seemingly had all the tools to succeed.
Unfortunately, the ensuing product was a turgid mishmash of sci-fi with little uniqueness, bland characters, and a story so eye-rolling it may have been written by AI.
Let’s review:
Do Androids Dream Of Electric States?
In the alternate 1990s, humans and robots had a war that left the US as a surveillance state in ruins. In the aftermath, teenage orphan Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) finds clues indicating her deceased genius brother Christopher may still be alive, and sets off across dystopian America to rescue him.
Following a series of obstacles, Michelle meets ex-soldier Keats (Chris Pratt) and sentient robot Cosmo (Alan Tudyk), who join her on her journey. Along the way, the two witness the nefarious corporation Sentre’s control over the survivors. Sentre, run by CEO Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) invented tech once crucial to humanity winning the war against the machines. But now, they mainly use drones to control humanity’s survivors.
Eventually, Michelle uncovers that Christopher was captured by Sentre, to exploit his genius mind. The heroes infiltrate the Sentre HQ, finding Christopher alive but being used to power Sentre’s technology. Following a reunion, Michelle is forced to kill Christopher, freeing him from being used by Sentre any further.
Sentre is unable to continue exploiting the world after Christopher’s death, effectively shutting down. Skate is arrested, and the world finally begins to rebuild from the war.
A Film Running On Empty
Like Transformers or Dolittle (2020) before it, The Electric State sucks the whimsy out of a cool idea through a sheer dearth of imagination.
Much of the film’s plot points feel watered down, one-dimensional or sanded down to a point so neutral they lose all meaning. Ping-ponging between allegories of surveillance states, racism, the importance of family and several other Hollywood cliches mean that they all lost in the shuffle of a generic sci-fi plot with a generous budget. When every line feels less like dialogue and more like exposition and/or preachy messaging, the entire film is lost to the vortex of faux-deep symbolic writing.
Even the film’s visual sense, the one element supposedly retained from Stalenhag’s source material, feels muddy, washed-out and unappealing. The robots’ designs are incredibly unique, but their visual presentation is so bland that they lose all grandeur. There’s little sense of scale or epicness. Every shot and scene feels hastily assembled, leading to a cobbled-together pacing where scenes simply stop rather than end.
Square Peg, Meet Round Hole
Ultimately, the majority of the problems in The Electric State reside in the fact that The Russo Bros’ directorial sensibilities are synonymous with Hollywood blockbusters, while The Electric State’s source material is the opposite. The directors came from the world of Marvel, where their chief strength was combining a vast majority of pieces into one whole. And I don’t want to take anything away from them, that’s a genuine skill few filmmakers have.
But, in all their solo efforts since (Cherry, The Gray Man, Citadel) there’s been a consistent maximalist style, even if perhaps the story doesn’t call for it. The Electric State may be the worst offender yet. Keats is an engaging character, but it feels as if the movie expects us to be invested in his past that we never see. It’s like he was plucked out of his own story and dropped into ours. So many of the film’s emotional moments feel empty and awkward, because the film does a good job holding space for emotion, yet doesn’t invest in the buildup needed to get there.
Starring Chris Pratt As Chris Pratt
The Electric State is a film intended to be plastered all over Netflix for the next few weeks, their newest blockbuster outing to rival the old studios. And, to do that, it makes sense that The Russo Bros would reach for some of Hollywood’s most trusted A-listers in the marquee roles. The issue is, Hollywood’s trusted A-listers get pushed to the forefront of blockbusters so often that audiences have grown tired of them.
Take lead star Pratt, offering another variation of his “good ol’ guy with a rough past” archetype as Keats. Between Guardians, Jurassic World, Mario, and The Lego Movie, casuals have seen Pratt at the top of their megabudget summer films for years now, and crave more than a bog-standard performance to get excited about him. And, frankly, this film’s writing offers very little for the actor to work with beyond empty cliché-ridden lines and a few moments where the film stops so he can stare dramatically like a hero. Co-star Brown has it a little better, taking the lion’s share of the film’s few heartfelt moments, but still suffers from empty characterization.
And the supporting cast? Most of them look like they’re simply waiting for a check to clear. Even affable co-stars like Ke Huy Quan, Woody Harrelson or Hank Azaria feel fascinatingly one-note and bland. The lone exception is Tudyk, who imbues the robot Cosmo with a surprising amount of heart and wit using his voice alone.
Conclusion
The Electric State is a movie that vaguely reaches for an idea, and gives up halfway. Between its stale treatment of characters, a tired plot and a cast that looks like they’d rather be anywhere else, this is a movie that feels like it was made with no care or attention.
Frankly, the most likely reason for The Electric State to find its way into the annals of film history is the eye-watering budget Netflix burned on this thing. At $320 million, it’s a laughably expensive dud that’s begun to feel like a bygone era where studios would simply throw money after certain ideas, confident that a large enough spectacle would be enough to cover up subpar storytelling.
Unfortunately, in 2025, there’s no hiding that The Electric State is a movie that, frankly, may have been written by a robot. If you just want a movie on Netflix in the background while you do your laundry, then I guess…. nah, just put on Red Notice, it’s way better.
The Electric State is now streaming on Netflix worldwide.
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