Musk (2026)

The first problem with Musk is the clock. Alex Gibney’s documentary runs 232 minutes, which is nearly four hours on one man’s career, and I don’t care how many rockets you’ve launched, nobody’s story needs that much room. Gibney made Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Going Clear, so he knows how to follow money and power, and here he lines up an ex-wife, a Tesla co-founder, two journalists who covered him and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton to walk you from electric cars and rockets into politics. Critics went all in: 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Regular viewers are cooler on it, a 7.0 on IMDb from just 545 ratings, and it barely made a dent in theaters at $82,381 worldwide. A 7.2 because the subject is huge and the access is real, but a great four-hour documentary is rare and this one needed an editor with a stopwatch. $532 says you start it on a Sunday afternoon and finish it after dinner.

What works: Gibney’s knack for following power, and a lineup that runs from an ex-wife and a Tesla co-founder to journalists who covered him and Geoffrey Hinton.

What doesn’t: At 232 minutes it asks for nearly four hours, and even a subject this big doesn’t earn every one of them.

Who it’s for: Documentary fans who loved Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and want Gibney’s next deep dive into power.