Netflix And Chill: The Electric State (2025)

Based on a book by Simon Stålenhag, and directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State is a sci-fi drama that packs every scene with numerous robots that seem to exist for no other reason than to justify the ridiculously bloated budget (which I've seen in the range of $275M-$320M). It's horribly empty stuff, not helped by two leads who aren't able to distract from the weaker elements.

In an alternate timeline, robots tried to demand more rights, which started a war between them and the humans. Robots are now held in an exclusion zone, and humans are kept docile and "safe" by wearing headsets that keep them connected to an online world overseen by tech mogul Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci). Millie Bobby Brown plays Michelle, a young woman who had her life ruined by the death of her parents and brother, and she ends up heading on a perilous journey when approached by a robot that claims to actually BE her brother. Her chances of success in getting into the exclusion zone will depend on enlisting the help of a scavenger named Keats (Chris Pratt), but there's a determined soldier (Giancarlo Esposito) using his remote robot body to hunt them down.

Re-uniting once again with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the Russos show a level of incompetence here that is bewildering to those who know how well they can do with big-budget spectacle. Despite keeping everything busy and overstuffed, nothing here has any impact. It's mind-numbingly predictable, none of the attempted small emotional beats work, and it should be a crime for any film-makers to manage to waste both Tucci and Esposito in such thankless roles.

Both Brown and Pratt can be very good in the right roles. These are not the right roles for them. That would be easier to accept if the robot cast was a better mix of fun designs and canny voice casting, but the voice cast ends up being as wasted as every one of the visible performers. Woody Harrelson is fun, overall, but Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Hank Azaria, Jenny Slate, and Alan Tudyk never get to be as good as they can be. As well as Tucci and Esposito, Ke Huy Quan is also left floundering with the poor screenplay, and both Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander are given far too little screentime.

A film of many paradoxes, this is an epic tale on a grand scale that never really feels as if we are really seeing a big picture. It's a film about technology that rarely feels relevant, but it's also looking at humanity without managing to find the warmth and emotion needed (particularly in the third act). It throws money around in a way that doesn't translate onscreen, completely fails to entertain at the simplest level, and seems to consistently and determinedly dull the potential shine of the stars at the heart of it.

I would compliment the soundtrack, if stretching for something nice to say, but even that is marred by a moment that has a melancholy piano version of Wonderwall on it. I'm sure everyone tried their best, from the production designers to the cinematographer, but it's all mashed together with a laziness and cynicism that easily makes it a contender for one of the worst modern blockbusters I have seen in the past few years (and, yes, that includes every non-Spidey-but-Spideyverse film from Sony).

2/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Gray Man (2022)

As soon as I finished watching The Gray Man last night, I smiled. Because it's a film that is as easy to review as it was easy to throw together. I'm not saying that everything onscreen here is a piece of cake, not when it comes to the technical side of things, but it makes use of a cast with obvious talent to tell a story we've seen 100 times before. So I am going to say that the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe) felt quite at ease while filming this. I'm sure it also helped that Joe Russo worked on the script with fellow MCU workers Chrisopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Ryan Gosling plays Six, a highly-skilled assassin/agent who was released from prison many years ago by Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) when the latter realised he could make great use of a killer with a strong moral compass. When his latest job doesn't go to plan, Six finds out that his most recent target was Four, another agent like himself, and he was being killed because he had dirt on the new person in charge (Carmichael, played by Regé-Jean Page). Six then becomes a wanted man, and Carmichael has no qualms about using the sociopathic Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans) to hunt him down. Lloyd won't care about collateral damage, despite the protestations of the woman who is supposed to help oversee this "off the books" op, Suzanne Brewer (Jessica Henwick). A young girl gets caught up in the whole scheme (Fitzroy's niece, Claire, played by Julia Butters), and Six ends up being given some valuable assistance by agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas). That covers pretty much everything, and actually gives you more than you need to know. This is an extended chase movie, and it's one that moves nicely from one set-piece to the next, making the 2+ hour runtime less noticeable than it otherwise would be.

Here are a selection of things I decided were most worthy of mentioning about The Gray Man.

1. Drones are a blight on the action movie landscape, and will do for them what smartphone cameras did for horror movies over the last decade or so. 

2. Ryan Gosling continues to be one of my favourite leading men, despite (or maybe because of) playing safely within his seemingly limited range.

3. Chris Evans also continues to be one of my favourite leading men, and we'll all be much better off if he gets to have more entertainingly villainous roles like this one. He's a man who really knows the value of delivering threats with a big smile and a twinkle in his eye.

4. Ana de Armas is a star, and I hope she continues to make hay while the sun shines. I also keep being reminded that there are a number of films from earlier in her career that I need to check out.

5. The Russo brothers CAN shoot action well, but you wouldn't know that from some of the main sequences here. Some of the action is nicely shot, but far too much of it is too choppily edited, too busy with so many elements being thrown around onscreen, and too focused on showcasing the filming style over showcasing the physical work being done by the leads (or their stunt doubles).

You should manage to have fun with The Gray Man. A surprisingly witty script, one that plays to the strengths of the leads, helps enormously, and every main player already mentioned does well in their role. There's also time for some good work from Dhanush (playing an agent named Avik San) and the great Alfre Woodard. It's not very original, which isn't a big problem when it aims to just consistently entertain, but it also never really feels like the stakes are high. Six is an unstoppable machine, even if he manages to maintain that identity with a hell of a lot of help from Miranda, and the last few scenes underline this by being sorely predictable and anti-climactic.

I'd watch another film making use of these characters in this kind of situation, but everyone knows how easily pleased I can be. This was a decent bit of witty action, but it was nothing great. I'm just thankful that the Russo brothers at least cast the best people they could for the main roles.

6/10

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)

I had to look up some figures for the Narnia movies before I began writing this review. According to Box Office Mojo, the first film had a production budget of $180M and made a shade over $745M worldwide. Not bad. The second film had a production budget of $225M and made just under $420M worldwide. And this film had a production budget of $155M, bringing in a worldwide take of just over $415M. How the hell the Prince Caspian movie ended up costing $225M is beyond me, but it seems clear that the series was scuppered at that point. Which is a bit of a shame. Because while The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader ended up making the least at the box office, it's a contender for the best of the three films, taking two main characters and throwing them almost immediately into a wild adventure that involves dark magic, a hunt for special items that can be used to stop an evil force, a dragon, and much more.

Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) are miserable, staying at the home of relatives, including a most horrid cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). It doesn't take them long, however, to get back to Narnia, this time through a painting of a sailing ship. And the astonished Eustace ends up there with them, meeting Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) and his crew, and soon seeing sights that convince him he must be hallucinating.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I liked this film more than the previous two Narnia adventures. There are still some problems. None of these films work as well as they could, but this one comes the closest, and that is despite an adventure that focuses on the two youngest, and previously most annoying, members of the Pevensie family.

Henley and Keynes both do better here than they have done previously, obviously improving slightly with each movie in the series, due to the script helping them out and the fact that they have grown up a bit. Barnes is still absolute fine as the courageous and good-hearted Prince Caspian, and Gary Sweet does pretty well as his right hand man. There's no Eddie Izzard returning to voice Reepicheep so we get Simon Pegg instead. He's fine, despite the fact that his vocal performance feels like a slight step down from Izzard's fun turn. But it's Poulter who steals a handful of scenes, even when he's being an absolutely slappable pain in the backside for the first third of the film. He's entertaining to dislike, and then gradually becomes easier to like as the story allows him to be changed by everything he experiences.

It's Michael Apted sliding into the director's chair this time, working from the script by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, and Michael Petroni (the other newcomer), and he does a nice job of following on from the previous films, in terms of the look and feel of the thing, while taking viewers in a slightly different direction. There are times when this feels more like a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie (and I know not everyone will view that as an improvement), thanks to the menagerie of creatures, the action sequences, and the nautical nature of it all, and times when, just occasionally, it feels like a film that could have been just as much fun with a lower budget and some lovely stop-motion work in place of the CGI, in the vein of an old Harryhausen flick.

It's a shame that this is where the series ended, considering the fact that there were other adventures fans of the books may have wanted to see, but it's also not a bad thing that it finished on a such a relative high note.

And, as a recurring way to end these Narnia-focused reviews, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.*

*I did warn you that I would also end this Narnia review with this statement.

7/10

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

A cinematic return to Narnia, with many of the same people both in front of and behind the cameras, Prince Caspian both benefits and suffers from the fact that it's not just the first film all over again. It's good to visit Narnia for a tale that isn't as familiar (to those who haven't read the books anyway), but it's also not so good when you realise that the tale being told this time around, well, it's just not quite as enjoyable.

Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are once again transported to Narnia, this time called by a magical horn, unbeknownst to them. Over a thousand years have passed since they were last in that world, although it has only been about a year in their own time, and much has changed. There has been division and war, and there's currently a young man (the titular prince) who may improve the situation, if he is kept alive long enough to ascend to the throne.

As well as the Pevensie siblings returning to our screens, we also get some more screentime for Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson again) and the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). But it's the new characters who make the strongest impressions. Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis are two Narnian dwarves, with the former getting almost as much screentime as any of the other leads, Eddie Izzard is the voice of a swashbuckling mouse named Reepicheep, and Ken Stott voices a knowledgeable badger named Trufflehunter.

Everyone onscreen does well enough, with most of the younger cast members slightly improved compared to their previous work. Ben Barnes is Prince Caspian, and manages to portray his character as a good man without ever becoming annoying pious, and his main enemies are played well by Sergio Castellitto, playing his character of King Miraz in over-the-top pure villain mode, and Pierfrancesco Favino (who plays a General to the King, torn between duty and considering how to play out events in a way that will allow him an escape).

Director Andrew Adamson does well enough at the helm, once again, but his best work is done in the script department, once again alongside Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. This feels like a more mature work than The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, yet it is all put together in a nicely uncomplicated, but also unpatronising, way. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it is as consistently entertaining as it could be. From the very opening scenes through to the finale, there's always the sense that viewers should be caring more about the events unfolding onscreen. A little bit of restructuring would have helped to improve this, perhaps starting with the Pevensies being whisked back to Narnia and letting viewers discover the changes and dangers of the world that was once very familiar to them at the same time as the main characters.

And, as a recurring way to end these Narnia-focused reviews, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.*

*Yes, I plan on also ending my next review with this statement.

6/10

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005)

Like so many others of my generation, and anyone slightly younger who caught it on repeats or VHS/DVD, the BBC adaptation of The Chronicles Of Narnia retains a special place in my heart. I recently bought the boxset, although I haven't been brave enough to revisit it yet. Whatever you think of various aspects of it (the religious allegory running through it, how irritating the kids can be, how it struggles to remain exciting whenever the White Witch is offscreen), there's no denying that The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is a classic fantasy tale for children of all ages. Which makes it unsurprising that it got the cinematic treatment at a time when so many companies were desperate to find "the next Harry Potter". I'm just surprised that it took so long.

I'm also surprised that it was this weak, although perhaps that is more to do with the inherent flaws of the source material.

The story may be well known, but I'll recap it anyway. Siblings Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) are all bundled off during wartime to live in a large house in the country. While playing a game of hide and seek one day, Lucy hides in a wardrobe, stepping further back into the depths of it until she ends up in the magical land of Narnia. Nobody else believes her, of course, when she finds her way back to wartime Britain, but it's only a matter of time until they all end up in the wardrobe, and all end up in Narnia. They find themselves in danger, thanks to a prophecy that means the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) wants them killed, but all might be well, thanks to the magical Aslan (a lion, voiced by Liam Neeson) and his army of friendly creatures willing to defy the will of the White Witch.

In terms of production value and design, there's nothing wrong with this movie. Pacing issues aside, it has a runtime of just over two and a quarter hours, everything is in place for what should be a wonderful fantasy adventure.

Director Andrew Adamson, who delivered a lot of fun with the first two Shrek movies, should have been an easy fit for the material. He also helps adapt the C. S. Lewis book, alongside Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely. Which may be where things first went awry. You see, there's a feeling throughout this movie that nobody wants to be responsible for messing it up, either due to reverence for the source material or the responsibility of setting up a potential franchise, or both. The spectacle and adventure is there, the sense of fun is not.

It's also not helped by the fact that almost every child actor is eminently slappable. No offence to those playing the main roles, it's the way they are written (although the younger two, played by Henley and Keynes make it a bit worse with some added precociousness). The older cast members all do great work. James McAvoy is a lovely Mr. Tumnus, Tilda Swinton is superbly fierce as the White Witch, and memorable voice performances are delivered by Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Rupert Everett and, of course, Liam Neeson (lending his timbre and gravitas to the role of the mighty Aslan).

Perhaps the biggest problems with The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe are twofold, the flaws inherent in the source material and the fact that many other movies from the past couple of decades did this kind of grand adventure much better. There's nothing here that is bad enough to make it unwatchable. It's just all quite perfunctory, when it should have used the bloated runtime to revel in an excess of memorable characters and visions.

Also, a problem with both this and the sequels, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.

6/10

You can buy the boxset here.
Americans can get the movies here.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Here we go with another Marvel blockbuster and another superhero ensemble, this time the much-anticipated feature that finally pits our familiar heroes against the mighty Thanos (Josh Brolin, in motion captured form). Things look bleak from the start, with Thanos having control of two of the infinity stones, placed in his gauntlet, within the first ten minutes. And viewers are under no illusion that everything will get worse before it gets better. Earth is a target, other planets have already been decimated, and nobody has anything approaching a proper plan to stop Thanos in his tracks.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the men who did such great work with the second and third Captain America movies, Avengers: Infinity War is a LOT of fun. It's all about great power, great battles, and the ultimate stakes. And all of it is elevated by the cast, including, but not limited to, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, and Peter Dinklage. They are all perfect in their roles, as anyone who has seen any of the previous Marvel movies will already know.

Which is why it's a shame that the script, by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, doesn't always treat them as well as they deserve. The writers deserve credit for the plotting, for trying to make something that will please fans and also allow relative newcomers to enjoy everything, and for somehow making sure that every single character has at least one great line, despite the crowded cast. They also deserve credit for a couple of the choices made, but let's not rush to highlight anything here as particularly unpredictable or brave. Considering the elements in place, the grand finale didn't resonate with me as it seems to have resonated with some others. But I started this paragraph about to criticise the writers for their treatment of the characters and I should really finish that thought. One or two examples aside, mainly from the Guardians Of The Galaxy, most of these characters feel either a bit too removed from what they used to be, or just a bit too convenient in their geography and timing. I do understand that they've all been through a lot in recent years, which would change anyone, but these don't feel like natural developments. They feel like the writers forgot the essence of the characters at times, sometimes within the runtime of this very film. And don't even start me on how the opening scenes of this film spoil the end of a certain other superhero movie (not going to name it, watch and you'll see what I mean).

That isn't the only problem that the film has. First of all, things are now TOO big. The threat, the scope, the runtime, this is a film that may will certainly be held up as a prime example by anyone who wants to show how superhero movie fatigue is a rot that has been developing in multiplexes over the past decade or so. I am not one of those people, but even I was starting to feel a bit weary by just the end of the first act.

It's also a shame that the Russo brothers don't keep the action as smooth and satisfying as it was in their previous two movies. I assume that has to do with the increase in size, leading to more stunts and effects and a need for more editing in most of the main action sequences. The most satisfying set-piece for me was one set in the streets of Edinburgh, but that is just because I live here (rather than the quality of the action itself). When even the fluidity and grace of Black Panther is turned into something looking clumsy and erratic you have to think that something is a bit off with the way the fights were filmed.

Despite my criticisms here, the good far outweighs the bad, and I don't want the above thoughts to make anyone think that I disliked it. I definitely liked it. I REALLY liked it. Mainly because of the cast being so effortlessly brillant, but there are also plenty of fun lines of dialogue, some great exchanges, a very real sense of danger throughout, and satisfying callbacks to previous adventures and connections. The special effects are fantastic, with Thanos looking a lot better here than he did in the trailers for the movie, and the lengthy 149-minute runtime goes by quickly enough (although it could have certainly been trimmed in at least one or two places). Oh, and there's the inevitable post-credits sequence. Just the one, but worth sticking around for.

8/10

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