The Founder

MATTEO BITTANTI

All movies about Corporations are horror movies because there is nothing more terrifying, lethal, and toxic than a Corporation. The equally monstrous American justice system equates Corporations to citizens: this personification suggests that McDonald's is like Freddy, Nike is Jason, Apple is Michael. These monsters extract surplus values from their labor force, like vampires. And they are really, really hard to kill

Tiago Gonçalves

Michael Keaton is on fleek in this raw portrait of the struggles of a broken man trying to reach the top. Wining is much more about losing than I tought and that's what I get from this technicolor semi-happy real story. Oh...and the stupid things we do for love...c'mon...powdered milkshake!

msmichel

Michael Keaton shines here in this tale of how McDonalds became the conglomerate it is today leaving the creators a financial casualty along the way. Apt tale that could have gone for the jugular much more than it does to avoid sometimes seeming like an infomercial for the brand. Nick Offerman and a very carnal Linda Cardellini shine here as well.

Jérémy Poirier

Persistence. This is a film about persistence, success, failure, and greed in America. But mostly, it is about the harsh story behind the world's biggest fast food franchise. Michael Keaton delivers a pretty solid performance. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch have a really sweet chemistry too. I also like the little twist in the title itself. "McDonald's can be the new American Church" 3.5 stars

Z

Corporate brand cinema marches on with this truly useless and quite frankly appalling waste of time and talent. Ray Kroc as depicted in this film was a middle aged failure and con man whose sole achievement seems to have been that he found some gullible hicks whose idea he could steal and exploit. The film making is dull and repetitive. No real insight into this sleazy charlatan is displayed. Keaton deserves better.

OFF_FRAME

Terrible shmaltz. For all of it's impeccable production design there are so many cring-worthy moments of lazy scripting, clunky direction and over the top acting from everyone. It also still feels like a giant TVC for Mcdonalds. 2 stars

smndvdcl

The embodiment of franchise 'patented' conglomerate capitalism by the opportunist that was Ray Croc. A sign of the times - giving the highest platforms to charlatanism - the idolatry of winning, and winning ugly indeed. It seems that extreme success requires some level of high stakes intellectual property theft.

Steve Pulaski

Perhaps there is no better day than to watch The Founder, a film about a manipulative codger who becomes a multi-millionaire by swindling people and taking advantage of others. No matter, this is a surprisingly strong picture, predicated upon the great performances by Michael Keaton, in addition to Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch, as it tells a story that should be as famous as those golden arches.