4 stars

Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, Jeremy Strong, Bill Burr

Rating: M

In cinemas: Now

The Social Network was an origin story. The Social Reckoning is a horror movie, made all the more horrific because it really happened and, if we’re being honest, still is.

The former film, directed by David Fincher, was a commercial hit in 2010 and earned eight Oscar nominations, including for best picture, while writer Aaron Sorkin took home the gong for best adapted screenplay.

Depicting the humble origins of Facebook in a Harvard dorm room, with an unforgettable performance by Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, The Social Network felt like an important tale to tell about a bona fide tech success story.

In 2010, Facebook had about 600 million users, had not yet acquired Instagram and WhatsApp, and was, for most people, a valuable source of connection.

Zuck himself was depicted as a brilliant nerd with poor interpersonal skills, who acted like an A-hole as a defence mechanism, but one always felt he could be redeemed.

The Social Reckoning arrives at a time when such a notion seems ridiculous.

No wonder Eisenberg didn’t want to reprise the role.

Facebook, under parent company Meta, now has 2.8 billion users, has been accused of rigging elections and has paid vast sums of money in court settlements for practices that one might describe as somewhere between exploitative and downright evil.

So, it should come as no surprise that this standalone sequel, written and directed by Sorkin, packs a punch that hits considerably harder than Fincher’s film.

The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White plays real-life tech reporter Jeff Horwitz, whose collaboration with a Meta whistleblower, Frances Haugen, led to a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal in 2021 known as the Facebook Files.

Anora Oscar-winner Mikey Madison plays that whistleblower.

With Succession star Jeremy Strong as Zuck and a cast that also includes comedian Bill Burr and the great Betty Gilpin as Horwitz’s no-nonsense editor, Sorkin has hit it out of the park talent-wise.

And the screenplay reminds you why Sorkin’s trophy cabinet is chock-a-block, with an Oscar, five Emmys and three Golden Globes to name a few.

It’s probably fair to say Sorkin doesn’t quite match Fincher as a director, but he more than makes up for some fairly pedestrian choices with the sheer impact of the material.

The opening scene in particular is a masterclass in establishing a sense of urgency that doesn’t relent until the closing credits.

There’s a reason the Federal Government is trying to legislate the influence of algorithms in our community, and one wonders if that will affect the appeal of this film.