THE ELECTRIC STATE (2025)

THE ELECTRIC STATE (2025)

Tagline: Not the '90s you remember.

(Sci-Fi, AI, There's Trouble On The Moon) [PG-13]

Oh. I'm sorry, I have a condition where I can only live in reality. Sucks, but you go right ahead!

Okay—first off, I have no idea what people were expecting with this thing. In the previews, I saw dystopian, broken-down robots with all kinds of epic designs talking and fighting, and pretty much said, "Take my money." Granted, this movie was only streamed, so I just got a month of the service it was on. 

This one takes place in an alternate version of 1997, where there has already been a robot vs human war, and the only way the humans could win was to (insert elevator music here). Then we meet this girl Michelle (post-war) who lives in an abusive situation and meets a Cosmo robot that may be able to help her find her "thought to be dead" brother. They will need help, though, which is where Keats (a war veteran) and Herman, his robot, come in. 

The script is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag, only from what I have read, the movie takes some artistic deviations from the source material. I never mind that. I have told you guys and gals 1,000 times that you NEVER go to the movie expecting the book, and you never go to the book expecting the movie.

Back when I was a kid, and Transformers first came out, one of the kids in the neighborhood I lived in had one and was showing off how it transformed all that, and I really got obsessed with robots. So any time I see a movie with robots involved, I have a hard time not watching it. My mom couldn't afford to get us Transformers at the time, so I made some out of wood, glue, nails, crayons (for color), and hinges in my grandfather's garage. That's how awesome I thought robots were. So when this movie came out, I was super pumped, and to be honest, it hit every nostalgic bone in my body. I mean, we have a Mr. Peanut robot in this thing, we've got robots shaped like donuts and movie popcorn boxes, it's mind-blowing. Not to mention the effects are all extremely well done, this thing should have been a theatrical release. 

On top of all that, we get an actual story with some really cool concepts and characters that are developed just enough to make us care about them. My only guess as to why people might have disliked this thing is maybe the first 40 minutes or so. The story does take its time getting off the ground. I can also venture to guess that we still have a contingent of movie fans who just don't like either Chris Pratt (who plays Keats) or Millie Bobby Brown (who plays Michelle). Both would be in my top 10 favorite actors and actresses, so for me, they weren't a problem; they were a big part of the reason I wanted to see this. 

We get some solid performance throughout, and Ke Huy Quan (who plays Dr. Amherst) has really taken some great roles lately, including this one. Woody Norman is great as Christopher. Stanley Tucci was solid as per usual, as well as Giancarlo Esposito (who plays The Marshall). 

Needless to say, this movie is incredible, outside of the reasons I mentioned, I really don't understand some of the hate it's getting. It's definitely the best movie of 2025 as of 3/28/2025. That's all I have on this one. I didn't want to get into spoilers for those who are on the fence about checking it out. I have already watched it twice and expect to watch it whenever I am subscribed to the streaming service it's on. I do hope eventually this gets a BLU-RAY release. 

This one gets an easy 7 out of 7. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF AGBO AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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