The Founder

I was quite curious about this piece since the first trailer, but somehow the whole thing got lost in the Oscars. To this day it's not entirely clear to me where the Weinsteins (and Jeremy Renner as a producer?) made a mistake. Surely, it's all amoral because who would root for a cold-blooded person, originally from Plzeň, who came up with a brilliant idea to increase international obesity, namely the corporation boasting a daily intake of "nutrients" for 1% of the total population! But of course, it's not conceived like that. Back then, it was beauty. The McDonald brothers focused on quality and apparently made some of the best burgers in America. Then some Ray Kroc came with his "Do it for America!", they immediately revealed to him (just like a beautiful twist on KFC in the movie) their know-how (later the script itself pauses over it, but still doesn't make much sense), and then we're just witnesses to a certain hyenism, false patriotism, and amazement, which Michael Keaton of course immensely enjoys, and I wouldn’t even want that Tom Hanks there so much. As a classic biography, it didn't quite seem so to me, surely there are a lot of things altered, but I would say it's a fairly informative rich movie worth seeing, especially for us, where my generation has been raised by McDonald's since 1992 with the establishment of the first children's playgrounds. The circle is complete... 8/10 (04/09/2017)

Great biopic about the creation of the powerful McDonald's franchise. Michael Keaton is excellent in his role, occasionally funny, and I really enjoyed watching how the story unfolds. A bit like The Social Network, with Facebook replaced by McDonald's. Interesting, educational, entertaining, and occasionally thrilling. Definitely a solid biopic. 8/10. (02/10/2021)

An honestly told story about a truth that all company founders know all too well: it's not so much about talent, but about perseverance and the drive to move forward. The Founder may not be as inventive and sophisticated as other bombastic tales of ascent, but it cannot be denied a certain degree of realism, occasionally biting sarcasm and functional elements from life (family problems, debts, etc.). It may not have any climactic moments, but it's a classy film. Michael Keaton steals the whole film for himself and the statement "the older the better" applies to him as well. (04/23/2017)

Today we finished the story of how it all began with a McDonald’s (a promo McBus came to town with real meat in their burgers). Keaton is excellent, but John Lee Hancock brings no surprises in terms of cinema. The main problem is the ordinariness of the whole story. If the brand wasn’t so popular, almost certainly no movie would have been made. But there’s no controversy, but nevertheless a good watch. (04/22/2017)

A fantastic biographical film about a brand that nearly everyone on our blue planet knows! No, seriously, I personally didn’t know much about the history of McDonald’s; I could probably provide no more information than the number of fingers on one hand (actually, even less =D). At first, I enjoyed Michael Keaton’s character and his actions, as he expanded the brand across America and then embarked on a "crusade" into the world. But as he became a bigger media celebrity, his ego grew, and he turned into a businessman solely focused on profit, with little regard for those around him. The saddest fact is undoubtedly how the real creators of "McDonald’s," the McDonald brothers, ended up. In the end, Kroc outmaneuvered them in their mutual agreement, leaving them with only financial compensation and the obligation to remove anything mentioning McDonald’s from the name of their original and first store of the famous brand. Otherwise, the film is very credible, capturing the 1950s era perfectly. Keaton’s performance is unmatched, and the McDonald brothers were convincingly portrayed. A realistic depiction of events as they happened. I give it 85%. (08/13/2018)