“Mountainhead” wouldn’t exist if Elon Musk hadn’t chosen a facet within the free speech wars.
That reality is obvious in each body of Jesse Armstrong’s movie.
The “Succession” creator returns to smite the uber-rich, with targets like MAGA Musk firmly in thoughts. The satire slams Tech Bros who wield far an excessive amount of management on our lives.
He’s not essentially unsuitable. Nor does the movie miss the mark on A.I.’s potential to “low cost faux” us into disaster. Armstrong’s rage forbids him from granting his loathsome quartet a semblance of a soul.
That makes this elaborate takedown a chore greater than a satirical bullseye.
Three tech billionaires and a lowly multimillionaire collect at a winter getaway whereas violence spikes throughout the globe.
The richest of the wealthy, Venis (Cory Michael Smith, Chevy Chase from “Saturday Evening”) tweaked his social media platform in ways in which sparked the unrest. Phony A.I. movies result in loss of life and destruction, however the Tech Bros solely see alternative within the chaos.
Randall (Steve Carell) is dealing with a most cancers prognosis however has sufficient power to hate a fellow gazillionaire for passing him on the wealth scale.
Hugo (Jason Schwartzman) hopes his pals are blown away by his ski escape, dubbed Mountainhead, whereas Jeff (Ramy Youssef) holds the important thing to reigning in A.I. insanity.
That’s assuming he’ll associate up with Venis. The gathering’s unofficial guidelines gum up these plans: “No offers, no meals, no excessive heels.”
There’s a lot to mock with at present’s uber-rich tech giants. Mark Zuckerberg needs to make your new greatest good friend out of A.I. spare elements. Elon Musk drags a chainsaw on stage for example slicing the federal government right down to measurement.
Jeff Bezos invitations his galpal to “fly” into area on his rocket ship.
Have at it.
Besides the “Succession” creator refuses to grant his characters a lot, if something, in the best way of humanity. Even a throwaway scene the place Venis bonds together with his toddler is framed for optimum ick.
These aren’t characters. They’re caricatures, higher suited to a comedy sketch that wraps in 5 minutes.
The foursome’s egos barely match within the expansive trip retreat, and their authoritarian impulses are scarier than any slasher movie.
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Armstrong creates a faux-intellectual banter between the bros that’s each fascinating and uninteresting in massive doses. For probably the most half, “Mountainhead” is a stage play, set in a sprawling trip residence that provides the quarter greater than sufficient time to speak. And speak. And speak.
Please, make it cease.
A couple of smiles emerge, and it’s biting to see tech bros flash their internet value within the silliest manner attainable. It’s nonetheless lacking a human factor, ironic given the movie’s assault on billionaires’ soulless motives.
One other irony? The weekend “Mountainhead” dropped on HBO Max, legacy media retailers peddled one more misinformation blast to smite Israel.
This turned out to be utterly made up. It didn’t occur. There can be zero retractions. https://t.co/1TLxGnMCnH
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 1, 2025
Right here’s betting Armstrong and/or HBO Max won’t ever make a film about that.
Smith’s Venis will get it the more severe. He’s depicted as immoral to the core, spinning tragic headlines into buzz for his social media empire.
Essentially the most impressed half? Listening to the quartet talk about tech progress and evaluating it to previous revolutions. They’re excessive on their very own tech provide, however it’s nonetheless an interesting jumping-off level.
Too dangerous “Mountainhead” refuses to take any of their alleged knowledge critically.
A 3rd-act twist makes the primary characters much more immoral than we imagined. The following slapstick doesn’t land exhausting sufficient to justify the shift. It’s one other signal that Armstrong and co. shouldn’t have rushed the manufacturing at each step of the best way.
HiT or Miss: “Mountainhead” is a chore to endure, a one-note assault that hates its characters an excessive amount of for us to care about something on display.