In a war-torn America where reality is losing its grip and machines remember more than humans do a young girl walks the scorched highways of the future, with only a broken robot and a fading memory to guide her.
Set in an alternate‑history 1990s, a devastating war between humans and sentient robots has ended with humanity victorious, thanks to a breakthrough called Neurocaster technology. Developed by Sentre’s CEO Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), the tech lets users upload their minds into robotic drones, winning the war and turning many people into virtual residents of their own devices. Real robots were banished to the Exclusion Zone in the desert.
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By 1994, teenage Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) lives with a neglectful foster father, Ted (Jason Alexander), after a tragic car accident supposedly killed her parents and younger brother Christopher, a child prodigy. Michelle rejects Neurocaster headsets and virtual living.
One day, a sentient robot named Cosmo, a comical cartoon mascot, appears and conveys via gestures and preset phrases that he’s connected to Christopher. Realizing her brother may still be alive, Michelle escapes with Cosmo.
Michelle and Cosmo encounter Keats (Chris Pratt), a smuggler-with-a-heart, and his shapeshifting robot companion Herman (voiced by Anthony Mackie). Keats transports stolen goods from inside the Exclusion Zone while evading Sentre agents.
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They reach the Exclusion Zone and meet a hidden robot community led by Mr. Peanut (Woody Harrelson). There, they find Dr. Clark Amherst (Ke Huy Quan), who reveals that Sentre has been using Christopher’s brain to power their Neurocaster network. Although Christopher’s body was comatose, his consciousness “leaked” and was temporarily encoded into Cosmo. The doctor designed a backdoor allowing that escape.
Sentre’s forces, led by Colonel Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito), ambush the commune. They kill Amherst and recapture Cosmo/Christopher. Bradbury, disillusioned by Sentre’s cruelty, deserts them.
Michelle, Keats, and Herman infiltrate Sentre HQ in Seattle. While robots battle drones outside, Michelle finally uses a Neurocaster for the first time. She connects with Christopher in a virtual space and learns that he willingly wants to be shut down in order to collapse Sentre and free humanity.
In an emotional climax, Michelle disconnects him, causing Christopher’s physical body to die. This also shuts down the Neurocaster network globally, sending Sentre into collapse. Ethan Skate is arrested.
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Michelle makes a public broadcast urging people to reject virtual escapism and rebuild real communities. The Exclusion Zone is opened to survivors. In the closing scene, Cosmo’s discarded shell lies in a junkyard before suddenly powering on and turning toward the camera, suggesting Christopher’s consciousness might live on inside Cosmo, leaving the door open for future stories.
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Stanley Tucci.
Runtime: 128 minutes
Watch trailer here.
