The Electric State

The Electric State follows Michelle, a teenage girl left orphaned in a world reshaped by robots, who sets out to find the brother she lost. Her only companion is a strange machine, and the search for her brother draws her into a journey across the country. Along the way she joins forces with a smuggler named Keats and his talkative associate, a pair whose motives are not always clear, while a military figure pursues his own interest in the robot.

Joe and Anthony Russo directed the film, working from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the writing team behind several of their earlier Marvel films. It arrived after Cherry and The Gray Man, and is based on Simon Stålenhag's illustrated book. Millie Bobby Brown plays Michelle, with Chris Pratt as Keats and Ke Huy Quan voicing a character; the cast also includes Jason Alexander, Woody Norman and Giancarlo Esposito. The production, mounted by AGBO and Skybound Entertainment, cost about 320 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive films the brothers have made.

The response has been mixed. Film critics gave it 3.6 out of 10 across 158 reviews, a notably low figure, while audiences were warmer: on IMDb it holds 5.9 out of 10 from 83,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5 out of 10 from 1,811 votes. The gap between the two suggests viewers found more to enjoy in the adventure than reviewers did.