The story positions fossil-fuel extraction and corporate-political collusion as the direct cause of apocalypse, with Rockwell's tirades about societal demand for oil undercut by the film's depiction of him and his allies as cartoonish villains. This premise makes progressive climate activism foundational rather than incidental, turning the plot into a vehicle for messaging that prioritizes ideological critique over entertainment. Director Alejandro G.

Iñárritu conceived the project as a satire on the climate crisis and human self-justification, co-writing with Sabina Berman to deliver a cautionary tale about responsibility. The heavy-handed satirical framing of powerful oil figures and politicians as primary villains, combined with the meta structure of the stage play 'Fossil Fools' that reinforces activist messaging about real-world events in a dystopian aftermath, intrudes on the storytelling and compromises its value as straightforward drama by subordinating character and spectacle to explicit political intent.