By Katlynn Rossignol
What do you do when a population of sentient mascot robots revolts for rights in the 90s? Drop your weapon and make friends, make robots to fight back or hijack one with your mind to go on a road trip rescue mission? “The Electric State” takes you on a journey through an alternate future, where robots are exiled after a revolution for freedom and VR technology keeps humanity apathetic. Amid this changing landscape is Michelle, played by Millie Bobby Brown, and her quest to find what happened to her little brother.
Robots created to serve mankind rise up for their freedom while humanity willingly gives up their own. Technology pacifies humanity into a pleasure-seeking state that constantly consumes technology, ultimately to their detriment. The villainous corporation Sentre looms as an antagonist, while product placement fills every inch of the robot civilization. The film borders on hypocrisy with its pro-robot, anti-technology and pro-product placement, anti-monopoly sub-themes.
If you can look past all the clutter of “The Electric State,” you’ll find a story about freedom and family bonds. Michelle fights to the end for her brother and inspires those around her to fight for what they believe in. The trouble lies in executing its themes through the story and the art.
Much of the visual style was faithful to “The Electric State” graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag in its robot designs. Robots in villainous roles, such as scavengers, appear with designs pulled from the original book’s dark and foreboding designs.
However, most of the movie lost the book’s edge. The graphic novel offers a dark and cynical look at life in a dystopian future, while the movie uses a lighter tone. Robots in the main cast were designed as friendly mascots with big eyes and cartoony paint jobs. Keats (Chris Pratt) and Herb provide comic relief with their bickering in the wasteland of the exclusion zone.
Campy product placement and sarcastic characters in a bleak yet generic robotic future are a recipe for a wacky tone. Celebrity actors were crammed into every role available, even when the casting was arbitrary. I didn’t even realize that Herb, Chris Pratt’s robot friend, was voiced by Anthony Mackie under voice modulation until the final credits revealed it. A quick look at the IMDB reveals the cast includes Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito, Woody Harrelson, Alan Tudyk, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and many more. Every character introduction felt like a celebrity cameo, distracting from the movie’s plot.
The film’s worldbuilding was too much for the movie to establish and keep the plot going. Michelle’s quest for her brother felt small within the world’s scope despite the stakes of her mission. Some bits of robot lore and dystopia were interesting, while others took themselves too seriously to the point of comedy.
Where the original book critiqued commercialism’s overtaking and scarring of nature, the Netflix film embraces it with open arms. Mr. Peanut, as the leader of the robot civilization, is the most ridiculous product placement I’ve seen since “Madame Web’s” Pepsi sponsor. Any robot with a unique, compelling backstory could have served as a leader for the robots, but we instead got to watch Mr. Peanut drive around in a peanut-shaped van with the main cast.
Despite its many flaws, “The Electric State” isn’t a bad film. The special effects are good, the acting and editing were solid, and the plot was interesting enough to hold my attention for the entire runtime. It’s a bizarre take on a robot-filled dystopia, which almost manages a critique of technology addiction. It makes for a fun movie night with friends but not for an in-depth commentary on the state of the world.
I would recommend “The Electric” to fans of sci-fi, action-adventure films, and celebrity casts.
“The Electric State” is available streaming on Netflix
Katlynn Rossignol is a junior Strategic Communications Major and A&E assistant editor for Cedars. She loves arts and crafts, spending time with friends and watching superhero movies.
Images courtesy of AGBO
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