Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Grim recounting of decisions that led to tragedy; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster
What's the Story?
In TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER, former employees, journalists, Titan passengers, victims' family members, and investigators recount their experiences with OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush and their perspectives on the 2023 disaster that killed five people on a deep-sea submersible voyage. The film looks back at the years leading up to the tragedy, using interviews and archive footage to reconstruct the early years of the company and the decisions and incidents that created the conditions for the now well-known ending.
Is It Any Good?
This documentary capitalizes on lingering public fascination with a deep-sea disaster and keeps your attention with nearly a dozen insider perspectives and brisk pacing. Titan: The OceanGate Disaster tells a cautionary tale about entitled hubris resulting in shoddy preparations and negligent decision-making. The interviewees express enduring anger and emotion over how close they came to being victims themselves, in some cases, or how their concerns were swept aside. The film runs long, but it fleshes out a lot of background detail to a tragedy that captured headlines for weeks.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Rush's decisions to move forward with the dives despite safety concerns, as described in Titan: The OceanGate Disaster. At what points should different decisions have been made, do you think? Can you think of any current innovators who might behave like Rush?
Did you feel the variety of sources lent credibility to the documentary? What did you think of how the sources were labeled?
At nearly two hours, this documentary runs long. Do you think the filmmakers could have edited the film down? What would you have cut, if anything?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 11, 2025
- Cast : Stockton Rush , David Lochridge
- Director : Mark Monroe
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : STEM , History
- Run time : 111 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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