Here's the deal: The Electric State looks absolutely gorgeous. The robots are cool, the retrofuture aesthetic is striking, and the premise—orphaned teen plus mysterious robot on a road trip to find her brother—should work.

But it doesn't. With a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 30 on Metacritic, this is one of the worst-reviewed Netflix originals in recent memory. Critics across the board say it's a beautiful-looking movie with nothing underneath—thin characters, weak plot, squandered potential. The 67% audience score suggests it's not unwatchable, just aggressively mediocre.

For families, this means you're getting a visually interesting sci-fi adventure that won't traumatize anyone but also won't give you much to think or talk about afterward. If your teen is bored on a Saturday and likes robots, sure, throw it on. But don't expect the next great family film—expect expensive wallpaper with robots.

The themes of sibling loyalty and found family are there in theory, but reportedly underdeveloped in practice. At 13+, it's appropriate for teens who can handle some action violence and emotional heaviness around loss, but the bigger question is whether anyone will actually want to sit through 125 minutes of pretty visuals and weak storytelling.

There are better ways to spend two hours on Netflix.