The Social Reckoning Is a Wordy, Divisive Sorkin Drama Built Around Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White

I just walked out of The Social Reckoning, the soft sequel to The Social Network. My verdict is that it is extremely different from the original, but that does not necessarily mean it is bad. This is the conversational Aaron Sorkin movie, and whether you enjoy it or not will come down, I think, to Aaron Sorkin. These are my initial thoughts. The review embargo does not drop, I think, until tomorrow or the next day.

I missed Fincher, Eisenberg and Reznor and Ross

The first questions I had going in were whether I would miss David Fincher as director, Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the music. The answer is yes, I missed all three for sure. That did not necessarily make the movie bad. It just made it extremely different. This is not really a continuation of The Social Network.

Mikey Madison's whistleblower is the standout

One thing I liked is that it really does bring to light the scary situation we are in with social media in general. I have my own thoughts on that. I feel there is too much access and not enough regulation, and that is ultimately what this movie is about.

Mikey Madison plays the main character, a whistleblower who comes forward to show that Facebook was not really regulating what was going on. She is excellent, and her performance is a standout. It is really Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison's movie.

Jeremy Strong's Mark Zuckerberg plays more like a corporate villain

Jeremy Strong is a phenomenal actor in general, but his Zuckerberg almost felt like a villain from the Aliens franchise. I could easily have seen him as a character from the Weyland Corporation, which is how he seemed to be portrayed. Even though I like the interpretation of what Jesse Eisenberg did, he was more eccentric, but "he still felt human." I don't know, this version felt like more of a caricature of Zuckerberg. Then again, when you have that much money, it may show that you are so far off in a different universe.

A Sorkin film that played more like The Post

"It played more like The Post to me for sure." And "I think this movie is going to be very divisive." I think it will split a lot of people, and it might sound a little preachy to some. Still, I liked the spotlight it put on people who wanted to stand up and do the right thing. It is "wordy, but I didn't mind it." I kind of dug it. It genuinely scared me, and I still personally think there needs to be more regulation on social media. I will have more in my full review.

Do you want to see The Social Reckoning, or does a wordier, more conversational follow up to The Social Network leave you cold?