The Founder Blu-ray Review
Summary: The Founder is an interesting story that focuses on the wrong person.
3
Fair
The Founder is an interesting story that focuses on the wrong person. The film stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, who in the 1950s franchised McDonald’s by essentially stealing the idea out of the hands of its creators, two small-time brothers running their own takeaway place. They would have been far more sympathetic leads for this story than the degenerate who spearheads the film. It’s true that an excellent Michael Keaton performance is The Founder’s commercial and artistic hook. However, the film is uncertain about the narrative type it is selling and uses coincidences and contrivances to string Ray’s journey together. Some of the confusion is the result of hiring John Lee Hancock as the director. The last two films he’s made, The Blind Side and Saving Mr. Banks, have been forgettable sugar-coated fairytales about bad situations improving through hard work and co-operation.
Initially, The Founder looks to depart from that schmaltz. Ray is not a nice man. This washed-up, alcoholic milkshake machine salesman is the type of oily creep who would spit into the palm of his hand before extending his reach to you. But who suggested he was the right angle for a whole movie? Its also hard to attack the Golden Arches themselves when Hollywood studios thrive off marketing deals with the fast food giant. Faust with fries. Given this predicament and Hancock’s style, The Founder is somewhere between an infomercial and an entrepreneurial rise. It lacks the tragedy and irony that cut deep in The Social Network—a film that rings loudly here because year by year it has attracted inferior cover artists and impersonators.
The Founder is an interesting story that focuses on the wrong person. The film stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, who in the 1950s franchised McDonald’s by essentially stealing the idea out of the hands of its creators, two small-time brothers running their own takeaway place. They would have been far more sympathetic leads for this story than the degenerate who spearheads the film. It’s true that an excellent Michael Keaton performance is The Founder’s commercial and artistic hook. However, the film is uncertain about the narrative type it is selling and uses coincidences and contrivances to string Ray’s journey together. Some of the confusion is the result of hiring John Lee Hancock as the director. The last two films he’s made, The Blind Side and Saving Mr. Banks, have been forgettable sugar-coated fairytales about bad situations improving through hard work and co-operation.
Initially, The Founder looks to depart from that schmaltz. Ray is not a nice man. This washed-up, alcoholic milkshake machine salesman is the type of oily creep who would spit into the palm of his hand before extending his reach to you. But who suggested he was the right angle for a whole movie? Its also hard to attack the Golden Arches themselves when Hollywood studios thrive off marketing deals with the fast food giant. Faust with fries. Given this predicament and Hancock’s style, The Founder is somewhere between an infomercial and an entrepreneurial rise. It lacks the tragedy and irony that cut deep in The Social Network—a film that rings loudly here because year by year it has attracted inferior cover artists and impersonators.
The Founder is an interesting story that focuses on the wrong person. The film stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, who in the 1950s franchised McDonald’s by essentially stealing the idea out of the hands of its creators, two small-time brothers running their own takeaway place. They would have been far more sympathetic leads for this story than the degenerate who spearheads the film. It’s true that an excellent Michael Keaton performance is The Founder’s commercial and artistic hook. However, the film is uncertain about the narrative type it is selling and uses coincidences and contrivances to string Ray’s journey together. Some of the confusion is the result of hiring John Lee Hancock as the director. The last two films he’s made, The Blind Side and Saving Mr. Banks, have been forgettable sugar-coated fairytales about bad situations improving through hard work and co-operation.
Initially, The Founder looks to depart from that schmaltz. Ray is not a nice man. This washed-up, alcoholic milkshake machine salesman is the type of oily creep who would spit into the palm of his hand before extending his reach to you. But who suggested he was the right angle for a whole movie? Its also hard to attack the Golden Arches themselves when Hollywood studios thrive off marketing deals with the fast food giant. Faust with fries. Given this predicament and Hancock’s style, The Founder is somewhere between an infomercial and an entrepreneurial rise. It lacks the tragedy and irony that cut deep in The Social Network—a film that rings loudly here because year by year it has attracted inferior cover artists and impersonators.
Blu-ray Details
Director – John Lee Hancock
Actors – Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, B.J. Novak, Laura Dern
Film Genre – Drama
Label – Roadshow
Audio – English (DTS-HD 5.1)
Subtitles – English
Running Time – 115
Aspect Ratio – 2.40:1
Region Coding – B (Blu-Ray)
TV Standard – HD
Rating – M
Consumer Advice – Coarse language
Year of Release – 2016
Primary Format – Movies/TV – Blu-Ray
About the Author
Damien Straker is a freelance writer and film critic. He studied at the University of Sydney and graduated with an Arts Honours degree in Film Studies. He is a pop culture aficionado and enjoys talking about all films, 90s TV shows, ninjas and watching Rugby League. His favourite film directors are Alfonso Cuarón, Clint Eastwood and Alexander Payne.
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