Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” has been leaked to members of the film press, who are calling the sequel to “The Social Network” a “solid sequel,” “a harsh assessment of (Mark) Zuckerberg” and “a scathing indictment of the current tumultuous state of society.”
Early reactions, with full reviews coming ahead of the theatrical release this weekend, range from positive to mixed among critics who saw the timely drama in advance.
“A timely and compelling companion to ‘The Social Network,’ sharing more DNA with Sorkin’s ‘The Newsroom’ than its predecessor,” film critic Tom Chatalbash wrote of crackles and tears like razor blades, especially as this investigative story climaxes by delving into the murky practices of Facebook, but it’s far from his best work on the page. Its rather flat direction and the film’s listless pacing almost dull its overall emotional impact, but it’s a story that not only deserves to be told, but it’s a gripping investigative journalism film that still manages to land the plane despite. some. turbulence. It’s a good movie, but not great, which made me angry, but it should have made me angry.
Other reactions acknowledged that 2010’s “The Social Network” set the bar high for the follow-up, but the new film still had some bright spots.
“‘The Social Reckoning,’ while not the masterpiece that ‘The Social Network’ was, still fully engaged me,” wrote Awards Radar editor Joey Magidson. “A slow, steady build leads to a climax that got my blood boiling. Barely subtle, it works well as a complement to Aaron Sorkin’s earlier look at Facebook.”
Film critic Manuel São Bento wrote that “#TheSocialReckoning is for me on the same pedestal as ‘The Social Network’ and here’s a complement to that already wildly popular version: This one matters more! Aaron Sorkin turns the Facebook files into a maddening movie about a company that knew exactly what it was doing.”
He continued: “The free speech debate at its heart refuses easy answers and Sorkin’s analogies hit hard. Some say it comes too late because this is all public, but public is not the same as known. Mikey Madison is excellent as a whistleblower motivated by love, not resentment. Jeremy Strong’s Zuckerberg is a caricature I believed in anyway. Sure, it looks like TV, but it doesn’t matter when is the story that vital? I didn’t know enough at first and haven’t stopped reading the articles since. It’s one of the most gripping films I’ve seen this year and I’m still angry about it.
Billed as a “companion” to “The Social Network,” the film dramatizes the 2021 Facebook leak by company whistleblower Frances Haugen and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. “Anora” Oscar winner Mikey Madison and “The Bear” Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White play Haugen and Horwitz, respectively. The cast also includes Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen and Bill Burr.
Much of the buzz around “The Social Reckoning” ahead of its release was the casting of Jeremy Strong as Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, notably starring in Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Social Network” in an Oscar-nominated performance. Sorkin initially asked Eisenberg to return for the follow-up project, but the actor rejected the offer because he no longer wants to be associated with Zuckerberg.
“I just told him I was going in different directions in my life,” Eisenberg later said. Variety about refusing Sorkin. “I don’t want to be associated with that character, but all my reasons for not wanting to make the movie have nothing to do with how wonderful the movie is, and will be, and I’m sure it already is.”
Sorkin told Vanity Fair that he spent three days trying to convince Eisenberg to return as Zuckerberg.
“I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” Sorkin said. “He just didn’t want to be confused with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he had issues with that guy. He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m a CEO, bitch’ and he has to sign.”
“The Social Reckoning” hits theaters October 9 from Sony Pictures. Check out more early reactions in the articles below.
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