Lately, it seems that illustrated novels are having a tough time being properly adapted for the silver screen. It’s only been a few months since the last ill-fated outing, “Here,” in which author Richard McGuire’s profound rumination on time, space and humanity was re-envisioned as a gimmicky schmaltz-fest. Unfortunately, such is also the case for author-artist Simon Stålenhag’s “The Electric State,” which turns his salient, bleak thriller about a young woman searching for her missing brother in a techno-dystopia into a whimsical, sanitized mess of mimeographed ideas from a handful of far better cinematic inspirations.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, along with writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, surprisingly undervalue their source material’s blueprint when it comes to character construction and immersive world-building. Considering the same talents have previously turned in smart work adapting Marvel’s comic-book IP in the Captain America and Avengers movies, it...