"The Social Reckoning" REVIEW

Published on 10/9/2026 

Written by: Braylon Mitchell 

Directed by: Aaron Sorkin 

Cast: Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Giplin, etc. 

Plot: Follows Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, who enlisted the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to blow the whistle on the social network's most guarded secrets. 

REVIEW 

"The Social Network" pretty widely considered one of the finest films of the 21st century, so that begs the question: why after sixteen years are we getting a sequel? Is it even a sequel? It's trying to distinguish itself as its own thing without David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg attached, but why is it being marketed as a sequel and most people understand it to be a sequel? These are some of the questions that many of us were asking when this film was announced to be in production some time ago and continued to ask until this film's release, a release where on its opening weekend it already feels as if the film has come and gone. Aaron Sorkin is one of the most successful film and television writers to have ever lived, with a style of writing and commentary that has permanently made its mark on pop culture. Some may not be fans of his fast, idealistic writing but I'd bet that a majority of people are. "The West Wing", "A Few Good Men", "Moneyball", and of course his Oscar-winning script for "The Social Network" will always remain incredibly beloved. I say this to preface my regard for Sorkin as a writer, as it's my firm belief that as a director he's got a long way to go. I don't think that Sorkin directing his own scripts holds quite the same impact. I wouldn't necessarily say that he's a bad director, he's competent and gets the job done—but he gets it done in a manner that oft gives completely into some of his worst, more gratuitous tendencies as a storyteller and visually comes across as uninspired or downright flat. "The Social Reckoning" is an entertaining, occasionally stirring journalist film forefronted by Sorkin's lovably snappy dialogue delivered by a talented ensemble and tackling the events uncovering proof of the infectious harms of social media and Facebook's predatory nature of promoting political extremism at a time where that subject matter deserves to be explored and addressed in film—but even for what the film does well and does right, it never feels as good as it could've been. The film more or less comes across as surface level, and at worst even slightly vague. It's engaging and relevant, but at every turn even in Sorkin standards is inferior to even that of an episode of "The Newsroom". This film is fine, likable, but ultimately forgettable. 

THREE BEST ELEMENTS

• Mikey Madison's performance. The follow-up performance after winning an Oscar for her instantly iconic, star-making work in "Anora" two years ago, Mikey Madison eats up Sorkin dialogue like she's done it a thousand times before. She's the standout of the film. 

• Bill Burr's performance. Speaking of eating up Sorkin dialogue, Bill Burr was born for this. More stand-up comedians should be in Sorkin films, especially if they're as snappy as Burr. 

• The ending scene. I'll give Sorkin a point for his direction here, the film's ending feels like a welcome 90's throwback—freeze frame and all. 

WORST ELEMENT 

• For as much as the film isn't remotely a direct or even really all that much of a spiritual sequel to "The Social Network", it can't for the life of it escape the shadow of that film. Even the slightest bit of shadow of that film's greatness is enough to engulf this film. Jeremy Strong's performance is a good example of this. He's very transformative as Mark Zuckerberg, but the entire time I couldn't fully buy him due to how well Jesse Eisenberg played the role sixteen years ago. 

RATING

6/10

It's fine, buddy!