Review of The Founder (2016) by Alex Bonafide A — 08 Feb 2017

"Business is war", goes the well-known saying, statement of Ray Crock (Michael Keaton), and the atmosphere of this movie. As a mediocre salesman of oddball inventions and machines, Crock strikes gold crossing paths with a Californian burger stand: McDonald's. Seeing its potential, Ray makes McDonald's and its success his new full-time business focus.

If you have seen the earlier Michael Keaton movie "Pacific Heights", you're likely to find some similarity with "Founder". Keaton's acting as Ray Crock is fantastic and really cements the movie as a whole (as it should) in a big way. The performances of accompanying actors are decisively scaled back to showcase Crock's personality; this doesn't diminish their talents, but certainly plays off Keaton as lead.

In my opinion, the movie focuses with too much bias towards the brothers who started the first McDonald's. This is supported by numerous scenes of the dejected duo, soundtrack change to set a different mood around their situation, and moments (in general) which tended to linger long on their part of the story. All of these elements expose a lack of confidence in the actors' ability to drive the movie, choosing subtle cinematic manipulation to push a point instead. Further, it exposes a lack of trust in the audience to make their own opinions of the story.

Despite a few pacing issues peppered throughout the movie as well, "The Founder" comes out on top as a good film for the start of this year. It's best enjoyed for the acting, and with set design crafted to look like authentic 1950s, it's an easy experience to slip into.