Mountainhead

This movie is masterfully done. The problem is that very, very few people in general can relate to it.

It's billed as a comedy, and it is, but not in the form of jokes or slapstick, but in mocking. The characters are a caricature of tech founders, how they act, talk, etc. And they nailed it absolutely. The underlying theme stitched throughout is how Godlike and smart these people feel they are, while in actuality unable to do even simple tasks.

I've had the displeasure of having known two wealthy tech founders, and every single line and situation reminded me of them, only slightly more absurd of course.

I'm rating it high because I think they absolutely captured the mindset and what a joke they are at face value. But it dawned on me that it's more like an inside joke than something to release a movie about.

I don't understand the negative reviews - thought it was very funny, but also super relevant to the times we're living in where these billionaires really do have all the power. And where AI and social media can be extremely destructive to society and democracy. The cast was fantastic, the characters were super weird, but it's exactly how I imagine the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world to be. At times (mostly in the beginning) it was hard to follow, but that also made it kind of interesting. Like they had their own language that we mere mortals don't speak or understand. Very unique movie, one you should definitely watch.

It's a great cast but it suffers the greatest sin of all. It's boring. It's four insufferable billionaire sociopaths hanging out on a weekend getaway, being awful people. It's satire, they nail the techno bro ego and jargon and total lack of empathy. You just don't care about any of them or what happens to them or what they have to say. It feels like a single sideplot from a season of Succession drawn out into a full movie...and it doesn't work. What would make it exciting on a tv series is the main plot, other characters, drama, intrigue, suspense, music, cliffhangers etc...things completely absent from this foray. I legit started scrolling through my phone at the midpoint because I got the gist and didn't care anymore by then.

I am not sure what they were going for. It was marketed as somewhat of a thriller, but the dialogue was trying to be comedic and quite frankly the execution was poor. The whole plot wasn't very feasible and it's another one of those straight to TV movies. The premise that one of them released software that could create deep, fake AI stories that couldn't be detected seem to be ignored by everybody in the world, and it was causing disruption everywhere when everybody in the world knew the stories were only on that particular platform, which had already announced that you should be skeptical. Aside from that a whole plot involving the four billionaires was not very believable.

Mountainhead isn't your typical popcorn movie - and that's precisely its strength. Many viewers might walk in expecting a comedy (perhaps misled by the marketing), but what they'll find is a cerebral, slow-burning exploration of AI, power, and the people shaping our future.

This film is a must-watch for AI executives, tech enthusiasts, and anyone involved in the design or governance of digital systems. It offers a sobering reflection on the values of those leading technological development, and the real-world consequences of their choices. In a world inching toward techno-feudalism, where unelected tech moguls can steer the fate of entire nations, Mountainhead asks hard questions about who holds the power-and what they believe in.

It's not always easy to digest. Some scenes feel abstract or overly intellectual, and casual viewers looking for laughs might leave confused or disappointed. But maybe that's part of the point. The people who "don't get it" may soon find their jobs-and their agency-at risk in an AI-driven world they didn't help design or understand.

In the end, Mountainhead isn't a film for everyone. But for the right audience, it's a compelling and necessary piece of storytelling.