Sci-fi is big business right now, with many of the best streaming services' greatest successes in recent months and years being of the genre. While Apple TV+ is winning with high-brow sci-fi, Netflix is also in on the action.
Its latest, The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown (of Stranger Things fame), releases this Friday, 15 March, and I'm still totally here for it – despite early reviews being anything other than rave.
Check out the final trailer below for a taste of what this sci-fi caper is about. It's based on the books of Simon Stålenhag and honors those visual stylings, which is why I still think it looks like a lot of fun.
It's increasingly uncommon for a streamer to put a major release out for review ahead of its initial air date. With The Electric State, I can only assume that Netflix is fully confident of its success – after all, the budget was reportedly a cool $320 million.
The Electric State is also directed by The Russo Brothers, whose work on the Marvel franchise – most prominently The Avengers series – and is therefore another reason for confidence. I've no doubt that the movie will rise to Netflix's no.1 spot come this Friday.
Nonetheless, critics aren't having it. The current Rotten Tomatoes score sees The Electric State sat on a paltry 23% approval rating. That could change, of course, and when verified viewers put their opinion in, there might be a significant split.
All I know is that, come Friday 15 March, I'll be one of those with the movie cued up to watch. Not all sci-fi has to be high-brow Severance levels, after all, and the action-adventure appeal of The Electric State has all the Big Hollywood Movie vibes that I'm sometimes seeking on a Friday night.
There's further Hollywood appeal from a serious roster of talent, too, from Chris Pratt, to Giancarlo Esposito, Stanley Tucci to Woody Harrelson. And that's just a small selection of all those involved. Sure, sometimes talent can be put in the wrong place – but those names already have me signed up for the ride.
I'm not saying The Electric State is going to be a great movie, mind. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited to strap in and enjoy it for what it is this Friday 15 March. A big-budget Hollywood sci-fi thriller with effects galore and cheesy-as-hell dialogue. Sometimes that's just what the streaming doctor ordered...
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