The Electric State: A Netflix Film Review

Is it as Shockingly Good as the Russo brothers hoped?

Perhaps one of the biggest regrets of Netflix so far this year, was to release the likes of the hit series Adolescence alongside The Electric State, your typical three-act structure science fiction epic, though – maybe – seriously underrated.

I am big fan of science fiction, and especially lo - fi. The Electric State rewinds time and brings us to the early nighties, to a divided America. (No change there). However, it isn't necessarily political views that are dividing this nation, but technology. Before we're introduced to our main protagonist – played by Millie Bobbie-Brown and accompanied by Chris Pratt – we're shown a quick news bulletin style recap of the events that have brought us to the present.

The robots—resembling early Disney characters and 1950s advertisements—have been defeated in 'the war' with humans and are now confined to a place called The Electric State, essentially a 100,000 square mile prison in the heart of New Mexico. After the war montage, we learn about Sentre, an organisation that has created advanced VR-like headsets enabling people to control their own robotic bodies (our antagonists, essentially). We also meet an orphaned teenager on a quest to find her younger brother, whom she believed was dead. Spoiler—he's not.

It's really the action-packed nature of The Electric State, and it's wonderfully realistic CGI robots, that makes the visuals so polished. From the get-go, we're promised a world dense with smiley-faced robots and their misshapen 'Scavenger' counterparts – and Netflix delivers superbly in this department. The main cast and their supporting robot voice actors really pull out the stops to engrain a series of heavy emotions into the main characters – especially toward the end. Chris Pratt instils the same level of comedic essence he brought to Guardians of The Galaxy, while his robotic companions heighten the laughs just a little without distracting too much from the pains of robot and human inequality. (Psst – that's essentially the main theme here).

One of the aspects I love most about watching The Electric State is the sense of fading nostalgia it evokes. We encounter enormous robots that look like Hello Kitty, their paint flaking off; these purposeful machines have quirky personalities that stand in stark contrast to the corporate villains of the two-hour adventure, who observe our heroes through VR headsets, yet remain physically distant from the conflict. The soundtrack prominently features 90's classics, with Oasis subtly playing in the background during the more emotional moments.

However, The Electric State isn't without its flaws. A significant issue with the plot is its pacing; it quickly thrusts us into the action but doesn't delve deeply into the connections and backstories between characters, except for the occasional cheesy line of dialogue. The main character's parents died in a car crash when she was younger, and her brother is missing. Yet, elements like flashbacks aren't used enough (yes, I'm advocating for flashbacks this time!) to fully convey the strong bonds between the characters, especially the brother and sister. A brief flashback at the film's beginning is the only insight we get into their past, so when she finally finds him, their reunion lacks emotional impact because we haven't seen why they mean so much to each other.

That's not to say that The Electric State doesn't have the capacity to be as emotionally resonant as the writer's intended.– it's final outcome just feels a little diluted as a result of shallow character development, even if the ending is both satisfying from a visual viewpoint and has you shaking your fist at the screen in triumph (in some places more than others).

That said, as a family film, we're pulled into the action and provided with a two-hour journey of machine mayhem that the title promises, and I would definitely recommend watching it – if not for the characters' journeys, then at least the explosive sense of scale of the world-building and the underlying themes of technological advancement and flesh vs metal.

7.5/10 Bots

Sparky, but not Electrifying