By Ellite Times Team 
The Grand Vision alongside The Grand Budget
A movie studio is essentially the biggest electric train set any boy ever had, once said Orson Welles. If that holds true, then The Electric State directed by Joe and Anthony Russo surely takes it to a new level with a whopping budget of $300 million which is estimated to be Netflix’s most expensive project to date.
With their record-breaking Marvel blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, The Russo brothers have cemented their status as the biggest spenders in Hollywood. But, like most of everything else is the case in America, there is a spending problem.
While The Russo brothers had apparently unlimited dollars at their disposal, The Electric State manages to offer only spectacle, lacking true resonance that is required for a cinematic experience.
An Electric State Readjusted the 1990s with Robots and Able to Maintain a Servant Economy Tech
The Electric State attempts to present a 1990s version of America with a servants’ economy, including all of the labor saving technological wonders such as robots living in an ersatz 1990s America. It was somehow decided that Markus and McFeely could add humor through narratively shallow gag characters like talking barbershop chairs and animatronic popcorn buckets. Amusing captions also clash with an estranged post-war society where people use exoskeletons while ‘working’ from home. The end product is laughable, because the intended joy is disintegrated – not through lack of effort, but due to lack of synergy – chronically.
The Electric State claims to be abandoning the 90s with the budget of 1,000,000,000 a la sans creativity and emotional undertones.
Simply put: the fragments of electric state told us that modern movies are syncopated high-cost visual spectacles that stream out like Squidward’s movie and sound a whole lot like Sekiro. While coverage of self-aware robots chilling at an empty mall does seem exquisite, remnants of electric state still feel heavy on the eyes, thick-lined with straining, overcooked, melted wonder, lacking emotional gravity creating weary dynamic shifts running stepless water with no probe marks.
The brakes don’t seem to engage on weak and hollow storylines dispersed everywhere like bits of lightly enchanting yet comically pointless sparkle falling within a useless fog encased in neon lights wearing pirated fog filters from a rivaling universe.
A Missed Satirical Opportunity Bundled in One Film
Like Paul Verhoeven’s satirical films on consumerism, The Electric State has a simple premise that provides satirical social commentary. The film features an absurd yet captivating world where Mr. Peanut, a legume with a top hat, surrender’s clause treaty with President Clinton after he led a robot rebellion. It is a real pity that instead of fully investing in the premise’s absurdity, the film serves these moments in a very deadpan manner. They do not try to embrace the comedy and irony that is simply begging to be explored. Without that, the narrative remains a mediocre sci-fi adventure.
Weak Emotions Mean Weak Characters
Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), a teenage foster girl, is at the center of the film’s story with the belief that her much younger brother survived a car crash and is somehow communicating with her through a robot named Cosmo. While this plot has all the essentials to be an emotional core, exploration of Michelle’s grief and internal struggle is something the film does not do. Instead, it indulges in yet another action-filled set piece and ignores character development. The narrative dismisses Keats, Chris Pratt’s character, and his Anthony Mackie-voiced wisecracking robot sidekick, who do not add anything meaningful to the story. Instead, they serve as comic empties.
Recycled Concepts, Lack of Creativity
The Electric State seems to ring a bell since it lacks originality and appropriates ideas indiscriminately. The film combines pieces from various sci-fi classics like Ready Player One, Mad Max, E.T. The film’s musical score is not an exception. It tries too hard to be nostalgic and to add insult to injury, culminates with Wonderwall by Oasis. Such choices epitomize the film’s over dependence on pop culture and an equally depraved imagination instead of uniqueness.
An Aberration Incarnation
The Electric State is a butchered adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 illustrated novel. Stålenhag’s illustrations compose a deeply introspective story of a world overrun by shattering technology and serves as a sadistic reflection of humanity’s apocalypse. The Russos tried to adapt the novel, but chose to strip away the profound themes and replace them with overwhelming amounts of clutter. Quips dominate action and there is little to no atmosphere and depth in the Russos’ version. The film feels at best like a pale attempt to adapt the novel.
Conclusion: An Overshadowed Opportunity Labeled As a Blockbuster
Modern blockbusters like The Electric State serve as evidence for why contemporary action-packed cinema is in such a perilous state—there is a preoccupation with flashy visuals to the detriment of plot, character development, and deeper meanings. Even though the film includes state-of-the-art effects and a renowned cast, it is devoid of soul like many sci-fi films that used to move audiences. It is clear that the Russos have been given massive budgets to manage, but the lack of a creative direction means no amount of spending will make the film great.