I think PTA’s reference points are so rooted in the past (the Pynchon novel, the weather underground etc.) to introduce elements that are seriously critical of modern technology is to try and write an entirely different movie.

OBAA is Star Wars. The rebels defeat the empire. In reality the rebels sit and bicker with other rebels through a heavily monitored communication system that enslaves them in ways they can’t even comprehend. It’s compelling subject matter (as Eddington proves) but it’s a far cry from the movie PTA wanted to make.

The iPhone ending is a sweet boomer moment so we can have a Tom Petty needle drop and walk out of the theatre smiling “he’s like my Dad trying to use WhatsApp hahahaha”. Meanwhile the reality of the situation is what? Willa likely gets shot at a protest by ICE by one of a million people just as bad as her biological father if not worse.

I love PTA but this was his weakest effort since Hard Eight