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Titan: The OceanGate Disaster Review – Unchecked hubris, ego, and ambition
Unchecked hubris, ego, and ambition
Netflix's latest documentary, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, personifies the old phrase: 'absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
A tale of hubris, greed, and unchecked ambition, this film examines CEO Stockton Rush's fatal quest to become the next billionaire innovator—hell-bent on turning the ocean into a profitable venture, no matter the risk.
Blinded by ego and deaf to dissent, the OceanGate project snap, crackle, and popped its way into infamy during a tragic expedition that would ultimately be its last.
This documentary not only dissects what went wrong, but also lays bare the staggering number of red flags and systemic failures that led up to that final dive. As one interviewee notes, Stockton was 'willing to play Russian Roulette' to feed his own ego.
That ego becomes the driving force behind everything that unravels. He fired anyone who disagreed with him, fostered a toxic work environment, and surrounded himself with yes-men. It's a textbook example of how not to build a successful business—and this documentary makes that painfully clear.
If you want to build something lasting, you need people who challenge you. Critics aren't enemies; they're often your most valuable voices. But it takes humility to listen. And humility, as this film shows, was certainly not on Stockton's radar.
For a man obsessed with joining Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in the 'big dick club,' as he puts it, admitting fault simply wasn't an option. And ultimately, it cost him—and four others—their lives.
The film compiles a range of interviews, mostly from disillusioned former employees (of which there are many), along with archival documents, diagrams, and video footage to piece together a damning picture of preventable tragedy.
One particularly chilling diagram shows how the Titan's carbon-fiber hull warped and cracked under pressure as depth increased—a visual reminder of just how reckless this whole operation was.
The doc also includes footage from a South Carolina court hearing, snippets of social media posts, and a few haunting underwater sequences for atmospheric weight. It's all paced well and edited with clarity, giving the story room to breathe without losing momentum.
Much has already been said about the OceanGate disaster—but Titan delivers one of the more comprehensive and sobering takes on what really happened, and why. Stockton Rush got the fame he craved—but not for the reasons he hoped. Instead, his name will now serve as a cautionary tale: a stark reminder of what happens when hubris, ego, and ambition go unchecked.
