By Robert Scucci
| Updated
Before getting into my review of Netflix’s The Electric State, which is a feature-length adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name, I need to get something out of the way. I am not a “dense lore” kind of person– if a movie comes out that’s based on an established and adored intellectual property, I don’t think it’s necessary to get into the source material just so I can enjoy an action-adventure film on streaming. In other words, I didn’t go into viewing The Electric State expecting a direct adaptation because I never read the source material, I treated it as its own standalone title, and my review is based solely on the merits of the film itself.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed The Electric State, and I will be checking out the graphic novel as soon as I get off the waitlist for the title at my local library. Maybe I’ll have a change of heart in my assessment of the film after thumbing through the pages and taking in its worldbuilding, but as of this writing I can say with confidence that this $320 million Netflix Original is an incredibly fun outing, and absolutely has replay value as a family-friendly sci-fi adventure film thanks to the talent of its two leads, Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.
Humans Vs Robots
Set in a retro futuristic 1994, The Electric State centers on Michelle Greene (Millie Bobby Brown), who finds herself living in a post-war world after humanity overcame a robot uprising. Before the war, Michelle’s younger brother, Christopher (Woody Norman), and her parents, died in a car accident, resulting in her being bounced from foster home to foster home with no sense of stability. After receiving a visit from a sentient robot named Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk), Michelle has reason to believe that Christopher’s consciousness is controlling the machine, and sets out to find her brother, who in theory is still alive somewhere for this all to be possible.
Given that most humans at this point in time in The Electric State would rather wear Neurocaster headsets and live in a simulation instead of worrying about the real world they live in, Michelle has little difficulty in venturing out with Cosmo, and meets a jaded war veteran named John D. Keats (Chris Pratt), who reluctantly joins them on their journey.
On their way to the sprawling exclusion zone where the robots were banished to, Michelle encounters Dr. Clark Amherst (Ke Huy Quan), who explains that Christopher survived his accident, and his consciousness had been harnessed by Sentre because his intellect allowed for their Neurocaster technology to be developed in order to spearhead their war efforts against the robot uprising.
Knowing that Christopher needs to stay hooked up to machines in his vegetative state so Sentre can continue its operations hinging on world domination in The Electric State, CEO Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), and General Marshall Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito) stop at nothing to subdue and eliminate Michelle, Keats, and Cosmo in their efforts to find the truth that’s hidden in the heavily fortified exclusion zone that’s led by a robotic Mr. Peanut (Woody Harrelson).
Don’t Mind The Spoon Feeding
My first impression of The Electric State was that it was insulting to my intelligence because every single plot point is told through dialogue instead of being shown on screen. I quickly had a change of heart, however, for a couple of reasons.
Given The Electric States massive budget, it doesn’t take long to notice that the money was well spent on CGI animation, and over-the-top battle sequences pitting robots against humans. There’s so much going on, visually speaking, that you simply want to be told what’s going on so you can feasibly watch such a visually enthralling adventure that’s so dense you’ll miss out on the action if you blink for even a second.
Additionally, The Electric State, though it tackles heavy subjects like government overreach in a dystopian setting, is a kids movie. I can’t fault the Russo brothers for knowing their audience and dumbing some things down so the film can have mass appeal. The Electric State is the kind of movie that you sit down and watch with your kids because the violence is cartoonish enough to not traumatize them, and any complex idea that would be obvious to adults needs to be spelled out in way that a developing mind can digest so they can get back to enjoying the story.
Streaming The Electric State
My review of The Electric State probably won’t sit right with fans of the original graphic novel, but I’m okay with that. As a father of young kids who are just getting into sci-fi, this is the perfect lazy summer day big-budget adventure that everybody can enjoy if they’re willing to go into it with an open mind. And if “the book is better,” then I’m glad to hear it because I hope to read it soon, which will allow me to enjoy the world that Simon Stalenhag created while appreciating how the movie does its own thing by branching out from the IP’s established fiction to tell its own story.
The Electric State is a Netflix Original, and can be streamed with an active subscription.
