Is it better to have read the book it was based on before watching a movie? An average nerd (often myself included) will usually answer yes. Whether it’s so we can get that extra context for the world and characters, a deeper appreciation for the art direction, or simply that self=satisfied smugness of being able to say “the book was better.” You can tell from my reviews over the years, I love seeing what films can do with my favorite books (and video games on occasion.) But, as a busy adult with somehow worsening ADHD, I’ve had less and less opportunity to be able to say “I read the book first.” I’ve had to rely on others to tell me if a movie adaptation has done a book justice.
In the case of The Electric State, Netflix’s latest made-for-streaming film, I haven’t had the privilege of reading the 2018 illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag that it’s based on. But unfortunately, I’ve read some of the reviews by other critics who were able to view the film before me. Let’s just say I didn’t go into this with much optimism. Set in an alternate timeline 1995 in which robots are much more advanced but lost a war against humans and banished to the desert wastelands, Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) an orphaned teenager encounters a robot modeled after a children’s cartoon she used to watch. She soon realizes that the robot is being controlled somehow by the mind of her brother whom she thought had died in a tragic accident. This leads her on an adventure across the southwestern U.S. to find the location of her brother’s body. The truth she discovers, however, ends up going way deeper than she could have realized.
Directed by the Russo Brothers (The Avengers and even more importantly some of the best episodes of Community), armed with an over 300 million dollar budget, and stacked with an impressive cast including Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Ke Huy Quan, and Anthony Mackie just to name a few, this film certainly has a pretty good set up to be successful. And yet, The Electric State seems to be a miss for quite a few viewers. And I’m left in a state of confusion here because to be honest? I quite enjoyed it.
From what I could gather, many of the criticisms of the film stem from it being a shallow adaptation of a deeper, nuanced source material. And yeah, as someone who has seen that happen with most book to film adaptations I’ve read, I get it. It’s disappointing to see the important details left out, the tonal inaccuracies, the missing or miscast characters. But now, all of a sudden I feel like I’m at an advantage for once by not reading the book first. This film was just sheer fun for me. Not in the thought provoking science fiction art-house way, but in the I’m a kid watching an adventure movie about robots kind of way. There was something about this film that harkened back to that feeling of just watching a vhs of something you picked out at Blockbuster as a kid based off the cover, eating a lot of candy and pizza, and just having a good time. Like specifically for me, it gave me flashbacks of Starship Troopers and Return To Oz. I can’t exactly tell you why those two.
Visually, I think they did an impressive job, crossing elements from the highly stylized visual novel it was based on, and a tiny bit of realism. In true Avengers fashion, the Russo brothers are great at throwing a lot on the screen at once, potentially triggering an overstimulation burnout, but great if you like a busy scene. The aging millennial in me found guilty pleasure in the mid 90’s fashion, music, and even computers, despite being set in an alternate timeline with more advanced technology.
As mentioned earlier, the cast is certainly impressive. Millie Bobby Brown is already well experienced at being a leading lady in a retro-scifi, but probably enjoyed playing a more normal rebellious teenager for once. Similarly, Chris Pratt as the off grid re-seller “Keats” does what Chris Pratt does best, being a silly, kind of loser. Not much different from his as Star Lord, but hey, it works for this film too. And Stanley Tucci is the actor I can watch in anything and love no matter what. I do feel his performance in this one was surprisingly subtle compared to his normal characters, especially in a film so full of animated personalities
I’ll never say that The Electric State is high art or even a good adaptation. At least I can’t say it is a good adaptation until I read the book. But that’s the thing, I enjoyed this movie enough to where I really want to read the book. This may be controversial, but if a movie makes a viewer want to read its source material, isn’t that some form of success? Either way, the film is a really fun watch with a lot of heart. I definitely recommend giving it a watch if that’s all you’re looking for.
