Review of 'The Social Reckoning': Zuckerberg and Facebook Are Foes in a Preachy Slope Disguised as Journalistic Drama.

Safir Arjan Digital reviews Sony Pictures' 'The Social Reckoning', starring Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.

Sony Pictures' The Social Reckoning movie trailer starring Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison. Directed by Aaron Sorkin.

In the age of Trump 2.0, tech giants once championed by the liberal left have been shunned for hugging or bending the knee to President Donald Trump after the 2024 election, whether it's Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or — in this particular case — Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder and CEO of Meta, was famously portrayed on the big screen in the 2010 movie, "The Social Network," after he created the culture-changing social media platform from his Harvard dorm room and the lawsuits that followed.

Directed by David Fincher, written by Aaron Sorkin and Dead Ringer Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg, the trio delivered one of the best films of the century that truly captured the appeal of the emerging digital age. Sorkin won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Fincher and Eisenberg both earned nominations in their respective categories.

But 16 years later, what was billed as a sequel to "The Social Network" only tarnishes its legacy.

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Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Account. (Courtesy of Sony/Columbia Pictures)

For The Social Reckoning, neither Fincher nor Eisenberg chose to return, leaving Sorkin to write and direct the sequel, which no one really wanted, casting Jeremy Strong ("The Succession," "The Apprentice") as Zuckerberg.

The sequel revisits The Wall Street Journal's bombshell series of reports, The Facebook Files, led by investigative reporter Jeff Horowitz (Jeremy Allen White) and Facebook whistleblower Francis Hagen (Mikey Madison).

The dirt uncovered ranged from Facebook implementing algorithms that drove its users to join hate groups to the company knowing about the toxicity of Instagram on the mental health of young girls.

Most of us can agree that social media platforms in general, not just Facebook, have negative effects on society, but also benefits. What has been previously reported about Facebook has been a stain on the company. And maybe that warrants a movie.

What is unpleasant is the narrow world that Sorkin creates, a world in which Facebook, and only Facebook, is responsible for fueling right-wing radicalism and left-wing radicalism does not exist.

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Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White in The Social Reckoning. (Courtesy of Sony/Columbia Pictures)

In the film, Haugen, a Facebook data scientist launched in 2021, is possessed by a former friend, whom he once described as a "progressive" but has been radicalized as the platform has become unabashedly racist. The film also blames Facebook for spreading the QAnon conspiracy theories and the vaccine "lie" as well as January 6.

The climactic scene of "Social Reckoning" features Zuckerberg and his staff rushing to their war room to watch news coverage of the congressional riot. At least according to Sorkin, the rioters might be waving flags that read, "Brought to you by Facebook."

Everyone around Zuckerberg asked him to ban Trump from his platform. And as we all know, Zuckerberg accepted.

Haugen's findings, at least as presented in the film, show that Facebook is making people racist. There is no mention of any kind of far-left radicalization that Americans have seen, (or "Woke 1" as the AOC has recently coined it) or any mention of the Black Lives Matter riots that have taken place across the country in the months leading up to January 6th.

Lest we forget that the Covid lockdowns really fueled social paranoia, there was no “accounting” by Sorkin of the government officials who implemented them. For a man who prides himself on his meta-intellectual dialogue, Sorkin finds little room for subtlety.

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The film's only saving grace is how it handles Zuckerberg's stance as a free speech absolutist. Sorkin generally portrays him as a sociopathic villain who cares at the expense of society. But there's a scene where he argues with a former investor (played by Bill Burr) that Facebook is a public square and that users shouldn't be treated like children, because Burr's character sees Zuckerberg's philosophy as reckless to let lies go unfettered.

It's clear that Sorkin wants his audience to be on Team Burr in that particular scene, but the true champions of free speech will stick with Zuckerberg — at least until he's pressured into banning Trump.

"The Social Account" tries to be the "All the President's Men" of the social media era, but lacks any emotional depth beyond its obvious appeal to partisan leftists. None of the film's three main actors act like normal people (to be fair, Zuckerberg's public persona has always been, well, weird).

Every scene between Horowitz and Haugen is filled with witty, uncharacteristically scientific dialogue that could easily have been borrowed from The West Wing.

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Jeremy Strong and Bill Burr in The Social Account. (Courtesy of Sony/Columbia Pictures)

Unlike his "Social Network" predecessor, Strong bears almost no resemblance to Zuckerberg, but he delivers his own performance and certainly nails the voice. The Facebook boss had no involvement with either film, so it's hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins. Eisenberg's Zuckerberg, however, was far more emotional, while Zuckerberg Strong's is basically an alien-like caricature.

There is also a stark contrast in pure filmmaking. Without Fincher at the helm, Sorkin is left artistically rudderless despite top-notch collaborators like Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Crannoth (who previously shot The Social Network ) and Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat.

This is not the first time that Sorkin sits in the director's chair. There is no doubting his talent as a screenwriter, but while he has successfully found his unique voice on the screen, he has yet to establish his vision as a director.

After re-watching The Social Network, it's strange to think that both were written by Sorkin. One is catchy, fluent, biting and tangible for the average viewer. The other is boring, disjointed, egotistical and elitist.

Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison in The Social Reckoning. (Courtesy of Sony/Columbia Pictures)

"Social Account" is trying to recreate the magic of its previous version. In fact, it's the revisionist slant of the left disguised as a harrowing journalistic drama. It's a film that only appeals to a narrow audience of Zuckerberg/Trump-despising coastal liberals and self-proclaimed hero journalists—many of whom happen to be both. What is unfortunate is that there is no such thing as "social research" for the purpose of entertainment. Its purpose is speech.

And for that, Sorkin needs to be logged off.

"The Social Reckoning" is rated R for language. Duration: 1 hour and 52 minutes. Now in theaters

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