Have you ever wondered what it would be like if robots could do your job for you? What about if those same robots rebelled and all hell broke loose? What if we won the war, but at the cost of most of the human race secluding into a virtual world? Essentially, that’s the premise of “The Electric State”, Netflix’s most recent action comedy, released on March 14, 2025. Stålenhag, the film follows a teenaged girl and a mysterious robot as they trek across the American West in an attempt to solve a mystery that involves them both and hold a tech conglomerate accountable for its actions.
You may have seen the negative reviews for the film on social media outlets like Facebook and X/Twitter, and many have said that Joe and Anthony Russo finally made a flop, but before you form an opinion based on other people’s thoughts, watch the film and decide for yourself, because you may not know what you’re missing out on.
While the story contains many familiar tropes (a rebellious teenager, a dystopian America, a ne’er-do-well companion, and an autocratic villain), it presents them in a refreshing manner, as the story throws a wide variety of sentient robots are thrown into the mix. The protagonist Michelle, played by Millie Bobby-Brown, is a good stand-in for the audience. She begins the film fearing robots and being apprehensive of even the thought of trusting one, but throughout her journey she comes to see things from their point of view and even grows to care about her new robotic companions.
Bobby-Brown gives a fine performance as the lead character, but tends to veer towards the same type of rebellious teenager-type role that she plays in every other major movie or TV series that she’s starred in. While this may be true, Bobby-Brown still displays the raw grit and emotion that would be expected for her character considering the circumstances that she is in. Her acting chops especially shine in the scenes with her younger brother Christopher, played by young actor Woody Norman. You can feel the chemistry between these two characters with every conversation that they have, and Bobby-Brown and Norman do well at portraying the love that these two siblings have for each other.
Along with Michelle and Christopher’s genuine sibling relationship, our lead characters also acquire some found family members. The aforementioned ne’er-do-well companion, played by the always goofy, yet charming, Chris Pratt, rounds out the cast of protagonists. Of course, as just mentioned, Pratt’s character Keats comes across as an amoral wisecracker who secretly has a heart of gold, as per usual with several of Pratt’s other characters, but still charms the audience as he grows to become a big brother figure to Michelle. Finally, rounding out the cast is the robots, voiced by several famous comedic stars. With voice talents like Woody Harrelson, Alan Tudyk, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Anthony Mackie, and many more, we as the audience truly believe that these androids are alive and have emotions and wants and desires. if Pratt’s ‘90s metal hair-do doesn’t steal your heart, then these robots certainly will.
Speaking of robots, the effects of this movie are top-notch. Of course, the effects have no comparison to “Avatar”, but they still appear life-like as ever. Most of the film contains scenes where humans are interacting with robots, and these robots look like they are legitimately standing there, interacting with their human co-stars. They have dings and scrapes and damage and dirt on them, it is evident that they’ve been through a war. The animation was loaded with extensive detail, it would drive one to hope that Netflix paid the animators a hefty salary for their work on this film.
Villain Ethan Skate, played devilishly charming by Stanley Tucci, tries his best to convince the protagonists, and by extension the audience, about the dangers of robots and how they could potentially destroy lives and the sense of safety that was gained after the war. These robots, however, combat this by showing that, even though they’re machines, they still have distinct personalities and are valuable individuals.
Over the years, Netflix has come out with several movies, some good and some….not so good. Towards the beginning of the story “The Electric State” appears to fall into the category of “not so good”, but as the story progresses, and characters develop and the magnitude of how great these robots look and act and interact with their human co-stars is revealed, the attitude of the movie changes and finds its voice.
“The Electric State” may look like just another Netflix flop filled with A-List actors, but underneath that Hollywood facade it has heart, beautifully eye-catching effects, and a hilarious, witty sense of humor.
“The Electric State” is now streaming on Netflix.
