The Fireside Reader

The Electric State 

If you have been following along, you know I have a new found love for writing. A love I was thrown into. A love almost forced on me, but I love it anyway. Before writing, I had another love. One I grew up with. A love kindled by family and friends. Movies. I. Love. Movies. I love every kind of movie. It doesn’t matter if it’s a romance, a thriller, or anything in between. Don’t ask me what my favorite movie is because I couldn’t tell you. It would be like asking me to pick a favorite child. Impossible. My love of movies comes from my dad. I grew up going to the theater with him often, we had more DVDs than I could count, and watching the TV was a family affair. Movies were a way to connect with my family, and still are today. 

Having a love of movies comes with its share of opinions. Luckily, my family and I share similar opinions. Fights would rarely break out (but when they did, I was always right). When I left my family and started forging my own path, I would often use movies to help bridge a relationship. This is when reality set in… Other people have different opinions. I know. Crazy right? Some people are even more in love with movies than I am. It feels like I’m being cheated on somehow. The people with a deeper love also seem to have louder opinions. So much so, they treat their opinions as fact. It can get annoying and overwhelming. My goal for my movie reviews is for them to be carefree, chill, and laid back. None of my opinions are facts. I’m here to have fun, not to have a debate. I won’t be diving too deep in hidden meanings and relevance to today’s climate. There are enough bloggers out there to handle those topics. 

Saying that, I will rate a movie from 1-5 stars based on these criteria: 

#1 World building and graphics 

#2 Characters and acting

#3 Soundtrack and scores (who doesn’t like good music?)

#4 Overall story and plot 

#5 Rewatch-ability and memorability

How the overall rating works: I will average the categories together. 1 star = worst movie ever/ didn’t finish, 2.5 star = an average movie (most movies will be around this score), 5 stars = a legendary movie (like Lord of The Rings)

From here on, be prepared for spoilers. I won’t give too much away, but if you want to go watch the movie first, I wouldn’t blame you. 

World building and graphics:

Do you like the setting of the video game Fallout? If you do, I think you would like this world. The setting and time period is where I think this movie shines. Not to mention, the graphics of the robots for a Netflix movie is pretty clean. Post war and death encompass the atmosphere, but in a good way. The movie takes place in the 90s after a war with machines. Most, if not all, of the death you see on screen is of robots. Broken, destroyed, and deserted machines paint a picture of a world once run by AI. This mixed in with 90s grunge creates the perfect world for a dystopia. There is a certain location in the movie I enjoyed the most and that was the fortress for robots in a place called the exclusion zone (EX for short). The fortress is an old mall left to rot in the middle of a desert. Inside the mall is full of nostalgia. It oddly made me feel like a kid again. I give the world building a 3 out of 5 stars.

Characters and acting:

Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt are the two main actors who play Michelle and Keat. A few other notable actors are: Ke Huy Quan, Anthony Mackie, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Alexander, and Woody Harrelson. Milly Bobby Brown is definitely one of my favorite actresses of her generation. I love her in the movie Enola Holmes. She can take on many different personas and each feel unique. With Michelle, Milly turned her into an angsty 90s teen who has lost her way. Michelle goes against the crowd. Milly leans into the loneliness she feels, and makes me feel compassion for the character. Chris Pratt on the other hand can be a one note actor. The majority of his roles feel like the same person. It’s not a bad thing, but Keat definitely feels like Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy. Michelle and Keat’s relationship reminds me of a brother and sister duo. Their banter is welcoming and relatable. Even more than the main characters, I enjoyed the personalities of the robots featured. Each robot had a vastly different personality and wit, which made the movie full of humor and joy amongst disaster. I give the characters and acting a 2.5 out of 5 stars. 

Soundtrack and scores:

The music really left me wanting. I was hoping for some 90s classics, and I didnt’ get many. Not even close to enough. Most of the music was Sci Fi sounding scores. Several times it reminded me of the music in E.T.. My favorite song in the movie was Don’t Stop Believing, which is an 80s classic. More 90s music would have had me feeling like I was a part of the movie. I give the music a 1.5 out of 5 stars.

Overall story and plot:

In summary, the overall plot is about a girl trying to save her brother. In doing so she breaks several laws, and enters several restricted areas. The villain is a large company who likes to take advantage of the little people. To me, this is a classic plot line. The pacing of the plot was too fast. I wanted more time spent with certain characters. For example, I wanted more backstory on the villains. Why is he doing what he is doing? I asked this question for several of the characters, and I never really got an answer. I give the plot a 3 out of 5 stars. 

Rewatch-ability and memorability:

Overall, this movie was a fun watch. I giggled a few times, and I felt compassion for the characters (even the robots). Would I watch it again anytime soon? Probably not. I won’t forget the world, though. I give the rewatch-ability a 2 out of 5 stars. 

My overall score for The Electric State: 2.4 out of 5 stars.

Again, here is how the scoring works: I will average the categories together. 1 star = worst movie ever/ didn’t finish, 2.5 star = an average movie (most movies will be around this score), 5 stars = a legendary movie (like Lord of The Rings)

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the dystopian genre. The rating of the movie is PG-13. There is language throughout the movie. If you watch it, leave a comment on what you think! Thanks for reading, friend! I love you all.