“The Electric State” is a crisis of tone, its circuits fried by shockingly clichéd writing.

In a fictionalized 1990, humanity suffered massive casualties in a war that began when robots rebelled against being told what to do. So when a robot breaks into Michelle’s (Millie Bobby Brown) home, points to a picture of her deceased brother, and repeats a few of his old phrases, she quickly believes that the robot is, somehow, him. Obviously.

Scott McDaniel, assistant professor of journalism at Franklin College

That’s all it takes for her to join a potentially murderous machine on a cross-country trek to find some random doctor in glasses who—according to this hunk of metal’s barely coherent communication—can explain everything.

Let me pause here. Because if you think it can’t get any sillier, you’re wrong. And the thing is, I don’t think it always intends to.

The 2023 film “The Creator” explored war between AI and humans, thoughtfully making the audience consider what rights artificial intelligence should have if evolved to the point of feeling and thinking as humans do.

“The Electric State” starts in that philosophical territory but quickly spirals into what feels like an unintentional parody. Overly dramatic orchestral swells try to pull at heartstrings, but they’re often paired with absurd imagery—like a robotic Mr. Peanut signing a peace treaty. I understand they wanted me to feel somber in the moment, but I chuckled. My less-critical wife met my gaze with a validating eyeroll.

The film demands massive leaps in belief and reason. Nothing makes sense.

And here’s the kicker: This thing cost around $320 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever—certainly Netflix’s priciest. Yet there’s nothing else groundbreaking about it. Some scenes look cool, but large-scale battles are nothing new, and the robots? Not that interesting.

The script offers little originality, and for all that money, nothing on screen justifies the price tag. If a chunk of that budget went to the cast, the writing certainly did them no favors. It’s trite. It’s formulaic.

The film is directed by the Russo Brothers, who have delivered a ton of heart and soul in the action genre with films like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” They even reunite with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) for this project. Pratt plays Keats, a man who fought in the war against the robots before befriending the one who saved his life—Herman, voiced by a seemingly helium-infused Mackie.

They team up with Millie Bobby Brown’s Michelle on her journey across a “Fallout” wasteland of obscure robots. The cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Ke Huy Quan and Stanley Tucci.

Investing in so many stars while failing to invest the audience is a real letdown. For all these big names, it feels like they were contractually obligated to shed a certain number of overacted, single-tear cliches.

The film’s concluding message that we humans need community for a happy and prosperous existence is good and true but must be spelled out at the end because the plot’s attempt to deliver it was an enormous waste of millions—and my Friday evening.

1.5/5

Scott McDaniel s a department chair and assistant professor of journalism at Franklin College. He lives in Bargersville with his wife and three kids.