The Social Network Reviews

Summary On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and ...

• Biography

• Drama

The result is a ripped-from-the-Zeitgeist film that is razor-sharp, an astute and funny portrait of the early 2000s, with all its LOL's, its IMO's and its WTF's. Mostly its WTF's.

A work deeper than its nickname, "The Facebook Movie," hints at - coils around your brain. Weeks after seeing it, moments from it will haunt you.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The Social Network is a dialogue-based movie with a perfectly written script. The writing is flawless, I was interested in all the characters and I liked them including the morally questionable ones. It's amazing to see that all of the characters are completely understandable, all of their actions are backed with reason even though they are morally wrong from an objective point of view. The acting was also flawless, which brought the words from the screenplay to life. The cinematography, editing and direction were amazing, I felt completely locked in. During every work meeting, every party I felt like I was there. The music was also amazing. Dialogue-based movies often make the mistake not to give audiences outstanding visuals, but this movie has that in the form of the amazing editing, direction and cinematography. The Social Network is a perfect film.

David Fincher's film has the rare quality of being not only as smart as its brilliant hero, but in the same way. It is cocksure, impatient, cold, exciting and instinctively perceptive.

Brilliantly entertaining and emotionally wrenching.

With a thieves den of borderline-Shakespearian characters, a wickedly literate screenplay, potent direction by David Fincher, an exceptional ensemble cast and subject matter that speaks to a generation and well beyond, The Social Network is mesmerizing.

It has the staccato wit of a drawing-room comedy, the fatal flaw of a tragic romance and the buzzy immediacy of a front-page headline, all powered by a kinetic engine typically found in an action flick. And that's just the opening scene.

It's an entertainingly cynical small movie. Aaron Sorkin's dialogue tumbles out so fast it's as if the characters want their brains to keep pace with their processors; they talk like they keyboard, like Fincher directs, with no time for niceties.

Wow just wow, even if the movie isn't accurate about what happened, and even if it is it cant change my opinion on how amazing the movie alone is. The screenplay acting storyline it was just perfect, a chef kiss if you will

It's well-directed and the cast does a good job but the pacing was fairly inconsistent and often times it felt like we were just watching the same scene over again but in a different setting. The editing of this film was far from perfect considering that it never really feels like we are watching linear plot but more like clips, bits and pieces of everyone's own recollection of events.

Perhaps I would have liked this movie, if David Fincher allowed me to get immersed into the main character's journey through being something more. The first two acts of this movie are drawn out and excruciatingly slow paced. Jesse Eisenberg plays Facebook creator Mark Zuckerbeg, who attends Harvard University and decides to create an innovative social networking site where people can easily stay in touch. Andrew Garfield plays his closest friend Edwardo who is promised to be in on the business, but their friendship is tested to the extreme as the success of Facebook grows. I cannot help but feel the only reason this movie is so highly praised is because Facebook is the main subject matter. Anything Facebook related, many teenagers or young adults will flock to see and will find some form of interest in the subject. The first two acts of the movie, like I said, was frustratingly slow paced, there is nothing of remote interest going on here. Eisenberg and co do fine in their performances (Eisenberg landed an Oscar nomination), but I just found too many of the film's main characters to be cold and unlikeable, unless that's how all Facebook users are...which at times is true. I cannot think of any real reason as to why this is such a masterpiece of a film, David Fincher is an exceptional filmmaker and Aaron Sorkin is a talented screenwriter, but the film didn't need to drag for as long as it did for the main story to kick in. There are some good things in this film, but not enough for me to say that it was worth it or a must-see.

Bad acting a bad script turned it off after half an hour absolute bore fest.

I really don't understand the popularity of this film. The directing is subpar, certainly one of the worst Fincher films. It's incredibly dark, even during the day. It's as if I'm watching the movie with dark-tinted sunglasses the entire time. The screenplay is undeniably Sorkin. Conversations drag on for extended periods of time, often losing track of their main focus. It's clear there was some sort of disconnect between Sorkin and the director because Fincher just can't keep up most of the time. The music is annoyingly painful most of the time. It does nothing new within the ambient genre, neglecting original performances for a neglectful, dark atmosphere. Like the film itself, it is overrated. Acting wise, Jesse Eisenberg does a great job, but only because he's playing what he's good at: himself; the nervous, meticulous, obsessive, socially-awkward nerd who thinks academia is what's most important in life. Everyone else is so incredibly bland, I wouldn't be surprised if there was no effort involved whatsoever. Concerning the subject, the general idea is correct, but the specifics are muddled. I'm sure Sorkin realized halfway through writing how uninteresting sitting in front of a computer and creating Facebook really is, so he focused on the only drama throughout the entire experience: lawsuits. Unfortunately, they're handled poorly in the film. I have to wonder if it isn't fact-based, then why exactly is it focused on Zuckerberg and Facebook? I've come to the conclusion it was decided to use a much more overly dramatic, fictionalized view of the events and center it on Facebook because it sells. And my does it sell.

Academy Awards, USA

• 3 Wins & 8 Nominations

Golden Globes, USA

• 4 Wins & 6 Nominations

Awards Circuit Community Awards

• 8 Wins & 17 Nominations