The Founder

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The Founder

PG-13

2017

1h 55m

Biography

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

80%

Tomatometer

244 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), who were running a burger operation in the 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Kroc soon maneuvers himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a multi-billion dollar empire.

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Critics Consensus

The Founder puts Michael Keaton's magnetic performance at the center of a smart, satisfying biopic that traces the rise of one of America's most influential businessmen -- and the birth of one of its most far-reaching industries.

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

02/19/2017

2/5

Hancock's bland biopic offers a sanitised and sympathetic take on the burger chain's beginnings and the man who turned it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

02/17/2017

4/5

One of the many pleasures in John Lee Hancock's study of the man who made McDonald's an empire is its reminder that even the simplest ideas need to be invented.

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Ed Potton

The Times (UK)

02/16/2017

3/5

The man, played with dark relish by Michael Keaton, has the fabulous name of Ray Kroc (there is a suitably reptilian air to his grin as he says things such as: "Contracts are like hearts. They're made to be broken").

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

08/12/2024

4/5

This is definitely a film to watch – not only as a real “eye-opener” into the success of the world’s most recognisable fast-food chain, but also for Keaton’s dedicated and enthusiastic performance.

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Noah Berlatsky

Everything is Horrible (Substack)

04/06/2023

John Lee Hancock's The Founder is the perfect movie for a country that has just chosen a vapid brand for its chief executive.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

11/01/2022

8/10

Thanks to a strong, character-focused script by Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) and engaging performances across the board, it all turns out to be pretty riveting stuff.

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Daniel I

@RT47475128 May 21

Why is the movie trying to make Ray kroc look bad?,the brothers didn't want to expand that's all,in my own understanding,I see Ray as more of a business genuis, though the movie shows how ethics and business do sometimes disagree

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vihaan b

@VihaanBodwal Feb 12

the story of mcdonalds own highs and lows produce a great movie.

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Ben R.

@b_roland Feb 1

Wasn’t aware of the McDonalds story. Worth a watch

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Matthew P

@RT04736148 Dec 26

The American Dream, complete with betrayals... and a likable lead in Keaton's Ray Kroc - until you realise he's just another ethically bankrupt douchebag who became a billionaire. Worth a watch: the performances are excellent despite a story that doesn't dig deep enough as a character study.

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Caleb S

@review-person-friend77 Nov 12

I think this is worth a watch, especially because no person in the world hasn’t heard of McDonald’s. It’s fascinating to learn its history. Plus, the whole movie’s tone was yellow and red (at least it felt like it was) which I thought was pretty artistic.

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Sebastian D

@de_Baviera Nov 9

A Hustle Biopic That Skips. The Founder is a brisk biopic that hustles through Kroc's rise but skimps on the ruthless underbelly, turning a tale of American avarice into a glossy, sanitized sprint. Michael Keaton’s Kroc crackles with opportunistic glee, but the script stumbles, flattening the McDonald brothers into caricatures and glossing vengeance with pat montages. What could have been a devastating dissection of capitalism devolves into repetitive deal-making and predictable betrayals, the 2016 biopic trend wasted on a narrative that teases ethical fury but settles for feel-good frenzy. The period visuals charm, but the pacing lurches, and the ending's catharsis feels hollow, squandering a sharp premise on a saga that bites off more than it chews.

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John Lee Hancock

Director

Michael Keaton

Ray Kroc

Nick Offerman

Dick McDonald

John Carroll Lynch

Mac McDonald

Laura Dern

Ethel Kroc

Linda Cardellini

Joan Smith

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The Founder: Trailer 3

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The Founder: Trailer 2

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The Founder: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), who were running a burger operation in the 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Kroc soon maneuvers himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a multi-billion dollar empire.

Director: John Lee Hancock
Producer: Don Handfield, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Ryder
Screenwriter: Robert D. Siegel
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: The Weinstein Company, Faliro House, The Combine, FilmNation Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.8M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital