The Electric State has striking robot designs and a readable adventure premise, but its scale and spectacle never become much of an emotional experience. The Russos’ adaptation turns Simon Stålenhag’s melancholy illustrated story into a louder road movie, and the change leaves the film with familiar action, muddled ideas and leads who struggle to click.
What is The Electric State about?
Set in an alternate version of the 1990s American West, the film follows orphaned teenager Michelle as she travels with Cosmo, a robot, and Keats, a smuggler, in search of her younger brother. The journey unfolds after a robot uprising, with robots exiled to an exclusion zone. Netflix’s Tudum feature describes the premise and the movie’s relationship to its source.
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Anthony and Joe Russo directed the film, with a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Millie Bobby Brown plays Michelle and Chris Pratt plays Keats. The human cast also includes Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Giancarlo Esposito and Jason Alexander; robot voices include Anthony Mackie, Alan Tudyk, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and Hank Azaria. Netflix’s media listing provides the official premise and credits.
Does the movie work as an adventure?
The premise is easy to follow, and the film has an appealing visual hook: robots with distinct shapes and functions moving through a world that feels worn and abandoned. The strongest images draw on Stålenhag’s depictions of decaying machines. That visual imagination gives the movie moments of atmosphere, even when the surrounding story feels less distinctive.
#1 Best Overall
In her Associated Press review, Lindsey Bahr praises the robot designs but finds the action repetitive and the movie dull; she also says Brown and Pratt do not find much of a groove together. That weakness matters because the story depends on the unlikely companions becoming a compelling team. Recognition of the cast cannot substitute for the warmth or friction that would make their journey feel personal. Bahr’s review makes the contrast between memorable imagery and an unengaging adventure clear.
Peter Bradshaw’s Guardian review reaches a related conclusion from a different angle, criticizing the film as muddled and derivative. Its ideas about people, technology and the place of robots in human life do not cohere into a strong dramatic point of view. The film’s visual abundance can make it seem richer than its story actually is. Bradshaw’s review describes that lack of distinction as part of a broader problem with the adaptation.
Rank #2
How is the film different from the book?
The movie is based on Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 illustrated book, but it is a loose adaptation, not a scene-by-scene translation. Netflix identifies the source in its Tudum feature; the AP calls the film “loosely based,” while the Guardian describes it as “freely adapted.”
The key difference is not simply plot detail but emphasis. Stålenhag’s work uses quiet, melancholy images to suggest a larger human story. The movie reshapes that material into a broad, effects-heavy journey with a more conventional adventure structure. It retains some of the book’s striking robot imagery, but the shifts in tone and narrative focus dilute the reflective quality critics find in the original. If you are drawn to the movie’s world, the book offers a notably different way to experience it.
Simon & Schuster lists a 144-page paper-over-board edition from Skybound Books, published September 25, 2018, ISBN 9781501181412. See the publisher’s book page for edition details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is The Electric State worth watching?
It may suit viewers who chiefly want elaborate robot imagery, a recognizable ensemble and a straightforward science-fiction road adventure. If you are looking for the melancholy, human complexity associated with Stålenhag’s book, or a film whose central duo carries the journey, the adaptation is harder to recommend. The robot designs are the clearest reason to give it a chance; the repetitive action and thin chemistry are the main reasons it may not hold your attention.
Rank #4
The Associated Press lists a 128-minute runtime and a US PG-13 rating for sci-fi violence/action, language and some thematic material. Netflix reports that the film is streaming on its service, but catalog availability can vary by location; check Netflix in your territory. The AP review gives the runtime and US rating, and Netflix’s Tudum feature reports the streaming availability.
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