When you look at the highest-grossing films of all time, you’ll see filmmakers like James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar: The Way of Water) and Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, E.T.) on the list. Despite some missteps throughout their long and innovative careers, announcements of their new projects are met with unanimous excitement and anticipation, having earned the respect of both audiences and their peers. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Russo brothers. Between 2014 and 2019, they directed some of the most critically acclaimed films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Avengers: Endgame (2019), the second-highest-grossing movie of all time. But despite their past critical, fan, and box office success, their next two directorial efforts, Cherry (2020) and The Gray Man (2022), were so poorly received that people have begun questioning their abilities behind the camera. Unfortunately, The Electric State only worsens their reputation.
The action of Electric State takes place in an alternate reality where a war between robots and humans has left the world in chaos. After believing that her entire family died in a tragic car accident, Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) discovers her brother may be alive and sets out to find him. She teams up with Staff Sergeant Keats (Chris Pratt) and Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk), a sentient robot, along the way. As a part of their journey, the trio find themselves taking on Sentre CEO Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), who is using Neurocaster technology to upload human minds into robots.
The Russos collaborate once again with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, reuniting with the stalwart writing team responsible for their MCU films. While their previous partnerships resulted in some of Marvel’s most celebrated movies, The Electric State feels completely phoned in. What starts as an interesting premise involving a human-robot war quickly devolves into a The Last of Us-esque road trip, with a generic evil corporation serving as the antagonist. For a team that once pushed the boundaries of comic book filmmaking and storytelling, it’s baffling to see them seemingly regressing.
With a reported budget of $320 million, The Electric State is one of the most expensive films ever made. Unfortunately, none of that is evident in the final product. The film’s dystopian world is littered with debris and broken machinery, and everything is drenched in lifeless shades of grey and brown. It lacks any vibrancy, making it difficult to care about the society at its core—one struggling to rebuild after war. Every new location looks indistinguishable from the last, and it gives you nothing to get excited about visually.
Perhaps the budget went toward the cast, as The Electric State boasts no shortage of A-list talent. In addition to Brown and Pratt, the ensemble includes Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan, alongside Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, Colman Domingo, and Anthony Mackie. Thought the Russos and their writers are no strangers to large ensembles, almost everyone here feels like they’re collecting an unnecessarily massive paycheque. Esposito essentially reprises his Mandalorian role as Moff Gideon, while Harrelson, Cox, and Domingo are relegated to forgettable voice-over roles that add little to the overall story.
Despite having all the ingredients for a sumptuous cinematic buffet, The Electric State is inexcusably bland and boring. What could have been a thrilling sci-fi adventure filled with gripping action sequences and meaningful discussions on humanity and technology is instead a forgettable, hollow experience. It might help pass two hours, but the moment you exit to Netflix’s homepage, you’ll struggle to remember a single thing about it.
The Electric State is now streaming on Netflix.
