Netflix’s ‘The Electric State’ Proves Hollywood Is Broken
On paper, Netflix’s The Electric State looks like a good bit of business for the streaming giant.
Directed by the Russos of the Avengers fame, written by MCU stalwarts Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt alongside other recognizable actors, it’s a blockbuster in every sense of the word. A surefire knockout success, right? No. Not by a long shot. If anything, it shows that Hollywood – which is notorious for shooting itself in the foot – might be aiming the gun a little higher now.
The Russos don’t have the Midas touch anymore
Look, there’s no denying Joe and Anthony Russo’s achievements in the MCU. The brothers delivered billions of dollars for Marvel Studios and Disney, so it’s no surprise that studio executives believe they walk on water and want the Russo magic (or box office haul) to rub off on their projects. Yet, all their post-MCU work is getting them found out in the most public way. The reality is this: The Russos aren’t great filmmakers. They’re as by-the-numbers as it comes, and without a big franchise padding their inefficiencies and unoriginal approach, no one gives a hoot about their bang-average movies.
Let’s look at the evidence for a second. Extraction with Chris Hemsworth? Mid. Cherry with Tom Holland? Snore. The Gray Man with Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling? Make it go away. The Citadel series with Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra? Give us back those hours wasted on it. And now there’s The Electric State… Possibly the worst of the lot.
This isn’t a case of one or two bad films. Their post-MCU slate is abysmal. Rotten to the core. And what’s their reward for it? They’re being handed two more Avengers movies to produce and direct, further adding credence to the belief that people fail upwards in Tinsel Town. What’s even more shocking is how much money Netflix handed to the Russos to make The Electric State when Universal passed on giving it a theatrical release.
Who the heck decided to give ‘The Electric State’ a $320 million budget?
Put aside any personal feelings for The Electric State or the Russos for a second. Just consider the following: It cost $320 million to make, as per Deadline. Yes, $320 million. There is no extra zero here; that’s the real figure. By comparison, Mickey 17 – another recent sci-fi film – cost $118 million, with many industry insiders saying it was a major mistake for Warner Bros. to fork out that amount of money to filmmaker Bong Joon Ho for a non-IP production. It’s tough to argue since Mickey 17 won’t break even when its theatrical run ends and will be remembered as a financial flop for the studio.
Now, Netflix isn’t in the box office business – it’s all about subscribers, viewing hours, and the weird metric system Netflix hides under a veil of secrecy more hushed than KFC’s special chicken spice. That being said, should any movie cost $320 million? Make it make sense here. Here’s the film industry, crying about escalating costs and trying to deceive everyone into believing it needs AI to stay afloat, when someone put up $320 million to produce this.
To make it even worse, The Electric State doesn’t look like a $320 million movie. If it looked revolutionary or jaw-dropping, then someone could say, “Yeah, sure. At least the movie looks good.” It doesn’t. It’s bleach in the eyes.
‘The Electric State’ received a deserved critical bashing
At the time of writing, The Electric State sits on a measly 14% score on Rotten Tomato‘s Tomatometer. In Review Online‘s Matt Lynch didn’t hold back, writing, “At the end of the film, when the robots triumph over their techbro overlords and convince us all to unplug from social media, maybe we should just take their advice and stop watching movies altogether. If this is the slop they think we’re happy eating, it would be best for everyone.”
Audiences appear to be more forgiving of The Electric State, with the general consensus being, “It’s okay.” It would be interesting to gauge opinions if people actually had to pay for this drivel rather than watch it as part of their Netflix subscription. One thing’s certain, though: Don’t expect to see anyone list it as their favorite movie of the year.
Joe Russo told The Sunday Times that it’s disgraced and jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s fault that “mainstream movies” are “vilified.” Russo stated that Weinstein did this “to champion the art films he pushed for Oscar campaigns.” Essentially, Russo’s whole argument here is that people shouldn’t turn up their noses at Marvel movies and accuse them of lacking cinematic value. His point is valid – because elitism and gatekeeping should be discouraged – but it’s impossible to take this seriously when he and his brother are guilty of becoming the kings of mediocre entertainment. If the Academy Awards start handing out trophies to the Russos after films like The Electric State, maybe it’s time to give up on Hollywood once and for all.