The Social Reckoning (2026)

The Social Reckoning which is the sequel to the excellent 2010 film The Social Network with this focusing on the social media giant that has billions of users across multiple platforms. Sadly David Fincher doesn't return to direct instead with Aaron Sorkin sitting in the directors chair. Jesse Eisenberg also sadly doesn't return as Mark Zuckerberg. 

Mikey Madison is good as Frances Haugen. The character who reluctantly decides to help Jeff blow the whistle on her employers. Madison plays Frances as someone who wants to believe that Facebook can be a source for good. Jeremy Allen White is also good as Jeff Horwitz who is the Wall Street Journalist who is working with Frances to get to the truth behind Facebook. White is a very good actor and I don't know how close this performance is to the real Horwitz but the character comes across as a nice guy who is reluctant to engage in the social media world. The dynamic between the two is what keeps you engaged with the story. Frances is torn between believing that Facebook is a good thing and the dangerous path they are walking on.

Jeremy Strong does a really good impression of Mark Zuckerberg. But that is what it feels like, an impression. Strong comes across as a strange person which is quite he seems so good at playing Zuckerberg. He's a good actor but it did feel like an impression at times. I was surprised at how good Bill Burr was. He plays Charlie and all his scenes are with Jeremy Strong and he is basically telling Mark what he should be doing and Zuckerberg not listening to him and still holding a grudge for some article that Charlie wrote.

The film basically covers the period of time of 2019 and 2021 when Frances and Jeff meet to the insurrection of January 6th when mad people stormed the Capitol Building and the Covid pandemic also features although its used in a way that explains how Frances is in a warmer climate. Also get use to hearing the term MSI or Meaningful Social Interaction as it gets referred to about 150 times in the film (slight exaggeration). The more that the film talks about this sort of stuff the more that I found my dislike for social media grew. Not just Facebook but all forms of social media. If you didn't like it before then this film isn't going to convince you otherwise and likewise if you liked Facebook before then this film is just going to be 'fake propaganda' or something like that.

I went into this screening not expecting it to be as good (or anywhere close) to The Social Network but I was still slightly disappointed because whilst the performances are fine, the writing is standard and so is the directing now the writing for me is the bigger issue because Aaron Sorkin knows how to write great dialogue but for some reason there are very few memorable moments in this film whereas in The Social Network there are plenty. The directing is also an issue because David Fincher's style was missing here and it didn't have the vibe that you would expect from Fincher. The Social Network is a film that I have watched multiple times but I don't think that I will be rushing to watch The Social Reckoning anytime soon. It's not terrible by any means but it doesn't have that impact that the first film has. It is so well behaved that it's a feels like a wasted opportunity to really say something impactful about the dangers of social media in general.