Review of The Founder (2016) by Steven S — 08 Jul 2017

What was originally my most anticipated film of 2016 (before La La Land came in) now an early 2017 film, this was one of the few films out there that caught my attention with it's teaser trailer. Reading the plot of this film at first, I wasn't as hooked as I'd normally be, but then the trailers came out and then it picked up my interest little by little. And yes, I do remember learning about Ray Kroc at some point during my days in school, and of course, eating at McDonald's a lot when I was younger, it was my late grandfather's favorite fast food joint and I still remember all the times he'd want to go pick up french fries and a large strawberry shake. But looking into this film itself, will it make me proud of the franchise that McDonald's is today, or is this a not-so friendly reminder of why I don't eat there as often as I used to? Let's find out by taking a look at, "The Founder".

THE STORY.

At first glance, you may think that the story is about McDonald's itself. Just from the looks of it, you'd probably think that this is nothing more than a documentary film of McDonald's that just has Michael Keaton in it. But in reality, that's not the case. The real story of this film goes all the way back to the 1950s, and is actually more focused on Ray Kroc himself,a his life as a struggling salesman, who meets Mick and Dick McDonald who run this little burger operation in Southern California known as McDonald's. Kroc sees their production and their system of business as an opportunity to, in his own words, "FRANCHISE THE DAMN THING!", and sets out to turn McDonald's into what it's become today. To this movies credit, it does a great deal of telling the story of Ray Kroc in a very dramatic way and it makes you feel like your in his shoes. So many people today still struggle to turn their businesses into major franchises and this film really does emphasize on that, and the theme of willing to risk everything just to obtain victory. So, this is a film where the message is really well emphasized and it's also topped off with some great execution of the story that really does make the film easy to follow. However, with all that said, despite the nice message and good story, there are some things that are a bit problematic. Some of the humor is a bit of a hit and miss, like, a joke is made, and you don't really know whether it's meant to be funny or not, and also, there are some parts that can be a bit predictable. But then again, this is technically a history movie so of course some of it may be predictable. But even at that, John Lee Hancock and his team really did a nice job when the task was to make a movie about Ray Kroc and McDonald's.

THE VISUALS.

One of the biggest aspects of these history films is to make the visuals look like the time that it's set in. And it does not disappoint! Honestly, the filmmakers do a fantastic job with the work they had to do by making the film look like the 1950s Southern California that this film takes place in. Rather it be the style of clothes people were wearing, the style of the cars that were used, the way that McDonald's originally looked like as a small little hut with a kitchen, you name it, it's there, and it's done perfectly. Another little nice touch is the use of editing. The clips looks like they were put together so perfectly that even if you can see the camera cut from one place to another, it feels like it was all just filmed right on the spot as one long shot. But the true highlights in the visuals is the use of the camera. The camera operators give a good use of camera angles in the film that are easy to recognize and it really helps the film look nice and very well crafted. Especially when Ray first goes to the original McDonald's. Now, normally, this would be the part where I talk about the weaknesses in the visuals, but if I can be honest. I really didn't see anything wrong with the visuals in this movie. So it looks like I can skip that. Not only did the visual artists do great with their job, but you can really tell that they were on their A-Game with this film.

THE CHARACTERS.

There's a bit of a mixed relation when it comes to the characters. The ones that we mainly focus on are done well, the rest however, not so much. But that's not necessarily bad. Starting off with Ray Kroc, he's a struggling milkshake maker salesman who discovers McDonald's and sees the opportunity to turn it into a major fast food franchise, so he becomes a real-estate agent and does everything he can to try and get his hands on McDonald's no matter what gets in his way. There's a lot of depth that goes into him, and it really shows his need to succeed in acheiving his goal and obtaining the name of McDonalds. Then we have Dick and Mac McDonald, the original owners of McDonald's who share their vision with Ray and are reluctant to hand over the franchise to Ray and constantly decline every offer he makes. At first, they may come off as just assholes and would serve as the antagonists of the film, but when you really look at them, you understand why they are who they are when Ray enters the picture. The only other character that I'd say has developement, is Harry Sonneborn. He's the one the gets Ray into the real-estate business in order to obtain the McDonald's name. He may not seem like he's important at first, but then when you realize what he's doing, you really feel he has his purpose in the film. As for the rest of the characters, they don't have much development as the rest of the characters, but you can tell that they do have their reasons for being in this film, since this is technically a history piece and everyone in the movie was involved in the real event. Although most of the characters aren't as developed as they should be, you can tell that they're not hateable and they're there for a good reason.

"The Founder" may suffer some flaws like some underdeveloped characters, predictable moments, and some minor elements of humor missing, but that won't weigh it down enough to keep it from being a well-crafted film with a great story with a nice message, stunning visuals that are beyond perfection, and characters that are likeable and help push the movie forward. I definitely recommend giving this a watch, not just for McDonald's lovers, but also those who are looking for a good time, with a good movie and those who like Michael Keaton. You know what, screw it, anyone can watch this movie, and you should. Looking at how McDonald's was back then and comparing it to what it's become today, it may have hit some bumps in the road, but I still believe more than ever, that anything is possible even in the hands of one man. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go down to McDonald's and get some fries and an Oreo McFlurry.

STORY: 8/10.

VISUALS: 10/10.

CHARACTERS: 7/10.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10.