This Russo Brothers Netflix Movie Is Incredibly Empty

Anthony and Joe Russo’s new sci-fi film “The Electric State” — a $320 million ultra-blockbuster sneaking its way onto Netflix this week — has an arch set up that takes many words to explain. Based on the illustrated retro-futurist novel by Simon Stålenhag, “The Electric State” posits that Disneyland, back when it opened in the 1950s, didn’t merely construct animatronic robots for entertainment, but actual, high-tech, artificially intelligent robots. Uncle Walt, it seems, was less a movie mogul as he was Dr. Soong from “Star Trek.” The world soon became populated by servant robots, each painted with a friendly, cartoonish face. Robot versions of corporate mascots were built, and cartoons were given robotic, real-world counterparts. 

In the early 1990s of this universe, however, there was a robot uprising, and the smiling corporate mascots demanded liberation. A war broke out. Humans were able to win the war thanks to a new invention: thousands of fightin’-bots that could be controlled remotely by human soldiers wearing VR helmets. After the human victory, all intelligent robots were banished to a walled-off prison the size of Oregon, and humans lived in peace. It’s now about 1995, and “Wonderwall” is just becoming a hit.

Oh yes, and an additional strange conceit: the soldier’s VR helmets bifurcate their users’ brains. Half of their brains are dedicating to controlling robot bodies, while their other half is shunted into a Matrix-like virtual universe where they are permanently on vacation. 

The complexity of the above setup, one might think, would leave the filmmakers ample room to discuss something philosophically beguiling. The ethics of robotic labor, perhaps, or the nature of a bifurcated consciousness. The symbolism of humans going to war with their own corporate I.P. certainly opens some doors for exploration. However, the Russos don’t wield their premise to any discernible purpose. They don’t appear to be saying anything. The images are slick and thematically tantalizing, but ultimately “The Electric State” is an intellectually dull, not-very-funny action spectacular. Nothing more.

Anthony and Joe Russo, to remind readers, directed one of the most successful films of all time with “Avengers: Endgame.” They also helmed several other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and exhibited a talent for wrangling multiple colorful characters in impeccably constructed fight scenes where one could actually discern what was happening from shot to shot. They were fond of zooming in on beloved star characters, giving each moment a climactic spoonful of portent. 

Their post-MCU output, however, has included “Cherry,” “The Gray Man,” and now “The Electric State,” which all now prove their weaknesses. Yes, they can give moments portent, but with the MCU, they could get away with filming an endless series of mini-climaxes because other filmmakers had already set up their characters in other movies. The Russos are very good with payoffs, but terrible with setups. They are great with a finale, but have no new ideas as to how to get us there. 

As such, when they’re setting up an alternate 1990s populated with ousted corporate robots, and telling a story about how humanity has given over its collective unconsciousness to a tech bazillionaire with VR widgets to sell, they’re doing so without having anything to say. Indeed, one can now see, with “The Electric State,” that the Russos are, at their hearts, corporate wonks for hire. It’s certainly telling that the sympathetic figures in their new film are armed, robotic corporate mascots who need a small cadre of brave humans to defend them from an attack force of vicious, governmental military drones. In a weird way, “The Electric State” is a pro-A.I. movie wherein entertainment companies need to be defended from the onslaught of governmental oversight. “The Electric State,” if anything, is about the need for Netflix deregulation. 

The plot of “The Electric State,” beyond its complex setup, is refreshingly simple. Millie Bobby Brown plays a sassy teen named Michelle whose only close relationship is with her math-whiz brother Christopher (Woody Norman). Sadly, her brother and family die in a car crash, and she’s forced to live with a VR-addicted Foster dad (Jason Alexander). Michelle has grown disgusted by the world’s addiction to VR, and that schools have been replaced by VR classrooms (a conceit also used in “Ready Player One”). Robots are strictly illegal, and VR Troopers roam the streets until VR.5 in the morning looking for stragglers. 

Michelle is contacted by a robot of Cosmo (Alan Tudyk), a cartoon character that Michelle and Christopher used to watch together. The robot informs Michelle that her brother is not dead, but being held in a distant facility owned by tech mogul Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), a stand-in for Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or any other soulless billionaire. Michelle and Cosmo take to the road to find her brother, accumulating a thief-with-a-heart-of-gold named Keats (Chris Pratt), and his robot buddy Herman (voice of Anthony Mackie, motion capture provided by Martin Klebba) along the way. On their tail is a suspicious supra-assassin played by Giancarlo Esposito (or rather his face; audiences can only see the actor from his eyebrows to his chin, via a robotic TV screen). The film follows them on their quest to find Christopher, and figure out why Skate has him held prisoner.

Their trip will lead them into the enormous, above-mentioned robot-occupied enclosure where all the Disney-bots live, benevolently overseen by a robot of Mr. Peanut (Woody Harrelson) of Planters fame. Sharp-eared viewers might recognize multiple celebrity voices coming from the background ‘bots. Brian Cox plays a broken-down baseball robot, Jenny Slate plays a put-upon mail-carrying droid, and Hank Azaria plays an android magician. Colman Domingo has a cameo as a man in a robot suit. Ke Huy Quan plays both a mad scientist, and a robotic version of himself. 

The tone of “The Electric State” is surprisingly flat. The visuals are ultra-slick, of course, and the special effects are seamless, but it’s all in service of a blandly photographed, uncreatively constructed movie. There’s no energy or verve. Chris Pratt is present to whip off generic “comedic” one-liners, but none of them are actually funny or denote any personality. A lot of the dialogue feels like placeholder lines, written to save space for actually funny jokes to be inserted later. One can appreciate the Russos’ unpretentious sense of visual clarity — unlike a Michael Bay film, one can always discern where characters are in a fight scene — but that is a mere complement of skilled utility, not storytelling or creativity. When I level the same honest criticism toward the film’s emotional climaxes, one might begin to sense the overall weakness of the movie.

“The Electric State” is one of the most expensive films ever made, and one can see every dollar on the screen. The robots feel real, and their design, taken from Stålenhag’s book, is fitfully unique. But one wonders why so much effort went into a movie that has almost nothing on its mind. It’s doubly frustrating, given that some of the conceits are so powerful. A dystopian thriller about shedding ourselves or corporate I.P? Had this film actually been made in the 1990s — when times were more cynical and pop artists more anti-corporate — perhaps it would have been poignant, bitter, and anti-establishment. The Russos, however, are the most establishment filmmakers working, and they don’t seem to understand what they decided to adapt. 

“The Electric State,” like Mr. Peanut, is a complex machine that can emulate human emotions, but may be more like a peanut shell in how empty it is. 

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

“The Electric State” is streaming on Netflix March 14, 2025.