THE STORY – An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.
THE CAST – Millie Bobbie Brown, Chris Pratt, Woody Harrelson, Ke Huy Quan, Anthony Mackie, Woody Norman, Giancarlo Esposito, Alan Tudyk, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Jason Alexander & Stanley Tucci
THE TEAM – Joe and Anthony Russo (Directors), Stephen McFreely & Christopher Markus (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 128 Minutes
After the success of “Avengers: Endgame,” it felt like the Russo Brothers were on top of the world. Their time at Marvel Studios brought them and the company nothing but critical acclaim worldwide. Most of all, the Russos showed that even when they’re dependent on already established IP, they could earn a studio plenty of money. Then, the directing pair decided to bow out of the superhero game in favor of setting up shop with their production company AGBO, trying to find their footing in a post-Marvel landscape. What has resulted since then could be considered disastrous, as their genre mashing military drama “Cherry” and their foray into the world of big-budget action spy films with “The Gray Man” were both dead on arrival. They’ve swung twice and missed, but the third time is usually the charm, and now they’re back again with an adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s illustrated novel “The Electric State.” Unfortunately, “The Electric State” is just another display of how the Russo Brothers have regressed as a directing team into something that, at this point, only make films not even worth subjecting yourself to.
In “The Electric State,” Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), suffering from the loss of her family, is trying to adapt to a world that has been struggling in the aftermath of a war between man and machine. Robots who have gained sentience have been isolated to a region that’s illegal for humans to enter, and humans are desperate for some sort of escapism as they bury themselves in VR tech peddled by tech billionaire Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci). One day, Michelle is visited by a robot claiming to be her deceased brother Christopher (Woody Norman), revealing they’re alive at a location unbeknownst to him. Michelle and her brother’s bot avatar embark on a perilous journey alongside Keats (Chris Pratt), a purveyor of forgotten goods, to find her long-lost brother. All the while, they are hunted by the dangerous robot killer Colonel Marshall Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito). Within just a few minutes, the Russo Brothers are so desperate to tap into a Spielberg-esque wavelength that might instill audiences with a sense of wonder. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, both frequent collaborators of the Russo Brothers, also return for this project, but their dependable screenwriting fails to conjure anything other than an uninspiring rehashing of films that have come before it.
“The Electric State” doesn’t feel particularly eager to escape the formulaic nature it’s so comfortable regurgitating. Even Alan Silvestri’s score sounds at times identical to his work in “Avengers: Endgame.” This is a loose adaptation that could’ve led the Russo Brothers to develop a far more imaginative interpretation, but they go nowhere with it. “The Electric State” retains nothing of the source material’s beautiful imagery, as most of what we’re forced to look at is quite dire. Multiple times, the film had me wondering how these were the directors that made “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Large portions of “The Electric State” had me feeling lost, not because of its comically simplistic storytelling but because of how disorientating any rapid movement is captured on screen. Countless times, I couldn’t even determine which part of a room we’re in. The action is also nothing spectacular, as it devolves into a sea of grayed-out CGI robots smashing into each other.
The Russo Brothers aping films like “Ready Player One” doesn’t work, as Spielberg is second to none at eliciting a certain mood that feels so attached to the period it’s depicting. Here, “The Electric State” takes place in an alternative 90s infused with technology that arose from the 21st century. Besides the fact that the film verbatim tells you it is set in the 90s, nothing on a visual or emotional level informs viewers of the time in which it is set. The Russo Brothers instead default to notably displaying references to brand imagery that has ceased to exist, like a Sears as one of the story’s central locations. The ability to conjure up any sense of sentimentality – whether induced by nostalgia for brands that once were or on an emotional level – is legitimately non-existent. Both nostalgia and efficient storytelling are out the window.
None of this aids any of the performers, as Millie Bobbie Brown is constantly fighting upstream with the material she’s been given. Years ago, when we all saw Brown in “Stranger Things,” we assumed a new star had been born. But instead, she has defaulted to becoming the go-to actor for forgettable Netflix films. Pratt, like the Russos, reverts to his usual bag of tricks, playing up the Star-Lord-like antics as the funny guy that can also be an action star. It’s very much a nothingburger of a performance, even when he attempts to make whatever cheap punchline laughable or to sell audiences on a tear-jerking moment. Going down the list of stars that lend their voices is enough to get audiences scratching their heads, whether it’s Woody Harrelson as Mr. Peanuts, Esposito with another sauceless antagonistic performance that’s far beneath his talent, or even Colman Domingo, who literally appears for less than two minutes plastered on a robot’s TV face.
“The Electric State” feels very much like an end to this chapter of not only the Russo Brothers’ career, but hopefully with how the filmmakers engage with projects for streamers. Despite the messiness and lack of watchability of their previous films, at least something like “Cherry” had the Russo Brothers attempting to try something. Sure, it didn’t work whatsoever, but the continued regressive nature of their films has only since become more apparent. It makes sense that years after their departure, Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers would come back together, hoping to reignite the sparks they once had. If they take any lessons from what they’ve incorporated in their last few films, including “The Electric State,” then we might wanna hedge our bets on our hopes for that next Avengers movie.
