Musk (2 stars out of 4)
When director Alex Gibney invited Elon Musk to participate in his documentary, the famous trillionaire balked, suggesting the film would be a, “hit piece.”
Having watched the near-four-hour final product, I think Musk might have been on to something.
In a sense, Gibney’s effort is a comprehensive look at one of the defining figures of the 21st century. Over its 232-minute run time, “Musk” explores the titular figure’s involvement with SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter (now X), DOGE, and all of his personal eccentricities in-between (including his many children from many women).
In another sense, “Musk” isn’t comprehensive at all. Thanks in part to Musk’s refusal to participate–instead Gibney makes liberal use of the entrepreneur’s previously recorded statements, paired with an odd AI avatar–the film feels grossly one-sided, especially when it takes a sharp tonal turn in its second half. Ironically, in spite of a nearly four-hour run time, “Musk” only manages to offer a single perspective on a profoundly complicated figure.
“Musk” plays out chronologically, and maybe because his earlier pursuits are less controversial, the first half of the film feels a lot more neutral and objective. We learn about his early companies and investments, and how he became a millionaire long before getting involved with the companies that would make him a household name. Eventually we learn more about SpaceX and Tesla, and watch footage of his setbacks and triumphs as he steps into NASA’s mission vacuum and creates a reusable rocket.
We also learn more about Tesla and the EV revolution, along with a healthy dose of controversy care of the car’s notorious self-driving system. Musk’s character is further called into question once Gibney addresses his ever-expanding host of offspring, but even at this point it merely feels like the director is covering his bases in a fair way.
Following an intermission break at the two hour mark, though, “Musk” officially enters the political mine field. From here, the treatment of every subject–the purchase of Twitter, his support of Donald Trump, the effort to clean up government waste via DOGE–feels like it comes with an extra helping of shading courtesy of the director. The music, the framing, and of course, the utter lack of any interview subject remotely interested in providing an alternate point of view–all confirm Musk’s concerns about participating in the film.
Please understand: painting Elon Musk as a controversial, even concerning character is not difficult. Simply presenting the public record would be enough to get certain messages across. And that’s what’s so strange about “Musk.” It doesn’t feel like it trusts its audience enough to let them make up their own minds about the subject. And that’s too bad, because if there is a current figure who deserves a documentary up to that task, it would be hard to come up with a better subject than Elon Musk.
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“Musk” is rated R for scattered profanity.