r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 8d ago
Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Social Reckoning [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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The Social Reckoning
Summary
Follows Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, who enlists the help of Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz to blow the whistle on the social network's most guarded secrets.
Director Aaron Sorkin
Writer Aaron Sorkin
Cast
Mikey Madison as Frances Haugen
Jeremy Allen White as Jeff Horwitz
Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg
Betty Gilpin
Wunmi Mosaku
Bill Burr
Billy Magnussen
Rotten Tomatoes: 60
Metacritic: 53
VOD / Release In theaters — October 9, 2026
Trailer Official Trailer
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u/SquadPoopy 8d ago
Aaron Sorkin just does not have the sauce to be a director. Dude should really stick to writing cause I actually liked the writing for the most part, but god it needed a better director.
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u/TripleThreatTua 8d ago
His writing just becomes a caricature of itself when he’s directing it. Having someone like Fincher or Boyle to really trim the fat is what makes his scripts truly great
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u/RedditFan3510 6d ago
If you look BTS for social network, Fincher and Sorkin went LINE BY LINE through the script with Fincher cutting as much as possible. You think a word got cut from Reckoning from someone else?
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u/codespyder 6d ago
I remember watching the behind the scenes of the social network and one feature I remember as fincher just sitting there with the script dissecting every single line making sure every word had a purpose.
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u/big_drifts 8d ago
I mean, yeah. Sorkin thinks Eisenberg turned him down JUST because he didn't want to play Zuck anymore? I mean that might be part of it but another part is he didn't want to be in a movie directed by Sorkin. Jeremy Strong looks like he's in a Facebook skit on SNL in the trailers.
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u/JamUpGuy1989 8d ago
He’s got enough gravy to rub on his skin to make him look like a cooked turkey.
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u/wild_h0rses 8d ago
I felt the writing was actually worse
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u/DeLousedInTheHotBox 8d ago
Well you gotta remember that directing and editing are also forms of writing, it is why True Romance while having a lot of Tarantino-isms also feel like a Tony Scott movie.
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u/iamcoolreally 8d ago
I keep seeing everyone saying this same thing and as someone not in the know what’s so good about his writing but bad about his directing?
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u/clain4671 8d ago
Sorkin has a habit of getting a bit full of himself when he writes. If there isn't a director to hold him back and filter his thoughts, the writing stops being righteous and begins being smarmy. Like sorkin cant keep his characters from becoming caricatures, because thats how he often sees them.
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u/nishitd 8d ago
If you're really curious, this video is a good analysis https://youtu.be/8IAGH6k17nw
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u/DullAmbition 7d ago edited 7d ago
This was overly Sorkinesque and it did not feel like a sequel to The Social Network.
The banter with the reporter and the whistleblower felt forced. The why and the how of Facebook’s evolution - handwaved away in the black and white flashbacks - seemed like a more interesting story than the process of exposing it.
Jeremy Strong’s hair coloring and stiff mannerisms gave his performance a pantomime quality. Eisenberg did a far better job of communicating the machinations within Zuck’s growing contempt, and this film would’ve been much better off if he’d returned to the role.
Bill Burr was basically there playing himself and they treated him like a returning character from the original. I get that the final War Room was the payoff to his arc, but it felt about as emotionally satisfying as Mikey punching the air at the end.
The source material is an interesting story. It’s an important story to be told. But this whole production feels like it was rushed because of Sorkin’s desire to direct it, Mikey’s Oscar win, and Strong’s heat coming off Succession - and of course, White’s heat with The Bear.
Another 6 months in development and this could’ve been the film the studio needed it to be.
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u/GregSays 5d ago
Strong really overdid it on the robotic mannerisms. I do think Zuckerberg is hard to accurately depict, but this was closer to SNL than biopic.
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u/Friendly-View4122 7d ago
I think the casting was off. Mikey looked like a neurotic new grad and it was hard to take her seriously as an experienced DS who knows what she’s talking about. Francis Haugen herself was roughly 35 when this whole thing went down.
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u/n0tstayingin 6d ago
I think the part needed to played by someone who is a bit closer in age to the real Frances Haugen like say Carey Mulligan.
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u/jacomanche 6d ago
Mikey said in an interview that she was looking forward to change her looks to look like Haugen but Sorkin told her not to.
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u/falafelthe3 Ask me about TLJ 8d ago
There was an anecdotal comment on an AskReddit post some weeks ago where a social media executive was asked how he felt about the potential dangers his company could have on his own children. The executive responded by saying he didn't worry about it because he made sure his kids weren't exposed to the app.
Just something that stuck with me while I watched this. Seeing all the fretting about algorithms feeding hate, mass exposure being rewarded with toxicity, bullying/hate pages by the hundreds - all the while the executives that make their apps incompatible in modern society ensure their family isn't a victim of the harm they've caused.
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u/DyingSunSeverian 8d ago
Very much like how the prominent anti-vaxxers during Covid almost certainly took the vaccines themselves, as well as their families. In some cases we know for a fact they did.
It’s a particularly twisted form of hypocrisy.
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u/DeLousedInTheHotBox 8d ago
There are a bunch of right wing media personalities and talking heads who don't actually lead the life they're encouraging. Many of them have wives with full time jobs while telling other women to be stay at home moms. They want us to believe that they have these meek submissive wives, but in reality they don't have the guts to tell their own wives to quit their jobs.
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u/Own-Exchange-9310 8d ago
The part in the end where they say that Meta removed all fact checking from their platforms, and then followed that up by saying that 43% of adults use FaceBook for news, will definitely be the one thing from this movie that’ll really stick with me.
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u/ianzandi 8d ago
I actually hated that they ended on that quote specifically. Its so vague and dosent really mean anything. 43% of all adults everywhere, or just those on FB? In 2026? How much news? Real or fake? Headlines or articles? What is the source on this?
I'm sure its true to some degree, but irresponsible just throwing out facts to the audience as a mic drop.
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u/976chip 8d ago
When they posted the video of Zuck proudly declaring that they were ending fact checking, I set everything on my account to private and logged off. I was barely using it at that point, but that was the thing that made me not want to go back. I'd delete my account entirely, but I'd rather just let it sit and take up the grain of sand's worth of server space that they get no ROI on.
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u/DessertStorm1 8d ago
You can avoid social media and make sure your family does the same, but you’ll still be a victim of the harm it causes because it creates societal problems. No way to completely avoid the impacts.
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u/GoochStubble 8d ago
Kinda like how there are no Flock cameras in specific neighborhoods in NY
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u/WallInside6758 8d ago
Yeah, parents shouldn’t let their children on social media.
If I was a tattoo artist I wouldn’t be tattooing my child.
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u/theworstdumbest 6d ago
was it necessary to hire a 20-something year old to play someone who’s supposed to be 35 at the time of the plot? i don’t even expect similarity to real-life frances haugen, but mikey madison looks like an overly anxious new grad, not someone with tons of experience. the cocktail dress scenes served no purpose rather than to flaunt the main actress’ body. yes, she’s extremely good looking, but is it really necessary to put that in this movie? im not so sure
the hints at the romantic relationship between the journalist and the whistleblower also felt a little ill fitting to me. it being the only actual relationship that was paid any attention in the movie only made it more noticeable
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u/IntotheBroadwayWoods 6d ago
She had to look like she was on a date though! (Which i thought was hilarious. Shes on a date going to a hotel with her boobs out and a trenchcoat... yeah like a totally normal date) lol
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u/ApostleOfSnarkul 6d ago
Tbf she says “date” and JAW clarifies if she means (escort) but she cuts him off before he can say the word, so I think it’s implied she knows she’s aiming to look like an escort.
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u/copperwombat 5d ago
Yes, but why add that as a plot point at all? It was clunky and unnecessary.
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u/copperwombat 6d ago
I thought this sexy date outfit thing was so gross. Hoped it was a true detail but seems not.
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u/MattAlbie60 8d ago edited 8d ago
There's a story buried somewhere in the special features for The Social Network where Sorkin talks about the day David Fincher made him direct a shot in the movie. Sorkin didn't want to and I believe he says it was flat out because he was afraid, but so insistent was Fincher that he went through the day, got to the last camera setup, told Sorkin he was up, grabbed his keys, got in his car and went home. That was the first time Aaron Sorkin ever directed anything.
Forget Alien 3, that was the worst thing David Fincher ever did.
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u/thehinduprince 8d ago edited 8d ago
I think if you listen to any recent sorkin interview too, I don’t think he actually likes directing and is self aware about how he is not a visual guy like that. He’s self aware about how optimistic and romantic he is about American institutions and knows it is fantasy. He’s literally aware that he can’t help himself.
He always sends his scripts to Fincher but then Fincher is busy with something else. Sorkin has the George Lucas syndrome. He doesn’t like directing, is okay to admit he’s more comfortable just writing and usually writes things that are basically plays because he loves plays the most, and then still feels like he has to direct the film lol.
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u/CassiopeiaStillLife 8d ago
Well, he shouldn’t. There are other directors out there who aren’t David Fincher.
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u/thehinduprince 8d ago
I’m sure he knows that! Danny Boyle did Steve Jobs after Fincher left. But any long form Sorkin interview just reveals him to be very fascinating and contradictory in his self awareness. I think Sorkin genuinely wants to get better as a director so he keeps doing it, but just can’t lol
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u/The_Beer_Hunter 8d ago
See I think Fincher didn’t direct this one because the script wasn’t all there. I liked aspects of it, and Sorkin can write a great scene (and great movies!) but with this one, it felt stretched out and limp at times, like there wasn’t any central idea or drive to making it.
I think if it had been a different script, Fincher would have had time / made time.
I didn’t dislike it but I didn’t really like it either, if that makes sense?
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u/thehinduprince 8d ago
Fincher didn’t direct this one cuz he’s exclusive to Netflix and is also doing Cliff Booth
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u/codex_archives 8d ago
[ Professor Farnsworth voice ]: "Good news, everyone!"
David Fincher's deal with Netflix ends next year
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u/UnsolvedParadox 8d ago
They should have waited for Fincher to become available, get Reznor & Ross to do this right.
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u/mist3rdragon 7d ago edited 7d ago
I think it's because the characters aren't there, everyone is basically a generic archetype from a million other stories before. Zuckerberg feels like he's written as a continuation from The Social Network but even still there's nothing to him in this and I'm not surprised Eisenberg didn't come back to reprise his best role but turned into a flat corporate villain.
And there's no humanity to the story, everything is bizarrely abstracted and blown up. I can imagine Fincher reading the script thinking "what am I supposed to do with this?"
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u/The_Beer_Hunter 7d ago
Agreed. There a lot of chitchat about movies and musicals and philosophers that's meant to provide character depth (and the tech writer doesn't use tech, ho ho, we get it), but there's no other personality or deeper needs.
In Social Network, Zuckerberg's character is so desperate to impress people that we see him make increasingly worse decisions, and even tho we dislike the guy, it still resonates. He's cruel at times but also clever, and he's easily wounded. Here, I can't really tell why anyone is doing what they're doing, other than because the plot requires it.
It's a shame because (maybe I'm totally wrong here but) I get the sense that Fincher might have felt weird telling someone of Sorkin's stature that "this isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, you need to go back to page one and rewrite," but I bet if he had pushed back on him, if it would have pushed Sorkin to create something far better -- since he's demonstrably capable of doing so. Alas.
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u/RoboFunky 8d ago
It's in the making of documentary called How Did They Ever Make a Movie of Facebook?
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u/UrbanFight001 8d ago
The entire premise and framing of this movie is flawed. Baffling decision to make the climactic scenes be Mark taking down Trump’s Jan 6 video and the whistleblower testimony, which are supposed to be powerful moments but end up falling flat when we know it goes nowhere. I don’t need every movie to be cynical but the triumphantness in this movie feels artificial.
There could have been a more interesting version of this story if you had a better director with more of a vision, like a Fincher. Sorkin just made the story feel too small.
Still, I didn’t have a bad time watching this, even with all its problems. The Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison part of the story was the more interesting story to me. I thought Jeremy Strong did a pretty decent job playing Zuckerberg, but that part of the story just wasn’t interesting enough for me.
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u/CinemaSideBySides 8d ago
The title having the word "reckoning" is way, way, way too strong a word to use. It set this movie up to be disappointing before any trailers even came out.
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u/TailorFestival 8d ago
My take, from the time the title was announced, was that it was referring to the reckoning we as people have had to face with respect to social media, not to a specific reckoning for Facebook as the result of one set of articles.
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u/clain4671 8d ago
It begs the question, why even make the movie if the story you are trying to tell has no real conclusion or ending? Like this isnt a documentary, you do infact need to be entertaining on some level
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u/RagefireHype 7d ago
I mean.. because the baddies won irl too?
It’s a reminder of how toxic social media is, and that’s enough for them.
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u/clain4671 7d ago
But then you just dont make the movie? Like I get thats why this movie works out, but im saying that results in a bad movie and if your goal is not to make a bad movie, dont make it.
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u/JamUpGuy1989 8d ago
Exactly.
We know nothing is fixed after this movie. In fact, it gets worse!
Guess that means we’ll get a third movie a decade from now…
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u/Marc_Quill 8d ago
Third movie where Zuckerberg (played by a third different guy) is head over heels about Meta glasses.
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u/ehrgeiz91 8d ago
Sorry my obsolete VR headset and Meta glasses are at the cleaners you pretentious douchebag!
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u/curvysquares 7d ago
I think the film itself was aware of this. The scene where they talk about the basketball game feels very metaphorical for the movie as a whole.
They talk about how the basketball player is cheering over making a shot just to tie the game out. And Mikey’s character asks how he can be so happy over just a tie to which Jeremy’s character responds that it means they go into overtime, it buys them more time to win.
I’m not saying this alone exonerates the movie or even refutes your critiques. I’m more pointing out an interesting piece of dialogue that I took at Sorkin trying to say “I know with the benefit of hindsight this wasn’t the victory that we thought it would be, but it wasn’t pointless and it’s a moment worth celebrating regardless”
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u/TheOneWhoEatsLemons 6d ago
And the epilogue says “she causes some pain”. A very modest phrasing. I think it’s a good message though. Small wins matter too.
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u/sloppyjo12 7d ago
It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback a movie but I think you could turn this into a really good film if you make Jeremy Allen White’s character the main character and you drop pretty much everything that happens at Facebook
Turn this into a “let’s celebrate investigative journalism and the important role it plays in our society” and less “look how awful Facebook is” because we all already know how terrible it is
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u/crystalbethjo 8d ago
Curious to know how well Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison hold up here
I’ve been reading about them being ‘miscast.’ And I know Mikey was pretty selective w her roles after that Oscar win (makes sense she’d want to do a big, message-based tentpole movie that promised to deliver the goods…even if it well didn’t).
And Jeremy’s coming off his success w The Bear, but other than that uhhh Bruce Springsteen biopic, it doesn’t seem like he’s faring well at the moment
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u/Busy_Aardvark3372 8d ago
I thought they were both good, but also.... The supporting cast in this movie is so strong that I always wanted more of everyone else.
But I liked them a lot.
Mikey has a woman co-worker who has been in a few things and I was kinda wishing she was the whistleblower. But, Hollywood gonna Hollywood.
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u/thewoekitten 8d ago
“Why is that guy so happy? Why is he punching the air?” Yeah, this character is totally unfamiliar with the entire concept of “sports.”
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u/HancisFriggins_ 7d ago
That scene was literally only dropped in to set up the embarrassing final shot of her punching the air, having achieved nothing of import. Lol this movie sucked
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u/thewoekitten 7d ago
My theater laughed at that, but I think Sorkin was going for something serious and triumphant…
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u/carson63000 7d ago
She’s a data scientist at a big tech firm, ground zero for r/ihatesportsball
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u/thewoekitten 7d ago
I get that. I just think it’s a ridiculous caricature and realistically not close to how Frances Haugen would engage with sports
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u/ferrari91169 7d ago
Agreed. I don’t think anyone is that disconnected from sports that they would say something like “Why is that guy happy?” And then follow it up with, “Just because he tied it up?”
Even if you don’t follow sports, most people experience some kind of sports or competitive activity in school, at the very least, and should understand the concept of being happy when you score a point.
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u/SR4LAKERS 8d ago edited 8d ago
So can we agree that the reveal of the lady at the beginning being a J6 rioter was the most unintentionally funniest shit in the movie?
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u/MrBrightside618 8d ago
Crazy to pin January 6th partially on
checks notes
Bernie Sanders voters?
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u/sgill7 7d ago
I feel like some of you guys are un educated about this. They weren’t saying all Bernie sanders voters were J6sers they were talking about people like Tim pool (a known right wing streamer) who was once a Bernie voter and got pissed when Bernie got screwed over by the dems. It’s not so far fetch when it literally happened with the one of the biggest right wing streamers right now. Also obligatory fuck Tim pool.
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u/ApatheticDomination 7d ago
I honestly do know someone that happened with personally. It really isn't far fetched.
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u/elinordash 5d ago
Comments like this one are why The Social Reckoning was made.
The point they were making wasn't about blaming Bernie Bros. The point they were making is about rage bait and how it impacts people. The fact that "The DNC fucked Bernie over" is still a talking point on Reddit is actually a very good example of how the algorithm is fucking people up. The country is on fire, Trump holds all branches of government and there is an election in 22 days. But there are people still angry on Bernie's behalf rather than recognizing where we are at and what the options are.
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u/JiveHawk 6d ago
Every Sorkin directed movie has a ridiculous finale. Molly’s Game has Kevin Costner show up to give her all the answers. Chicago 7 ends with a literal “and then everyone clapped.” Being the Ricardos has a J Edgar Hoover cameo. And then this might be a new crown jewel
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u/falafelthe3 Ask me about TLJ 8d ago
Releasing this movie (a film that feels like one of those "the act of watching/engaging with it is a tiny act of rebellion" awards bait stories) only one week after Digger (a film that actively HATES that genre) is very funny to me.
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u/mrnicegy26 8d ago
Digger may not be perfect but I gotta respect it for taking aim on these types of movies especially since most people had hypothized it as Oscar bait for Tom Cruise before launch
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u/JessieJ577 8d ago
I respect it for balancing that but not undermining the message about climate change
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u/CassiopeiaStillLife 8d ago
It’s not even a Fossil Fools! At least that had the man who destroyed the world killing himself in disgrace. This movie has its grand catharsis being Mark Zuckerberg being somewhat inconvenienced.
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u/clain4671 8d ago
Its remarkable for a movie with "reckoning" the plot features no real finale, or even just something resembling an ending?
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u/ljfoggy11 8d ago
Did you not see, she did The Breakfast Club fist pump thing in the final shot? Borderline revolutionary.
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u/GamingTatertot Steven Spielberg Enthusiast 5d ago
The issue is there is no real ending in real life. While I think this is still an important story to tell and ensure the masses continue to be aware of Facebook, and other social media’s major issues and detrimental nature to society, they are still ONGOING. We are continuing to witness social breakdown every day because of Facebook.
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u/lesbian__overlord 8d ago
lol i literally said as i was leaving the theatre that i felt like i was walking out of "fossil fools"
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u/yumyumapollo 8d ago
Even Fossil Fools would have stopped themselves short of "No...she's disrupting."
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u/clain4671 8d ago
Not only that but, and im stretching things, but Primetime seems to be a movie about being lost in the sauce, and aaron sorkin has basically been lost in his sauce for a couple decades at this point.
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u/lishmh33 8d ago edited 8d ago
This movie should’ve just gotten rid of Zuckerberg and made him hanging over the entire thing and no one ever sees him, like some boogeyman. Strong’s performance was pretty bad imo and I tuned out every time they went to that fake hearing room.
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u/Nuneasy 7d ago
Agreed, ultimately it was pretty meaningless having him in there at all. It's like the movie wanted to be the Social Network with a Mark-centered storyline, and it isn't so you could remove those scenes and nothing changes. You could even just include the one scene with him in the office criticizing the slide deck and it comes across how the company got to this point.
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u/OriginalUserNameee 6d ago
It was so funny though the most entertaining part of the movie for me. He was so cartoonishly robotic and devoid of any human soul like the point where he says posting an emoji will be better than a like in the most dead-serious tone possible.
I know it's probably not too different from the real Zucc but it felt like a parody almost. The real Zucc does show a smile sometimes even if it's fake
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u/FlameFeather86 5d ago
Strong played Zuckerberg as an emotionless robot, which is how Zuckerberg comes across in real life. Sorkin writes Zuckerberg as a Sorkin character, the arrogant genius who has a quick retort to everything. Sorkin can't write emotionless, and this film was at its worst whenever Zuckerberg was on screen, sadly. It needed Eisenberg.
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u/YoghurtFlan 6d ago
Jeremy Strong achieved his method acting goal by even making the role of Zuckerberg unlikeable.
That's pretty committed.
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u/twodoorcinemacub 8d ago
The Social Network in large part worked because it was rooted in the most human of dynamics—friendship, betrayal, ego, the need to be seen, among them. This just felt like Sorkin on a soapbox.
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u/swashario 8d ago
Mikey Madison in a low cut dress is CRITICAL to the story of how Facebook got whistleblown. The opening feet shot was really really necessary too.
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u/Capybara-Dream-11 8d ago
It’s especially funny when the real Frances would show up to work every day in Sketchers paired with polyester blend black pants from Walmart
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u/thepolesreport 8d ago
Lmao my thoughts the whole time was that someone in production is definitely a big Mikey Madison gooner with those outfit choices
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u/donkey_teeth_ 7d ago
I kept thinking Sorkin was trying to make a point about how distracting titties - and by extension social media - are because many of the scenes where they're talking about the most substantive revelations they're right in your face.
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u/0kthb14 8d ago
I feel like there's a version of this movie (maybe with a different director and a script with some edits) that works as a tense journalism thriller, which this hints at but frustratingly never fully embraces. I wanted more sense of what these characters are risking.
It's also annoyingly lacking in human relationships. Like, almost all the characters in this have purely professional relationships (a reporter and his source, and a CEO and his employees) with little in terms of personal investment.
Compare that to The Social Network where Mark and Wardo's friendship dissolving feels like a genuine tragedy. The stakes are, on paper, so much higher in The Social Reckoning but it feels smaller.
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u/RagefireHype 7d ago
The problem is idk how you can create much audience suspense for one tech whistleblower. Most the audience doesn’t work in tech, and to the typical viewer it’s “so one person might not work in tech anymore??”
You see the disdain in the 6 PM meeting though, that “we will fucking ruin her life” and saying they’re post government. “I’m begging you to let me quote that.”
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u/-Clayburn 6d ago
I kind of wish it would have been more of an actual sequel to The Social Network. I didn't care for the focus on some random whistleblower event that nobody remembers and clearly didn't change or affect anything.
Instead they could have made it more about Grown Up Zuck minmaxing shareholder value, and users getting fucked over in the process. And sure still have some of the journalist stuff and whistleblower bit, but that would just be one of many background vignette's of the societal damage of Facebook and its unstoppable destruction.
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u/Nuneasy 7d ago edited 6d ago
This movie needed an MCU-style post credit scene where Jeremy Allan White's character approaches a man on a cliffside and says "I'm assembling a team". The man turns, and it's Andrew Garfield. Eduardo Savarin will return in the The Social Redemption.
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u/TheJusticeAvenger 6d ago
Plot twist: Garfield's actually playing Sam Altman, but he wears a mask the whole time so you can't tell it's the same actor!
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u/BeanieOfTodd 8d ago
It killed me when Frances saw the basketball player celebrating on TV and earnestly asked “why is that guy so happy?”
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u/Ben13921 8d ago
Very much felt shoehorned in to set up the final scene
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u/OsmosisJonesFanClub 7d ago
Really didn’t expect the fucking Breakfast Club type last shot there lol
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u/UnsolvedParadox 7d ago
Felt totally out of character to me, like Sorkin just couldn’t help himself.
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u/Ready-Record978 8d ago
I really enjoyed the movie. Reminded me of a cross between Steve Jobs and spotlight. Was it a ground breaking turn of the century movie? No. But I don’t think it deserves as much hate as everyone on here is giving. The biggest take away from the movie was how much social media really is affecting society in this day and age.
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u/Embarrassed-Pace-755 8d ago
This is the kind of self-satisfied film that Digger hates.
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u/veryhardbanana 8d ago
Everyone is saying that Aaron can write but not direct, but can he write? Sure, there are some funny moments and interesting dialogue, but there’s also a lot of terrible dialogue. Extremely on the nose, poorly escalated discussion of the themes. The worst sin in this movie is the cheesiness. Aaron Sorkin truly has a massive blind spot for taste. J6 was a horrible, horrible moment, how do you make me roll my eyes at it? Aside from that, the acting was nice, especially with Jeremy Strong as Zuck. 5.5/10!
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u/aniforprez 8d ago edited 8d ago
I'm assuming people say he's a great writer because of his older oeuvre like West Wing and A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson's War etc which I have yet to watch. Is that right? My exposure to him so far has been Social Network (absolutely stellar) and Newsroom (abject garbage)
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u/goldtubb 8d ago
He's great at writing dialogue. The issue is that he only has one thing he wants to write about which is Important People Doing Important Things.
As a result many of his projects hinge on the same climactic scenes, which is 'guy makes an epic speech and then everyone claps'. Which can be good in the right circumstances or unwatchably cringe if directed wrong.
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u/rrraab 8d ago
He also has a lot of tics and tricks to make simple dialogue feel ‘clever’ which, once you’ve seen them a few times, start to feel stale.
‘It isn’t ______ it’s _______.’
This isn’t a _______. It’s a (extremely specific metaphor).
It also gets tired because everyone has a 140 IQ and speaks in the exact same way.
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u/-Clayburn 6d ago
My favorite is the way characters talk over/past each other, but then pick up the conversation later.
Something like:
"He'll never be able to. Plus his mom's taking that weight loss pill everyone's on now...what's it called?"
"It's not about whether he's able to. It's about having no choice."
"So he's just going to fail?"
"Of course, but...
"But what?"
"But at least he tried. Ozempic."
"He tried Ozempic?"
"No, at least he tried. And Ozempic is the weight loss pill."
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u/clain4671 8d ago
I think you've hit what "hes not a good director" is actually about right on the head.
Aaron sorkin's writing needs a filter. He can't stop himself from writing overly smarmy, "look how smart i am fellow liberals" stories that sometimes come off more like an op ed than a story with plot and characters.
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u/profsa 8d ago
This movie is a good takedown of Facebook but it is not a compelling movie at all. The humor moments fall flat and the dramatic moments come off as comical. The Jan 6 scene is supposed to be intense but I couldn’t take it serious with them referring to Trump without saying his name like he’s Voldemort. Sorkin needs to stick to writing because he has no sauce as a director.
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u/adavidmiller 7d ago
The "good takedown of Facebook" is where I feel the whole thing falls flat the hardest.
Like, it's in the title a reckoning, is it? For Facebook? The company that is worth more than it's ever been today? Yeah, really hurt them. Oh, and then bring in the insurrection stuff to sink in the message, the thing caused by the president who got elected again, carried out by people who are all off the hook now? Yeah....
It kind of felt like anything that could have been a message is shot to hell by the last couple years of reality.
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u/Effective-Baker-8333 6d ago
IMO, the theme of corporate accountability falls flat in a movie that doesn’t seem to hold the people using the platform accountable for their actions.
While many people recognize the harms of social media, I’m guessing a significant number of those people recognize that it is the user’s responsibility to use the platform responsibly, just like it’s not the fault of a beer company that someone gets a DUI or the fault of a casino that someone gambles their retirement away.
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u/AfricanGenius 8d ago
Aaron Sorkin needs to get back on the coke he was on in 2010. This was a drag…
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u/wallabyenthusiast 8d ago edited 8d ago
not sure what mikey madison was going for here but her performance didn’t work for me, very miscast. it’s kinda funny how she was super selective about her choices for months after her oscar win and this was the best project she was offered
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u/BusinessPurge 8d ago
Should’ve done the Star War
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u/LTPRWSG420 8d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah historically Oscar winners try and cash in off their Oscar win, set themselves up for a big paycheck, and then go back to award bait films. Whoever’s giving her advice should probably be fired.
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u/BusinessPurge 8d ago
This project might’ve been her biggest paycheck so far, however I haven’t seen a single positive review of her performance so the money wasn’t worth it. She didn’t take the Starfighter gig over salary and now it’s feeling like a double mistake.
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u/CosmosisJones42 8d ago
If The Social Network is Facebook, this film is Friendster.
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u/jobening 8d ago
Idc what critics are saying, I enjoyed tf outta this movie. I think everyone was good to amazing in their roles. And it made me wanna dig a lot deeper into all the Facebook files.
The scene with the PowerPoint presentation and Zuck literally wanting just the end point was good lol
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u/YoghurtFlan 6d ago
I reckon you should grab a copy of Careless People. It has a lot to say on the topic from an internal culture perspective and, I think, a bit of depth, because the author does not walk away with clean hands.
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u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? 8d ago
I had conflicting feelings about this one. Obviously I knew it wouldn't hold a candle to Social Network which is like a once in a decade type of film. And I knew Sorkin is no Fincher behind the camera, but there still seemed to be talent present in other areas. And overall I didn't dislike it, even if it was distractingly strange at times.
The script reminded me a lot of Steve Jobs, another Sorkin script and a film I absolutely love, but here it felt more like Sorkin playing the hits. The timeline jumping, Bill Burr playing the Jeff Daniels to Strong's Fassbender, even the way some of the reveals are staged is exactly like that movie. It kind of adds to this uncanny feeling that this movie is more pasted together from past ideas and movies rather than its own interesting thing. And sadly I think we are finding that while Sorkin can write great dialogue, he can't cut it together quite as well.
Jeremy Allen White is doing a fine job but also redefining what it is to mog the screen. Mainly, though, I'm here for Mikey as her first post Oscar outing and the purposeful decision to do this over a star war. And honestly she's fine but unfortunately miscast. Not to say beautiful people can't play data scientists, but she just has such a classic beauty it can't really be downplayed or covered up by wrist warmers. They even have this plot reason to dress her up in evening gowns half the movie. It also feels like rather than these characters sounding smart through dialogue that they are just vehicles for Sorkin's old movie references and cringe quips.
All that said, I did find some of this interesting because of my relationship to the internet. This movie is basically about internet moderation, something I unfortunately know a lot about. And it's true that these unelected tech billionaires are basically making the rules right now, and I thought this was at the very least an interesting look into what happens when someone with unlimited intelligence forces their niche and intense anti-censorship beliefs on the masses. I can see why Sorkin opted to make this a sequel, if the first movie is this man becoming the unelected king of social media, this movie is the unfortunate fallout.
The thing about internet moderation is you can go into it thinking you're a totally chill and normal person, but the users will always force you to make decisions you never considered and take stances on things you don't think about. People live to push the envelope, especially on the anonymous internet, and any rule you make in reaction to something will be forever questioned and tested by people. This movie kind of fails to make Zuck nearly the fully realized character that he is in Social Network, but what does come through is that he trusts himself to check sources and suss out BS to the point of running the entire world's social platform with the same assumption of people. Something we all see and know just doesn't work, and obviously when these groups realize there is no censorship they abuse the hell out of that.
That's the interesting thing about this movie that I think most people probably don't care about. The internet, comment removals, algorithms, dangerous online narratives, these are fairly new concepts and there is zero regulation. It's the wild west and it's forming our emotions and beliefs. I'm just some guy with a normal job but sometimes I have to weigh in on something out of my depths because I'm a moderator of a big subreddit. And to be clear, what I do on this sub is extremely unimportant, and that's how I have to look at it to stay sane. But I can't imagine doing it on a scale like all of facebook, and tbat's what this movie is about. Most people won't be interested in what this movie is getting at but what can I say? I get it. 5/10 for me. It's not great, especially standing next to one of the defining films of the 2000s, but it's got some stuff I guess.
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u/UnsolvedParadox 8d ago
Agreed on all of your points.
In isolation, it’s a mediocre movie. As a pseudo-sequel to a defining movie of this century, it’s a big disappointment.
So much of how the movie was directed, edited & scored seemed out of a 2000’s playbook for made-for-TV movies. I’m baffled that Sorkin was so involved in The Social Network & abandoned so much of the structure & style that made that movie successful.
If the footage was re-cut with a linear progression & a NIN-inspired soundtrack was swapped in, it would be a notable improvement.
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u/-Epitaph-11 8d ago edited 8d ago
abandoned so much of the structure & style that made that movie successful.
It's because that was only possible due to Fincher.
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u/spider-man2401 8d ago
The script reminded me a lot of Steve Jobs, another Sorkin script and a film I absolutely love, but here it felt more like Sorkin playing the hits. The timeline jumping, Bill Burr playing the Jeff Daniels to Strong's Fassbender, even the way some of the reveals are staged is exactly like that movie. It kind of adds to this uncanny feeling that this movie is more pasted together from past ideas and movies rather than its own interesting thing. And sadly I think we are finding that while Sorkin can write great dialogue, he can't cut it together quite as well.
Funny enough, when the film was first announced, I thought Danny Boyle should have directed it instead of Sorkin, especially since Boyle had already worked with Aaron Sorkin on Steve Jobs. While Boyle is no David Fincher, and matching The Social Network would have been difficult, I think he could have brought something unique and fascinating to the story through his tone and visual style.
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u/mikewin95 8d ago
Damn I actually really enjoyed Jobs with Fassbender. That one was done well by Sorkin
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u/mrnicegy26 8d ago
The Social Network along with Parasite and Mad Max Fury Road are the best films of 2010s, a perfect combination of direction, acting, writing etc.
On some level making a sequel to such a highly lauded film was always a moonshot. And unfortunately it seems that this movie is closer to Chinatown: The Two Jakes than Godfather Part 2
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u/Top_Report_4895 8d ago
Sorkin better stop directing movies, it ain't working.
And please, he has to write scripts in other genres, for God's sakes. I want something purely fictional from him.
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u/dioscuri_ 8d ago
I thought all the leads, especially Jeremy Strong, were really hampered by a weak script and boring staging here. Those black and white flashbacks to the MSI boardroom meetings were so weak. Nothing Strong or Wunmi Mosaku could do to lift those scenes. Other than the brief side-conversation/argument between Zuckerberg and Carrigan, most of the tension here was mute. which is a death knell to a supposed legal thriller.
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u/BusinessPurge 8d ago
Who does Portia Doubleday play? Took a six year break, wondered where she went
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u/pnwdoomer 8d ago edited 7d ago
I liked the cast for the most part. Jeremy played Zuckerberg well but he still doesn't look like Zuckerberg at all. Mikey and Jeremy were great but the hotel outfit scenes seemed to be more for the male gaze, Mickey deserved better. I also found the portrayal of friend who got radicalized cringe, especially at the end.
What mostly took away from the movie is knowing how nothing seems tor really have changed and and they all got away with it. Definitely takes away from the "reckoning".
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u/OsmosisJonesFanClub 7d ago
Let’s say she dressed flirty to trick people into thinking she was going on a date.
In that case, why wouldn’t she put pack on her coat once she was in his apartment? Her character is very clearly portrayed as shy and is later shown blaring her heater to the point where she’s sweating. She’d probably prefer to wear a heavy coat.
There was absolutely no need for those outfit scenes other than adding some sex appeal lol very strange choice
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u/codygmiracle 7d ago
I know not many people have seen it but the fact that this movie was basically critiqued heavily by a movie that came out just a week before, Digger. This type of thing is very Fossil Fools type movie and I think these types of movies will die out. People have had enough of watching movies about how powerful people are dooming us all and we’re just gonna let them.
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u/JLCJLC 7d ago
I feel alone in just how awful I think this movie was. My eyes rolled out of my head so often I considered walking out. The dialogue was straight out of MSNBC show even for a Sorkin script. I couldn’t take anything seriously. Still love Strong though.
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u/Left_Ambassador_4090 7d ago
Yea, I feel like I just watched the left's version of Melania.
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u/pjtheman 8d ago
I liked this one, didn't love it.
Basically had the Godfather 3 problem. By no means is it terrible, but when it's following an all-time great, that's what you automatically compare it to.
I did admire the restraint in not making it feel like a Social Network clone. The general story structure, camera work, and soundtrack are all very distinct to this movie. But unfortunately, that ain't enough to save it. "Reckoning" will most likely go down as a footnote on Network's legacy. Much like Tron: Ares is to Tron: Legacy, it'll get remembered as "Oh yeah, remember when they did another one?"
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u/elinordash 5d ago
I liked this movie more than most, but I obviously don't think it is perfect.
It does a good job breaking down what the Facebook Files were. I think a lot of the comments here are missing why it matters, which is a flaw of the film.
Meta reaches surprise $17.1B settlement in social media addiction case. This is a direct result of the files Frances released.
Zucks has been cozying up the Trump since he won the election, which is not surprising. I think Zucks has strong political beliefs one way or another. But he does fear regulation and I think that's why he is cozying up to Trump. It isn't about politics, it is about power.
I think the movie is designed to be a call to action for regulation. Which isn't going to happen while Trump controls all branches of government. So vote on November 3 if you're American.
Beyond all that, I think the movie felt too much like a play. I think it would have been stronger if rather than starting with White Girl Wasted, the movie started with Frances seeing her friends and slowly realizing she was radicalized. Make the friend an actual person with a job, a family, etc. Show us why Frances cares about this person before you show us the arrest video. I think a better director would have pulled the camera further back and included scenes like this.
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u/RainHead557 8d ago
Aaron Sorkin needs a good director to filter him.
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u/AintEverLucky 8d ago
I didnt coin this but: "Aaron Sorkin is such a great writer, his script deserves much better than Aaron Sorkin the director."
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u/BluRayja 8d ago
Don't double feature this with Social Network, the shortcomings for this film will be more abundantly clear than they already are. Sokrin just doesn't know how to make a world feel alive quite like Fincher does. There's so much context and nuance that feels missing, even in scenes with just two people, things Fincher would've fought hard against to make more complex with a simple dialogue change. Sadly, there's a real interesting story here, but it feels so flat under this direction and Zuckerberg takes the backseat (for better or worse, since he's oddly the least interesting thing about this movie). Strong is...way too flat, even for mimicking Zuck standards. That was the beauty of Eisenberg's interpretation -- he was interesting, still a dick, but an interesting one. Mikey Madison is super uneven and is chained down, a type of performance I don't think she thrives in. Jeremy Allen White is the most consistent performance and is carrying a lot of this on his shoulders. Betty Gilpin is a secret weapon and they should have utilized her more. Oh well. It was...fine. Don't think I'd ever watch again, and honestly, should've just waited for Fincher to say okay.
5/10
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u/PhantomJB93 8d ago
I mostly thought this movie sucked.
But I did at least find the subject matter kind of fascinating as somebody who deleted their Facebook around the time this was taking place when I sensed the shift from “website that was like a group chat for all my friends” to “website that was trying to funnel heavily politicized content into my brain” and realized it wasn’t a place I really wanted to waste time on the internet anymore
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u/RagefireHype 7d ago
The movie is mostly a reminder of how toxic social media still is today, and the hilarious irony that we all immediately came to social media to post about it afterwards. Reddit is a social media and maybe isn’t as bad as Meta, but they do the same slimy algo moves Meta does.
The best line in the movie is on the beach when he says no, I’m not jealous at Facebook taking print journalism jobs: I’m mad at how fucking shitty you do it.
Misinformation is so rampant. It was actually a pretty beautiful quote but people in this thread just aren’t really into the content moderation emphasis that the entire movie is.
Yall don’t know how toxic it is for youth especially. The bullying aspect from the restaurant is very real.
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u/PepsiNoIce 8d ago
This film didn't need to be an Aaron Sorkin feature. The story he's trying to tell in this can't be understood or felt in the way Sorkin normally writes and structures his work.
I want a treatment of this story similar to how the investigative journalism in Spotlight was captured.
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u/upinthenightsky 8d ago edited 8d ago
I saw this at 4pm today and was the only one in the theater. Which I was sort of surprised by.
It was okay. In the sense that it wasn’t a snooze fest but WOW was Mikey Madison miscast. She was most ohh boo hoo what I am doing I love my job~ and then frowning the rest of the time while simultaneously going I’m doing you a favor, Jeff~ I found her so whiny and annoying.
There were scenes in the beginning that was very dialog heavy, and it’s like yep this is unmistakably Sorkin.
JAW I thought was good. Nice to see him land more movie roles rather than just being known for Shameless and The Bear. And Jeremy Strongs mannerisms as Mark were fantastic.
Even with all that said the star power and with them being Oscar/Golden Globe/Emmy winners it was still a little flat. For a Sorkin movie it could have been a lot more drama-y with actual suspense. Instead we just get a close up of Mark saying pull the video.
Was also surprised there wasn’t a lot of establishing shots of the Bay Area/Palo Alto? But as a Bay Area native maybe that’s just me.
The ending also felt rushed and as soon as Frances said she’s never been that happy to pump her fist I was like hmm scene incoming…
The Social Network is one of my favorite movies and yeah, this felt like a very much not needed odd solo movie than a “companion” piece to TSN.
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u/lesbian__overlord 8d ago
pretty offensively bad, you can just tell sorkin doesn't realize or doesn't care that the world he wants us to live in isn't coming back, and the world he thinks we live in isn't really where we're at. just out of date, and out of touch. this movie had less than nothing to say and jeremy strong is a wildly talented actor, so the fact that his performance is so bad and boring in this is just sad. zuckerberg is not the pathetic loser of "the social network" but an uninteresting caricature of a man we already know is a villain. ugly to look at, unfunny while being way too quippy.
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u/Three_Froggy_Problem 8d ago
It’s peak Sorkin, in that it’s a movie made by an out-of-touch neoliberal for out-of-touch neoliberals. Even the notion that the film contains any sort of “reckoning” is absurd, since we all know that none of the events depicted here led to any consequences for anyone.
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u/MovieMentor 8d ago edited 8d ago
I feel like the recreation of January 6th was purely done just to show the girl from the beginning. Would’ve been way more effective if they got rid of those teases of it in the middle and showed real footage. The ending in general didn’t really land for me, but I do have to commend the acting in this film. I personally thought it was quite good, and I was worried Jeremy Strong wouldn’t be convincing as Zuck but he KILLED it.
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u/RagefireHype 7d ago
I think it’s more to show an actual example of what promoting hate groups actually does. They formed and rallied through Facebook. J6 probably doesn’t happen if they don’t promote hateful content to reach more people that created more recommendations for hateful content.
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u/peterparkerismylover 7d ago
I don’t know what to feel actually. The film is not bad, but it feels a little pointless. What’s the point??? Nothing really changed.
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u/CincyGamer 8d ago
Sorkin is a great writer imo. He's also not a bad director, but his writing deserves a good/great director. I enjoyed this movie the same way I enjoy a good direct-to-streaming movie. I just wish Sorkin's writing could have been elevated by a better director for the theatrical experience...
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u/AngsMcgyvr 8d ago
I thought it was great. At no point did I expect it to rise to the quality of the social network, and maybe because of that, I found it to be thoroughly entertaining.
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u/Sea-Recognition-2433 8d ago
The film is competently made and acted, but because of the recency of the events, I never felt emotionally invested. I agree with others about the "made-for-TV" feel. I give this one a 6/10.
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u/googly_eyed_unicorn 7d ago
I liked this film although I also acknowledge its faults.
I liked the performances and that it is willing to call out Zuckerberg and FB as a whole. I really liked how it used the timeline smartly to rebuttal Zuckerberg’s bullshit free speech absolutist argument by showing what the imminent threat is with Jan 6th, and that he didn’t learn his lesson by tripling down and removing any fact checking. I do wonder with FB and other tech companies embracing AI to hyperdrive algorithms what the next imminent threat is and I hope to God and or the Universe that we are able to stop it before it destroys us.
Bill Burr in particular is interesting in playing the voice of reason for Zuckerberg given his stand up comedy past and his recent Saudi mess.
What I didn’t like was how Mikey was used. She is a very talented actress who did great in her role. It felt weird and unnecessary to put her in slinky dresses while soaking wet or having her in clothing with her nipples showing in an attempt to appease the male gaze.
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u/Dracdamac345 8d ago
This movie just felt like Old Man Yells at the Clouds to me. There are so many issues with social media that have affected society, but Sorkin just wants to focus on how they radicalize people (right wingers in particular) and then blames Jan 6th on Facebook without giving any specific examples or exploring how it caused it at all. It just felt like a propaganda piece. Not to mention it's also very dull and forced with the dialouge. Couldn't take Bill Burr as the Sorkin stand in seriously at all.
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u/mrfujidoesacid 8d ago
*Old man yells at clouds that have long since dissipated, whilst simultaneously ignoring the huge storm front massing on the horizon. Also makes time to shit on Bernie
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u/EinsteinDisguised 8d ago
I thought it was fine. Pretty boilerplate. Solid acting from White, Strong, and Madison.
I like Sorkin, but the guy really does love condescending, mild sexism. “On behalf of men, we believe mansplaining is actually just blah blah blah.”
Ok guy lmao
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u/RagefireHype 7d ago
It actually is going to make people forget what the actual best quote is from the movie, imo. The beach scene where he says I’m not mad at Facebook taking print writers jobs, I’m mad at how fucking awful they are at it. Beautiful line that is still true for where we are today in social media.
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u/kimribbean 8d ago
I have yet to see a single comment mentioning Bill Burr but I thought Bill Burr was great!
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u/Feliciano66114 8d ago
The movie is being sold as a sequel of the social network (directly and indirectly) but tbh it felt more of a spinoff. The story was interesting and wasn't bad but also wasn't the best. It felt like it went too quickly towards the end. I wish we got more of Jeremy Strong as they really hyped up his acting for him to be a side character
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u/TJMcConnellFanClub 8d ago edited 8d ago
“They set up 13 hate accounts” got a good laugh out of me, those are some dedicated hating ass 11 year olds. Movie was okay, I’ve done longform tech journalism on Snapchat before so I should be the prime audience here and even I couldn’t keep up with all the dialogue. It’s Sorkin overdrive, so good luck handling all that. Strong was great though
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u/CassiopeiaStillLife 8d ago edited 8d ago
You can tell Sorkin was itching to break out that mansplaining line. Probably wrote it ten years ago but couldn’t fit it in Chicago 7 or Ricardos.