The Electric State
The Electric State
Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag, the story takes place in a reimagined version of 1997. With humans isolated in their VR helmets and a continuing battle against a strange breed of monstruous drones in the wake of a technological meltdown, a teenage girl named Michelle and a robot travel the West Coast of the U.S in search of the girl's missing brother.
Rob Logan | The Geek Generation reviewedMarch 17, 2025
This movie's getting a lot of hate because the budget is ridiculous, but I'm not interested in reviewing it based on its budget, just the final movie.
Is it a fantastic movie? No. Is it a horrible movie? Also no. While it hits on a lot of obvious themes and does have some nice world-building, it also has a few things holding it back. The themes are explored mostly through dialogue, but just because the characters say something about their experiences doesn't mean it has weight. In other words, a lot more telling than showing. Two, there was a lot of potential for some memorable, wacky side characters to exist with their own mini-arcs, but instead they're all pretty forgettable. Lastly, it's incredibly predictable because almost every plot development is telegraphed way in advance.
Even with all the negatives, it's a perfectly middle-of-the-road adventure with a coherent plot, a main character that has a motivation to move toward, and antagonists that make that journey challenging.