The Electric State, with a star-studded cast led by Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, is Netflix’s latest mega-budget movie (Picture: Netflix/Paul Abell)Netflix’s The Electric State is the streamer’s most expensive original movie to date – but sadly it doesn’t show much value for money as the Millie Bobby Brown flick is far from its best.At a rumoured cost of $320million (£247m), she and Chris Pratt star in a muddled sci-fi action comedy stuffed with robots that isn’t actually as awful as I feared, but isn’t particularly good either.There are glimpses of personality throughout the movie, which show what this could have been throughout, but its seven years in development are evident as The Electric State seems confused about what exactly it’s supposed to be – and who it’s supposed to be for – even with the passionate involvement of producers and directors Anthony and Joe Russo right from the off.
Based on Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 illustrated novel of the same name, the film sets up a reimagined version of the ‘90s, in the aftermath of a failed robot uprising where sentient bots tried to fight for their rights to exist on equal footing with humans in society.Tech billionaire Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) also lurks on the sidelines with an invention – the neurocaster network – and a robot hunter-cowboy minion (Giancarlo Esposito) that further threaten their existence.Get personalised updates on all things Netflix Wake up to find news on your TV sho.
