Subscribe
Follow Us
Leave it to the Russo Brothers — who previously helmed the Avengers movies Infinity War and Endgame — to make one of Netflix's most expensive projects, The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.
Money can't buy you love, nor can it buy you a good movie. The Electric State is a curious case where it is hard to tell where the reported $320 million budget was allocated. Perhaps the salaries of Brown and Pratt are to blame; even the supporting case had to run up the bill (Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, and Ke Huy Quan also star in it).
The Electric State continues the downward trajectory of the Russo Brothers. Their epic fall from grace began after leaving Marvel following Endgame.
Their best project was one they produced but did not direct: Everything Everywhere All at Once. That is a testament to Joe and Anthony Russo's directing abilities.
While not as offensively bad as the Tom Holland-led Cherry, which tried to give the Spider-Man star an Al Pacino-in-Panic in Needle Park-type role, The Electric State is another dull, over-expensive Netflix movie. It even pales in comparison to The Gray Man — The Gray Man.
Budget aside, it doesn't help that most of the actors in the movie phone it in. Brown is trying her best, but Pratt is still stuck in his Star-Lord ways (his character quite literally transforms into Star-Lord by the end of The Electric State). Even supporting actors like Tucci and Quan fail to leave a mark. Esposito shouts half of his lines like he is recording lines for a movie tie-in video game.
If nothing else, the Russos have ambition. I think they want to make good movies, but their ambition and lack of a clear message can't save The Electric State from feeling soulless.
The Electric State — what is it about?
Sometime in the '90s, Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) is moving into her latest foster home. Her foster dad, Ted (Jason Alexander), is one of the many glued to the Neurocaster, a VR-like headset. Millions are dead set on living in an alternate reality.
The world is coming off a war against robots, who are fighting for their rights. Ultimately, the humans won, thanks to the Neurocasting technology created by Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci).
Michelle is a couple of years removed from the death of her family, including her younger brother Christopher (Woody Norman). The loss is devastating, as Christopher was a brilliant mind that was set to change the world.
One night, she is approached by a robot who claims to be Christopher. They then attempt to rescue the real Christopher, who is being held by Tucci's gang.
Bear in mind that rogue robots are a no-go in this world. Any rogue robots are sent to the Exclusion Zone, so they have to be careful on their mission.
Along the way, Michelle and Christopher meet Keats (Chris Pratt) and his robot friend, Herman (Anthony Mackie). They reluctantly get their help to rescue Christopher.
Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and the rest of the cast
The Russo Brothers must be a good hang or something, which would explain how so many MCU alums are in The Electric State. Stranger Things star Brown seemingly signs up for anything Netflix offers, which ranges in quality from Damsel to the Enola Holmes series.
Both Brown and Pratt give flat performances. Brown flexes her dramatic acting chops more than in her other roles, and her relationship with her on-screen brother adds only a semblance of emotion to the movie. Still, she seems to have one foot out the door in most scenes.
Perhaps it would help if she watched more movies. For someone who previously proudly proclaimed that she doesn't watch movies, you'd think she would be more concerned about people watching hers. If she is worried about being bored by them, nothing about The Electric State's script should have suggested she wouldn't do the same to the audience watching it.
Meanwhile, Pratt is sleepwalking through his performance. It is as close as you can get to Star-Lord without the name. Pratt has a knack for playing characters who are hardened jerks who turn out to be good people.
I remember the days when Pratt would vary his roles. Ever since Guardians of the Galaxy, he has grown comfortable playing one character type.
It wouldn't be as egregious if Keats didn't get the same haircut as Peter Quill in the third act. Chris Pratt already barely fluctuates his performances these days, and the same hairdo didn't do him any justice.
The Russo Brothers' lackluster direction
The Russo Brothers have never proven to be more than capable tentpole movie directors, and The Electric State emphasizes that. Take away the middling CGI; there is no heart in the movie, which is ironic, considering The Electric State's central theme.
They are preaching about the mortality of non-humans, similar to what Blade Runner did years ago (far more effectively). It is hard to take that message seriously from two filmmakers who often rely on the most commercialized version of filmmaking for their projects.
Where is the heart? The Electric State is so comfortable preaching about? At the same time, the Russos are the same ones returning to the franchise they just left. Returning for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars has the potential to ruin Endgame's emotional beats, which were well-earned.
The action in The Electric State lacks weight. The third act battle is like if the Russos followed the minutia of the nameless soldiers in the final fight in Endgame.
They include various robots from IPs, such as Mr. Peanut (Woody Harrelson), which cannot distract from how dull the characters are. Even if we're supposed to care about them, it's hard when they're this poorly written, never mind the frighteningly bad CGI.
Some blame goes to writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who have never been known to write extraordinarily complex scripts, and The Electric State is no exception.
The relationship between Michelle and Christopher is the only successful story arc in the film. However, Markus and McFeely even manage to throw that away in a fashion Marvel would love.
It also feels like they want to say something important. However, the script is so risk-averse that it comes off as redundant as Adrien Brody's recent Oscars speech.
Should you stream The Electric State?
The Electric State is an expensive way of revealing the Russo Brothers' incapability of crafting a good movie. Netflix has had misses before — Blonde, Red Notice, The Adam Project, to name a few — but The Electric State may be the worst of the bunch.
Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, and Stanley Tucci get a nice paycheck for their robotic (pun intended) work. I'm all for actors getting work, but they all fail to do anything more than the bare minimum. They showed up to work, and that is it.
If The Electric State was a theatrical movie release, it would be considered a cash grab. However, as a Netflix release, so the soulless $320 million project can't get that title. It is something worse: complete and utter junk.
Grade: D
The Electric State will be released on March 13 on Netflix.
