This is the story of McDonald’s. It’s told from the perspective of Ray Kroc and chronicles the growth of the restaurant chain from it’s first franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois in1955 to the international fast food chain it is today…

Story: Very well told and very disappointing. The writer, Robert Siegel, does a great job of walking the viewer through the steps that led to what we know today as McDonald’s Corporation. He captured the back-and-forth between the McDonald’s brothers and Ray Kroc perfectly. He also developed the story carefully enough to include the good, the bad and the ugly.

Ray Kroc as a salesman to the growing pains of the business to the massive success he created and the people who helped him get there.

Performances: Getting the story right is likely not as difficult as capturing the personalities. Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc and Nick Offerman as Dick McDonald are outstanding. Much of the film focuses on the dynamic between these two characters because the vision for McDonald’s came from Dick and the vision for growth came from Ray. Both actors capture their character’s styles impeccably.

John Carroll Lynch as Maurice McDonald is spot on as the good-egg in the bunch, but, works more to highlight the duel taking place between Ray and Dick.

Linda Cardellini as Joan Smith, the wife of an investor and eventual wife of Ray Kroc, adds a nice compliment to Krocs ambition and intensity.

Visual: It looks like the 1950’s. The best part of this cinematography is the original design of the restaurants with the golden arches. For those of us who were around to see them in person, it’s a nice blast from the past.

Costumes and props are to be expected for the period.

Rating: A-. This is a bittersweet film. It’s easy to admire Ray Kroc’s vision and his ability to turn a fantastic business model into an international conglomerate. But, to see him do it at the expense of the original founders is as disconcerting as Facebook was between Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and the Winklevoss brothers.

It’s a true story of one of the most iconic symbols in the marketplace. It’s worth seeing…