‘Mountainhead’ Misfire Targets Elon Musk, Tech Bros
“Mountainhead” wouldn’t exist if Elon Musk hadn’t chosen a side in the free speech wars.
That fact is clear in every frame of Jesse Armstrong’s film.
The “Succession” creator returns to smite the uber-rich, with targets like MAGA Musk firmly in mind. The satire slams Tech Bros who wield far too much control on our lives.
He’s not necessarily wrong. Nor does the film miss the mark on A.I.’s potential to “cheap fake” us into catastrophe. Armstrong’s rage forbids him from granting his loathsome quartet a semblance of a soul.
That makes this elaborate takedown a chore more than a satirical bullseye.
Three tech billionaires and a lowly multimillionaire gather at a winter getaway while violence spikes across the globe.
The richest of the rich, Venis (Cory Michael Smith, Chevy Chase from “Saturday Night”) tweaked his social media platform in ways that sparked the unrest. Phony A.I. videos lead to death and destruction, but the Tech Bros only see opportunity in the chaos.
Randall (Steve Carell) is facing a cancer diagnosis but has enough energy to hate a fellow gazillionaire for passing him on the wealth scale.
Hugo (Jason Schwartzman) hopes his friends are blown away by his ski escape, dubbed Mountainhead, while Jeff (Ramy Youssef) holds the key to reigning in A.I. madness.
That’s assuming he’ll partner up with Venis. The gathering’s unofficial rules gum up those plans: “No deals, no meals, no high heels.”
There’s plenty to mock with today’s uber-rich tech giants. Mark Zuckerberg wants to make your new best friend out of A.I. spare parts. Elon Musk drags a chainsaw on stage to illustrate cutting the government down to size.
Jeff Bezos invites his galpal to “fly” into space on his rocket ship.
Have at it.
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Except the “Succession” creator refuses to grant his characters much, if anything, in the way of humanity. Even a throwaway scene where Venis bonds with his toddler is framed for maximum ick.
These aren’t characters. They’re caricatures, better suited for a comedy sketch that wraps in five minutes.
The foursome’s egos barely fit in the expansive vacation retreat, and their authoritarian impulses are scarier than any slasher film.
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Armstrong creates a faux-intellectual banter between the bros that’s both fascinating and dull in large doses. For the most part, “Mountainhead” is a stage play, set in a sprawling vacation home that gives the quarter more than enough time to talk. And talk. And talk.
Please, make it stop.
A few smiles emerge, and it’s biting to see tech bros flash their net worth in the silliest way possible. It’s still missing a human element, ironic given the film’s attack on billionaires’ soulless motives.
Another irony? The weekend “Mountainhead” dropped on HBO Max, legacy media outlets peddled yet another misinformation blast to smite Israel.
This turned out to be completely made up. It didn’t happen. There will be zero retractions. https://t.co/1TLxGnMCnH
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 1, 2025
Here’s betting Armstrong and/or HBO Max will never make a movie about that.
Smith’s Venis gets it the worse. He’s depicted as immoral to the core, spinning tragic headlines into buzz for his social media empire.
The most inspired part? Hearing the quartet discuss tech progress and comparing it to past revolutions. They’re high on their own tech supply, but it’s still a fascinating jumping-off point.
Too bad “Mountainhead” refuses to take any of their alleged wisdom seriously.
A third-act twist makes the main characters even more immoral than we imagined. The ensuing slapstick doesn’t land hard enough to justify the shift. It’s another sign that Armstrong and co. shouldn’t have rushed the production at every step of the way.
HiT or Miss: “Mountainhead” is a chore to endure, a one-note assault that hates its characters too much for us to care about anything on screen.
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