To say the launch of Netflix’s newest £245 million film starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt hasn’t gone to plan would be an understatement - and comments from its directors just made the backlash even worse.
The streamer employed some of the biggest stars around, filling out the cast with Woody Harrelson, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, Giancarlo Esposito, and having it directed by the Russo brothers.
Add to that a £245 million budget, Netflix’s most expensive ever and one of the most expensive movies in history, and you’d hope for unanimous love.
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With the release of The Electric State, Netflix have got far from that.
The film follows Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt on a cross-country road trip in a world where robots rose up and demanded they be given rights, leading to all out war.
The film takes place years after the war and sees Bobby Brown’s character searching for her young brother.
Sitting at a measly 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and facing fan backlash, the Millie Bobby Brown film has got in even hotter water after it was revealed by the directors that AI was used in the movie.
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Joe and Anthony Russo, most well known for their MCU exploits as the director of the last two Avengers films, revealed in a recent interview with The Times that they had used AI in the film.
Speaking about the film, Anthony Russo revealed that the brothers had used the technology for voice modulation.
He went on to call it ‘something any ten-year-old could do after watching a TikTok video’.
Discussing the ‘rife’ use of AI in Hollywood, he said: “There’s a lot of finger-pointing and hyperbole because people are afraid.
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“They don’t understand. But ultimately you’ll see AI used more significantly. Also, AI is in its generative state now, where it has, as we call them, hallucinations. You can’t do mission-critical work with something that hallucinates.
“That is a reason self-driving cars haven’t taken over, or why AI surgery is not taking place worldwide. But in its generative state, AI is best suited towards creativity.”
The admission split fans on social media, with many shocked by the news.
One fan responded furiously on Twitter saying: “F**K OFF WITH AI VOICE MODULATION AND USE SOUND ENGINEERS AND SOUND DESIGNERS.
“I swear to god if the Russo brothers do this for the Avengers films I will lose my shit. You're ruining cinema with this. Stop with this use REAL people with real voices. The Russos can get f**ked man.”
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Another said: “10-year-olds aren’t making 320 million dollar movies. Embarrassing.”
Whilst one fan argued that this was just ‘a fancy name for a voice filter’, another said: “Still let’s not normalize using AI in movies please.”
Despite the film being panned by critics and fans online and a new debate around AI, The Electric State has still managed to hit the top of Netflix’s charts in the UK and Worldwide.
The criticism is not unanimous either, with Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph saying: “It’s so beautifully designed... with both its flesh-and-blood performers and the larger world, that I defy you to watch more than five minutes without wishing that your flatscreen was the size of a house.”
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The Electric State is streaming on Netflix now.
Topics: Netflix, Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, AI, Film, TV and Film
Michael Slavin