Summary
Avengers: Doomsdaymight want to change its working title afterNetflix’s highest-budget film ever has bombed with critics. Director duo the Russo Brothers' new filmElectric State,starring Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown, has earned a rotten 22% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Russo Brothers haven’t directed a gem sinceEndgame, and this $320 million critical trash heap does not bode well for the film that’s supposed to revitalize Marvel’s brand.
To make matters worse, a key writer from the Avengers movies has bowed out of the next Russo Avengers project,according to Collider. Christopher Markus, who is partly responsible for writing the previous Avengers films, has backed out ofAvengers: Doomsday,citing ‘personal priorities.’ While it’s somewhat reassuring he didn’t claim creative differences spurred the break, it’s still alarming that he won’t be there to ground the writing process, considering the Russo Brothers don’t have too great of a track record writing their own material.This is most recently evident in Netflix’s abysmally reviewed Electric State.
Electric State Lacks Its Source’s Spark
Early reviews of Netflix’sThe Electric Statesay the movie misses the point of the source material.Based on Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 book of the same name, both stories see a young girl traveling across a dystopian 90s American landscape to find her lost brother. That’s about where the one-to-one similarities end. It’s almost as if whoever directed the film (looking at you, Russo Brothers) never actually read the book. The film’s source material is a melancholy, pensive, and cautionary tale of a society ravaged by hyper-consumerism. The film itself is a loud, bombastic assault on the senses, prioritizing spectacle over narrative. In turn, the movie’s superficial nature is antithetical to the book.
Who’s To Blame? Netflix Or The Russo Brothers?
It seems lately that Netflix is struggling to get book adaptions right.The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, for instance, is a Netflix anime adaption based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story of the same name. It was also met with a poor Rotten Tomatoes score, though critics liked it a bit more than audiences, earning a 40% rating from audiences as opposed to 56% from critics.
Sapkowski’s book is a nuanced tale ofmonster hunter Geralt of Riviatapping into his soft side, allowing himself to share love with someone who returns it, and having empathy for his water-dwelling assassination targets. There’s a fun action scene in the story, but otherwise it’s a tale of palace intrigue with a looming unseen threat in the form of a kraken. While the Netflix version of the story highlights Geralt’s soft side and indeed shows his empathy, it’s more concerned with the fighting, and of course, the kraken, which never actually appeared in the text. The book’s story leads to a heart-wrenching ending,whereas the Netflix film opts for tidier, more traditional fare.
This chasm between a book and its Netflix counterpart is the same gripe fans have withThe Electric Stateeven before the film’s release. The trailer bombards viewers with a lot of material that the book cloaked in mystery, signaling a lack of concern by the film’s producers to retain the integrity of the source material. The robots in the book were creepy and ominous, coloring the book’s eerie atmosphere that kept the reader locked in.The film’s bots seem cute and in-your-faceby comparison. It’s concerning how the Netflix adaption is leaning into CGI and star power to carry two hours of weak remaining intrigue.
The good news is that Netflix’s adaptions haven’t always missed. Netflix’s 2022 adaptionExtraction 2was based on the graphic novelCiudadby Ande Parks, and earned a certified fresh 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. The thing is,Ciudadwas also co-written by Joe and Anthony Russo. The original text was honored because the directors helped write it and quite clearly respected it.
Is Robert Downey Jr. The Answer To All Avengers Concerns?
Robert Downey Jr. has reportedly shown similar respect for his upcoming Dr. Doom character — so much so that he’s stepped in with the Russo Brothers beyond just acting. RDJ could be the link the Russo Brothers are missing, making up for their former writing partner Markus' departure. Apparently RDJ is so immersed in his villainous role, he’s taken charge of writing Dr. Doom’s backstory, according to Variety. Downey Jr. was revealed as the hero Dr. Doom deserved at San Diego Comic Con 2024, and could be proving it in more ways than one.
Though RDJ is surely a talented artist, the news that he’s in control of his character’s history is as good an omen as it is a bad one. It’s great to know an actor cares enough about his character to research and flesh out the role he’ll play, but for fans, it raises some questions. Had that work not already been done for the film? If it had, was it not satisfactory for Downey Jr.? There’s no way to be sure just yet.
What Does This Mean For Avengers: Doomsday?
The Russo Brothers' latest big-budget flick has flopped, they’ve lost a key contributor to the Avengers movies, and Robert Downey Jr. has answered the call as writer and lead actor in an upcoming film that many lacked faith in prior to his return. The day The Electric State’s reviews were released was a bad day for the Russo Brothers. The day reviews release for the next Avengers movie might be Doomsday for Marvel. Let’s hope the Russo Brothers care more about Marvel than they doThe Electric State.
