Go take a look at the cast list for The Electric State, I’ll wait. Somehow this movie isn’t making its way to theaters for people to enjoy in a crowd, no. It’s heading straight to Netflix, where a host of other awesome movies have landed since the streaming giant woke up and took on the movie industry. The Electric State does have the distinction of being a $320 million movie, which should have no bearing on the actual quality of the film for a review. With that out of the way, let’s dig into the film.

The Electric State follows a pretty well-tread story about humans inventing robots that do all the menial tasks that we don’t want to. Kind of like The Creator, but less futuristic and more Fallout-vibes from some of the robots. It’s also set in the 1990s with Bill Clinton as President. Well, eventually the robots get tired of doing crap jobs and want their own liberty. That leads to a war between the two where humanity gets their ass kicked (kind of like The Matrix), except this time around, a very Jeff Bezos-y Stanley Tucci invents a suit of robotic armor that humans can wear that turns the tide of the war. Robots, led by Mr. Peanut, surrender and are placed in what amounts to an internment camp in the Southwest Desert.

How does that exactly get us to where we sit with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Evans? Well, Millie Bobby Brown’s character Michelle has lost her entire family, including her genius brother Christopher (played by Woody Norman). Before that though, there’s a lot of talk about moving consciousness from one body to a different place like a hard drive. Hmm, I’m sure that’ll come up later in the movie.

So in her foster care hell of a life, Michelle eventually runs into a robot that has the same body as her brother’s favorite cartoon, Cosmo (voiced by Alan Tudyk). This sets off a quest to find her brother’s body/consciousness and stop the evil bald billionaire, Ethan Skate. Along the way they meet up with a smuggler named Keats, played by Chris Pratt. If you like Pratt’s schtick at this point, you’ll like his role here. For Star Wars fans, it’ll just remind you that we still don’t have Dash Rendar in live-action, because this is what it would be like. If you’re weary of the jokey scumbag with a heart of gold act, this might not work as well for you.

They get stuck in the robot wasteland because of an attack by Skate’s goons looking for the Christopher robot. It brings them to the camp of robots led by Mr. Peanut (voiced by Woody Harrelson). It all leads to a big battle between the little robot army and the humans. Some of the other robots include performances from Anthony Mackie, Jenny Slate, Brian Cox, Billy Gardell, Ke Huy Quan, and Hank Azaria.

So like a lot of movies these days, The Electric State weaponizes nostalgia. It yearns for a more nostalgic time, which used to be the 80s, now it feels like we’re in the 90s reclamation. There are things littered all over the film, from the robot designs, to a Nintendo Entertainment System box in the background of a shot, or the technology of the film. It’s all designed to elicit a response from you. The actual plot of the film, based on a book from author Simon Stålenhag, is simple. It’s the hero’s journey, which we know is the basis of Star Wars.

All of that adds into a movie that is somewhat unremarkable. The robot designs and look are all very slick and they look awesome. There’s no visible cheating with the CGI besides some of the scenes (that I hope aren’t AI-generated) with Bill Clinton doing things he didn’t actually do. The emotional moments are there, the action is fun, kids are going to love this movie. However, like the soundtrack, which is filled with rock and heavy metal songs like “Mother” by Danzig and ‘Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest, it doesn’t go much more past that surface level of a film. The emotional moments with Michelle and her brother near the end of the film don’t land as well, and it’s all very predictable.

So, what does that mean for The Electric State? It means it’s an inoffensive two hours of movie that you’ll likely enjoy if you just turn your brain off. There are some issues, but the film is good, not great.

The Electric State releases on Netflix on March 14th, 2025.

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