The Electric State

Michelle is a lonely, sharp-eyed teenager who leaves the remnants of her home with a mysterious robot that seems to carry secrets about her family. She connects with Keats, a smuggler with practical skills, and his talkative sidekick, and together they follow scattered clues that might lead to the brother she lost. Their path runs through broken highways, abandoned shopping malls, and makeshift settlements, where each encounter reveals more about the world's technological collapse and the people left behind. The film stays focused on their search and the fragile relationships that grow along the way, keeping the story's major twists and ending out of sight.

Directed by brothers Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, the screenplay was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, adapted from Simon Stålenhag's illustrated book. The 2025 release was positioned as a high-profile studio film, starring Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, and Woody Norman.

The Electric State opened widely in 2025 and attracted steady audiences, though it didn't reach blockbuster grosses. Its strong production design and familiar cast helped it find commercial footing in theaters, then later in home and digital windows, where it continued to draw viewers interested in its visual world.

Visually, the film brought Simon Stålenhag's retro-futurist landscapes into the mainstream, prompting a surge of fan art and online discussion about its ruined, neon-tinged environments. The robot designs and decayed tech imagery became frequent subjects on social media, and the movie reignited conversations about nostalgia for obsolete technology and how design can reflect social anxieties.

Critical and audience response was mixed, reflected in a 6.5/10 vote average. Reviewers often praised Millie Bobby Brown's performance and the film's meticulous production design, while some critics pointed to uneven pacing and plot threads that felt underdeveloped. Recurring themes include loss, the consequences of unchecked technological advance, and the makeshift families people form in the aftermath of catastrophe.