Perhaps it's in David Fincher's masterful directing or in the haunting, soft, Oscar-winning score.
Perhaps it's in the pitch-perfect casting of Andrew Garfield as the sympathetic elitist Eduardo Saverin, or Justin Timberlake as the slimy Sean Parker.
Perhaps it's in Jesse Eisenberg's star-making turn as founder Mark Zuckerberg, in which he chews up and spits out Sorkin's dialogue as few others have been able to. Where does one even begin when trying to nail down the greatness of this film? Perhaps it's in the Aaron Sorkin script that so aptly gives life to the chaos of Facebook's creation. It’s an all-star lineup, and there's something similar planned for the sequel. And just as a final flex, the casting director secured Pennywise’s favorite victim, Jaeden Martell, and the legendary Christopher Plummer, may he rest in peace. LaKeith Stanfield is here without his straw hat from Get Out, and so is 13 Reasons Why’s ghostly Katherine Langford. Lime enthusiast Dakota Johnson’s dad, Don, is here, and so is perhaps the world's greatest living actor, Toni Collette. Halloween badass/ yogurt guru Jamie Lee Curtis is a suspect, as is two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. America’s Ass Chris Evans is there in a beautiful cable-knit sweater. We’ve got James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, and his future Bond girl/Ben Affleck’s former coffee-walks partner, Ana de Armas. I know that listing actors is boring, but just go with me here. Rian Johnson’s mystery (so well written, its screenplay landed an Oscar nom) focuses on the death of Harlan Thrombey, a famous novelist, and the family desperate to scoop up his inheritance. You’ve got to love a classic whodunit, especially with an ensemble cast of the caliber of this one. Honestly, I have no idea how this fever dream of a film got made, but I’ve watched it several times, and I will watch it again. And yet SOMEHOW, Sandler convinced Al Pacino to play himself in this film as the third-billed actor, AND convinced him to fall in love with Jill! Insane. It’s stuffed to bursting with product placement (Dunkin' Donuts, anyone?), Sandler is bouncing off the walls as Jill, and the writing often borders on nonsensical. Send this film to the 2019 Met Gala! Adam Sandler (whose recent Hubie Halloween is also a winner) plays both Jack and Jill, fraternal twins, in this truly bonkers affair. But those folks are not watching this film from the perspective that it's a masterpiece of camp. Did it win every single Razzie the year it came out? Yes. Does it have a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes? Yes. I will not be reading the comments for this article, because I KNOW you all are going to rake me over the coals for this one, but this is actually an incredible film.