Avengers: Endgame duo The Russo brothers rely on traditional orchestral scores for their Marvel blockbusters and action thrillers. With their Netflix sci-fi adventure The Electric State, the duo has finally embraced the power of a curated mixtape.
While their regular collaborator Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame) returns for the sweeping brass-and-string soundscapes, the film stands apart with its vibrant mixtape of ’80s and ’90s chart-toppers, and classic dad rock anthems.
The Electric State is set in an alternate 1990s, where robots revolted against their human overlords, only to be banished to a desert prison. Despite a lively ensemble of talking androids, futuristic elements are scant in the album. So, don’t expect any Kraftwerk or Daft Punk needle drops. But staying true to its decade, the film’s radio shifts between Oasis and… Mark Wahlberg.
For stars Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown, The Electric State adds another notable soundtrack to their résumés, joining Guardians of the Galaxy and Stranger Things in the nostalgic playlist pantheon.
What’s on The Electric State soundtrack?
Mary Jane’s Last Dance – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Mother – Danzig
I Fought the Law – The Clash
Take Me to the River – Al Green
Tornerai – Trio Lescano e Quartetto Funaro
Calcutta (Nicolette) – Winifred Atwell
Honey Won’t You Listen – Roy Wayne
Good Vibrations – Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch
Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Edward Meeker
Breaking the Law – Judas Priest
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1 – The Flaming Lips
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Poison
Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
Wonderwall – Oasis
London’s punk icons The Clash, glam rock band Poison, and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers are spot-on choices for Chris Pratt’s Keats, a truck-driving drifter who wears black leather vests and sports a shabby handlebar moustache.
As Pratt and Brown befriend a rebel army of robots, they wage war against human-led android soldiers. Anarchic tunes by The Flaming Lips and Judas Priest set the mood and momentum for these battle sequences.
But when one such battle plays out at an abandoned theme park, the PA blares out the dancey hook of Good Vibrations (no, not the Beach Boys classic). Unable to stand the ’90s-era guilty pleasure as killer robots surround him, Pratt’s rock n’ roller screams: ‘I’m not dying to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch!’
However, the musical highlights of The Electric State are the moving piano renditions, performed on-screen by a taco bot. After playing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ to instil hope among the robots and breaking into I’ll Survive mid-battle, this mechanical pianist might strike a good friendship with the flame-throwing guitarist from Mad Max: Fury Road.
The keys continue till the very end as The Electric State closes with an optimistic instrumental of Wonderwall, evoking the dream that humans and robots can reunite, Gallaghers-like.
Who is in the cast?
Millie Bobby Brown is Michelle, an orphaned teen determined to find her brother who was long believed to be dead. Chris Pratt plays Keats, a military veteran who once took down robots but now becomes an unexpected ally.
Following his turn as a papal contender in Conclave, Stanley Tucci ditches the robe and embraces the turtleneck as techpreneur Ethan Skate. He’s the shadowy mastermind behind the human victory over the robot rebellion.
Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito is Colonel Marshall Bradbury, an uptight fighter who sees the robots as nothing but cattle fodder. C’mon C’mon’s breakout child star Woody Norman also stars as Brown’s on-screen brother Christopher.
Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan plays a conniving robotics scientist who has a change of heart. The role was initially written for Quan’s Everything Everywhere All At Once co-star Michelle Yeoh before she left due to scheduling conflicts.
As for the robots, the voice cast includes Woody Harrelson as Mr. Peanut, the aged monocle-wearing leader of the rebellion. And Pratt isn’t the only one representing Marvel as Falcon actor Anthony Mackie voices the sarcastic industrial robot Herman. Other actors voicing robots include Brian Cox (Succession), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons), and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing).
When is The Electric State released?
The Electric State is streaming on Netflix worldwide now.
The Electric State filming locations: behind the scenes of the Netflix sci-fi epic.
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