‘The Social Reckoning’ Rotten Tomatoes Review Score Drops Sharply On Release

The Social Reckoning is out this weekend and its Rotten Tomatoes critic score is miles below The Social Network.

Sony

About 48 hours ago, the first scored reviews came in for The Social Reckoning, the Aaron Sorkin-written and directed follow-up to The Social Network. Initially, the Rotten Tomatoes score was average, a 70%, well below the sky-high 96% of The Social Network. But here on release day, with nearly 150 reviews in now, that score has dropped sharply.

The Social Reckoning is now down to a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, slipping into the “Rotten” category on the site, which is anything below a 60%. It seems like a mix of middling reviews, combined with the fact that perhaps people just don’t want another Mark Zuckerberg story in this current tech moment, will turn into a bad box office weekend. Outlets are estimating it will earn $7-8 million domestically, about a third of The Social Network’s $22 million opening. That film went on to make $224 million and win three Oscars. Here, The Social Reckoning stars Best Actress winner Mikey Madison, and Emmy winners Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong in its three leading roles. But that doesn’t seem to matter.

Here’s the synopsis of The Social Reckoning, which takes place a while after the creation of Facebook, which is what The Social Network covered:

“A companion piece to the hit film, The Social Network, Sorkin’s original screenplay tells the true story of how Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.”

In addition to the storyline itself, the biggest change is that David Fincher is not directing the sequel, replaced by writer Aaron Sorkin, who has only directed three feature films before this. Second, Jeremy Strong has taken over as Mark Zuckerberg from Jesse Eisenberg. Sorkin has relayed how he approached Eisenberg, assuming he’d want to return for the role. He didn’t, and Strong’s Zuckerberg performance is a frequently criticized aspect of the film. Though most reviews point to Sorkin:

The Reveal – “Sorkin’s facility with cinematic language has yet to catch up with his talent for the written word.”

Independent UK – “Sorkin explains this with the pace and imagination of a PowerPoint presentation. While The Social Network and The Social Reckoning share a cinematographer in Jeff Cronenweth, they certainly don’t share a look.”

The New Yorker – “Sorkin’s images aren’t conceived or imagined; they’re mere recordings of the actors’ performances. The film suggests no pleasure in seeing, no curiosity.”

Sorkin has said he remains open to a third Social [Insert Word] movie if the right story hits. I might watch one about the hilarious disaster that was Meta’s attempt at making the metaverse, but now the company is one of the most prominent faces of AI, a story that’s still unfolding and could have global consequences. It’s already starting to. But if this film performs poorly, as it seems like it will, that may be entirely out of reach. That’s maybe for the best.

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