- Reported $300 million budget fails to deliver compelling storytelling
- Star-studded cast including Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt lacks chemistry
- Visual spectacle overshadowed by repetitive action sequences
- Derivative plot borrows heavily from superior sci-fi films
- 128-minute runtime feels bloated despite stunning robot designs
When Netflix greenlit The Electric Statewith a rumored $300 million budget, expectations soared for the Russo brothers' post-Marvel venture. Yet this adaptation of Simon Stålenhag's illustrated novel embodies Hollywood's growing struggle to translate visual artistry into meaningful storytelling. The film's dystopian 1990s America, where neurocaster-addicted humans wage war against sentient robots, feels less like a bold vision than a patchwork of better sci-fi franchises.
Industry Insight 1: The rise of illustrated novel adaptations highlights streaming platforms' hunger for pre-branded content. However, as seen in 2023's South Korean hit The Silent Sea,success requires balancing source material fidelity with cinematic pacing—a balance The Electric Statenever achieves.
Millie Bobby Brown's performance as orphaned protagonist Michelle exemplifies the film's central conflict: impressive technical execution paired with emotional detachment. Her cross-country journey with a possibly reincarnated robot brother (Woody Norman) features breathtaking recreations of Stålenhag's rusting mechanical landscapes, yet drowns in exposition-heavy dialogue. Chris Pratt's smuggler character Keats delivers Marvel-esque quips that clash tonally with the bleak setting, highlighting the script's identity crisis.
Industry Insight 2: The film's theatrical-scale budget contradicts Netflix's recent cost-cutting measures, raising questions about streaming's blockbuster economics. Unlike Amazon's strategic Falloutseries that balanced spectacle with character depth, The Electric Stateprioritizes CGI over substance—a misstep in today's franchise-fatigued market.
The third-act reveal about neurocaster inventor Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) mirrors real-world tech ethics debates, but lacks the nuance of Japan's Psycho-Passanime series—a regional case study in blending philosophical themes with gripping narrative. While the Russo brothers successfully replicate Stålenhag's haunting robot designs, including a show-stopping colossus voiced by Woody Harrelson, these moments can't compensate for the film's narrative stagnation.
Industry Insight 3: As directors transition from superhero franchises to original projects (see Chloe Zhao's Eternalspivot), maintaining audience trust requires more than visual callbacks. The Electric Stateserves as a cautionary tale—without emotional resonance, even the most lavish production becomes background viewing.
