Oppo Movie Review: The Founder

"Nick Has an Exocet" (nickallain)
08/09/2017 at 00:51 • Filed to: None

I don’t really know how accurate it is but there are many points where they could have pulled a “hey, it’s a movie” and they clearly went “hey, it’s a biopic”. If you have the slightest of entrepreneurial spirits, this movie will really tickle you. It’s the second best biopic I’ve seen in the last 3 years. #1 is !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Beach Boys).

It’s kind of late, so here’s a score: 7.5/10. If you’re entrepreneurial: 8.5/10

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DISCUSSION (8)

MyJeepGetsStuckInTheSnow > Nick Has an Exocet
08/09/2017 at 01:05

Watch Gold next. It’s really good too.

Toby F., Manager > Nick Has an Exocet
08/09/2017 at 01:49

I watched it the other night and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I’ve developed a certain disdain for the Kroc’s as a result. The Kroc’s surely have a large presence here in San Diego (and elsewhere), and while I value what they’ve done and value what they’ve achieved (as a entrepeneurial capitalist myself), I am disgusted by the hostile takeover he performed on the hopes and dreams of the McDonald brothers and stole (did not pay) the royalties they verbally (stupidly) agreed to.

DipodomysDeserti > Nick Has an Exocet
08/09/2017 at 03:28

The American entrepreneur: steal someone else’s idea and make it as shitty and profitable as possible. The first McDonalds to sport golden arches (on Central and Indian School in Phoenix) is now a Japanese fast food resturaunt. Fitting.

I loved the movie, but only a POS would be motivated by this guy.

NojustNo > MyJeepGetsStuckInTheSnow
08/09/2017 at 08:18

Seconded. great 70s atmosphere and cast. 8/10

Pickup_man > Nick Has an Exocet
08/09/2017 at 09:25

I really liked the movie but I was so torn as to how to feel about it. You kinda want to root for Ray Kroc initially, he’s clearly a smart man who built an empire from a little burger shack in Southern California. He was ruthless and charming and obviously a great business man, but the way he completely screwed over the McDonald’s brothers just pissed me off. At first I was kind of on Rays side because the McDonald’s contract seemed overly restrictive and they were very unwilling to change, but as soon as he started taking credit for ideas that weren’t his and forcing the brothers out of their own business and dream I started to dislike him, and by the end of the movie I didn’t like him at all. The passion the brothers had for their restaurant actually made me want to go to McDonald’s, but by the end of the movie I’m not sure I want to step foot in one ever again. There’s a good chance I will, but I’ll certainly think twice before I do.

Jayhawk Jake > Pickup_man
08/09/2017 at 11:33

I think you have to respect Kroc’s creativity, but his ethics ultimately ended up being questionable at best.

Where I give him a little break is that the McDonald’s had no vision or desire for growth on the level that Kroc saw and ultimately carried out. They were satisfied operating the one store the way they operated it, so it’s not entirely fair for them to ultimately be critical of what Kroc turned McDonald’s into. That being said, the handshake deal and putting the McDonald’s out of business was super fucking shitty and Kroc is a complete and utter asshole for doing it.

At the end of the day what’s so frustrating is Kroc could have built the empire that McDonald’s became while awarding the McDonald’s brothers with the reasonable royalty they asked for. There was no business reason for him to shut them out completely, it was purely an ego and greed driven play.

Pickup_man > Jayhawk Jake
08/09/2017 at 12:42

That’s a great way to put it. You gotta give Kroc credit for turning the business into what it is, because it likely wouldn’t have happened without him, but I don’t at all like the way he went about it.

Stapleface > Nick Has an Exocet
08/13/2017 at 19:50

Just watched this today. Boy, Kroc sure was a bastard.

Yes, the McDonald brothers probably never make that 2 million without Kroc, but he was as shrewd as they come.

That movie made me never want to step foot into a McDonald’s again.