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32 comments
36 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 10/4/2010
The two best movies of the year. And I really don't think any other will top them.
on 10/10/2010
Are there any directors working right now that have as much freedom as Fincher and Nolan, that consistently produce quality films? Given their entire bodies of work, I'd take Nolan, but this year, I'll take Fincher. TSN struck me as disturbingly immediate, engrossing, funny and even melancholic. It also had the unnerving ability to make me nostalgic for a time only 7 years ago, back when the world was young and Facebook didn't exist.
on 10/13/2010
Definitely the two best films I've seen this year, however, Inception had too many plot holes/ambiguities for me to truly love. The Social Network is an extremely relevant and for me, kind of poignant. Zuckerberg, as portrayed in TSN, was a more interesting character than anyone in Inception.
on 10/31/2010
While Inception is one of the most intellectually challenging films I've seen in some time, The Social Network was on another plane altogether. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the film (whilst Inception lacked some characterisation and plot consistency). Combine one of my favourite directors, my favourite screenwriter and several outstanding performances (who all showed incredible range, insecurity and brashness all at the same time). Utterly brilliant.
on 11/5/2010
Inception is the best movie of the year in my opinion. It will be hard to beat.
This is why the movie "Idiocracy" will soon be based on true events. People don't like films because they challenge the mind??? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD?????
The Social Network is far, far better than Inception. Inception is not nearly as clever as it thinks it is whereas The Social Network is smart, intelligent, involving, and surprisingly sympathetic.
Inception is the best movie in years. It's inteligent, ambiguous, and makes me want to watch it again and again.
on 12/21/2010
Although Inception was a smart, visually-incredible action film, The Social Network's combination of fantastic cinematography and quick wit propel it to greatness.
Both great films, but on opposite ends of the genre spectrum so i don't know if i can really choose one. On a different day the other could be the victor. Today it would be The Social Network.
on 1/9/2011
I finally got around to watching The Social Network and I must say I was not disappointed. I enjoyed every bit of it from the writing to the acting, however, I cannot pick it over Inception. Inception challenged the viewer to think about what you are seeing and provided visual stimulation that The Social Network just didn't have. I can see why Fincher is getting so much praise for his film and understand why it is winning all the awards but for my money, I'll go with Inception.
on 2/1/2011
i didnt care much for the social network. it was a good movie, dont get me wrong, but it wasnt as good as everybody thought it was. the begining made me worry about the rest of the movie. jesse eisenberg talking really fast annoyed me. inception had great action and it was a clever movie. it should win best picture of the year.
on 2/17/2011
Inception was a nice action movie and had a nice concept, but did not really go into the characters. The Social Network is all about the characters (amazing writing!) and had you care about a guy I thought I hated, about events that I knew how it went down and about actors that I'ld never thought I'ld really like. Inception was cool. TSN was great.
Definitely a tough choice, but no dreaming here. Nothing quite like Inception...
inception of course
on 2/25/2011
It has to be The Social Network, it is just such a brilliant film. Inception is of course also brilliant, however I LIKE Inception, I don't LOVE it. I LOVE The Social Network though, so that's the one it's gonna have to be.
on 2/26/2011
The Social Network just never really lets up. Its dialogue keeps on coming and fast. Inception, though, starts to drag a little once it nears the end, especially during the scenes in the snow level.
on 2/27/2011
This is a funny sort of match-up for me. Character development irritates me a lot now, particularly because of the cliched way in which many movies now deal with their how their characters unfold (what with the posing-as-profound backstory, recycled justifications of supposedly questionable actions, moral growth etc etc). One of the common criticisms of Inception is that there is little or no character development; something for which I was gretly thankful. I was just happy to watch shit happen without really giving a fuck about why. So yes-um Inception is a very entertaining heist film which, despite the conzenzus coming from el bandwagondino, isn't really complex or original (check out Paprika if you still think that Nolan didn't lift concepts and imagery). Not that this lack of complexity/originality somehow diminishes the fun-factor. Fuck no. OTOH The Social Network is all about its characters, but characters which are often criticised for being unlikeable. Again this wasn't a problem for me... I fucking love the characters (which is all they are, no matter how much one might like to believe they've been accurately drawn from reality). Any time you have brilliant people - that are more than aware of their brilliance - spitting sharp, caustic barbs in back-and-forths worthy of SW19 or AVN affiliates, well then I'm hooked. There raally is a deliciousness in watching ever so slightly cocky young superstars doin' their thang. It' defines cool. Swagger on Sorkin, that corner is yours.
Social Network was fantastic, but there is nothing quite like Inception.
on 3/1/2011
The Social Network suffers immeasurably from having characters that all seemingly talk the same (Aaron Sorkin's Achilles' heel). Inception's flaws are more forgivable. Nolan's film is just more impressive, overall.
on 3/18/2011
social network was good and all but I dont think it is one of the best movies of the year. inception was fantasic and leo did a great job acting.
on 3/20/2011
The two best movies I've seen in a long time. Having now seen both twice, once in the theatre, once on DVD, it's still hard to say which one wins in the long run. They appeal to different sides of the brain.
on 5/7/2011
The top 2 of 2010, indeed. The Social Network wins it for me though.
on 5/9/2011
I like Inception, but it really does not have any re watch-ability whatsoever. The first time you see it you are amazed, but watching it a second and third time more than half the movie feels like the tutorial level at the beginning of video games--you've figured out how to play but can't skip ahead to the part where things start actually becoming interesting and fun. It's acting is solid (particularly DiCaprio and a fascinating performance from Cotillard), but it's NOWHERE near the levels of The Social Network's cast. Jesse Eisenberg should have won the Oscar this year, and Garfield should have at least been nominated. The Social Network is incredibly engaging and interesting, and only gets better upon a rewatch. I always judge movies off how I reacted last time I saw them, and Inception is a movie I can't imagine wanting to rewatch anytime soon.
on 7/13/2011
INCEPTION has most of the re watch-ability out of any movie I have seen. You can interpret the ending differently each time you see it and the more times you watch it then the better it becomes. I do love TSN a whole lot, but Inception was better in a lot of ways.
on 7/27/2011
Inception: Your premise is clever, your characters are awful, your action sequences could have been better, but your performances are truly engaging. The Social Network: Your premise is fascinating, your characters are extremely well drawn and enigmatic, your dialogue is snappy and emotionally involving, and your performances are masterful. Hm. Entertaining, somewhat overrated heist flick, or brilliantly ambivalent high drama? The Social Network.
on 8/1/2011
haha people are actually picking "the social network" over inception? I don't get it what was great or even good in that movie? Only reason it is getting good reviews is because it relates to something that is a part of peoples lives. I can guarentee you one thing if you do not have facebook your gonna give this movie a poor review. Hey I will say they did do a good job with character development, but all the characters are rich d bags who I could care less about. I mean cry me a river you went to harvard and someone stole your idea and you lost billions. Don't worry you can still have a 100 million dollar house using your dads money. no action, no cool effects, all this movie had was 40 million dollars worth of character development.
Aaron Sorkin writes a hell of a script and they manage to get Fincher to direct it, and the best you can come up with is "you'll only like it if you have a Facebook profile and it sucked because it had no special effects"? Weak.
For the record I fucking hate Facebook and The Social Network is still the best film of its year. Your guarantee is void.
And who gives a shit if all a movie has is 40 million dollars worth of character development? Who cares? (That's not all Social Network is, but for the sake of argument...) Some of the best movies you'll ever watch are "only character development." Would Cuckoo's Nest have been a bad movie if it had cost more but turned out exactly the same?
on 8/2/2011
My top 2 films of 2010. Inception is so damn good though. Social Network still has the best dialogue I have heard in a film though.
There are some awesome points made here. It is interesting how Fincher and Nolan seem to be right at the top of their game and two of the most popular directors working right now and yet both have two completely different movies. Inception, like Dark Knight, is sooo ambitious, it's hard for me to fault it. But it has clunkers, it has a lot of...stuff to get through. But Social Network has more going for it throughout, better lead performance, stronger dialouge, and a great pace. Inception is flawless techinically but like other Nolan films it's too ambitous for it's own good. Some day Nolan will give us one of the great films but right now Social Network is superior to his work.
on 8/3/2011
Hmmmm, this is a very tough choice. I love both of these movies, and these are two of my favorite directors. However, I have to go with Inception, based on first impressions. The movie seems like it is a more difficult concept to take on, and I thought the script was great, although after seeing it at least 5 times it can be a tad bogged down. The acting was very good, especially for an action/sci-fi film, and it was very intense. I love the ending to death. However, The Social Network had fabulous acting, a wonderful script, and good direction. It was funny, smart, and almost haunting in a way, but so was Inception. Now, it may sound like I'm favoring The Social Network, but I am typing this after my third viewing. I have seen Inception seven times. The Social Network is fresher to me, but Inception is more captivating.
on 9/27/2011
I love both of these films dearly. Two of the best movies of 2010. As much as I loved the Social Network (amazing writing from Sorkin and direction was flawless from Fincher) I got to go with Inception just because it was sooo mind blowing. Yes, The Social Network was a brilliant film (and should've won Best Picture) but Inception just did it for me.
on 12/10/2011
Cleckley: I never said anything about liking facebook. I said the people who do not have one so you have proved nothing. Characters were all developed well, but having them all rich a holes really doesn't make for a great movie. All this movie made me do was cancel my facebook account cause I do not want to help these scumbags make anymore money then they already do. Also made me change my goal in life to sack wacking zuckerberg so hard he pukes up blood for a week.
@KH It shouId be self-evident that I don't have a facebook account dude (I hate the site, I hate the culture). You hate the movie for the same reason I love it, so I can't entirely fault your perception of things.Of course, that doesn't mean that your initial comment wasn't glib and poorly thought out.
All I am saying is most people enjoy movies they relate to. In this case the audience may or may not be relating to the characters, but they are relating to the subject matter which just so happens to be a website that the average viewer probably visits atleast once a week. If you replaced facebook with some site no one has ever heard of and kept the rest of the movie exactly the same I highly doubt it would get the same rating. Just look at IMDB highest rating was from people 18 and under, and the lowest rating came from people 45+. With this said I guess it just comes down to personal taste, I went into this movie wanting to love it, loved all Eisenbergs other movies and I guess it just didn't live up to my expectations. I guess I just like him playing the likable loser roles like adventureland, zombieland, roger dodger, I guess kinda in holy rollers too. So that made it tough to buy his ass hole loser role he played in social network no matter how well he acted in it. I think I am going to start a mystic river vs social network discussion now both 8.0 on IMDB and both banked on great acting and writing with no special effects. I think mystic river was head over heels better but will be interesting what others think
on 1/11/2012
Fincher can improve a movie 200 times,that's how good he is. But even with his expertise,i always thoughtt "Social Network" was a average movie,and that was it. Reminds me of "The Hurt Locker" . It is another movie that i never could understand how everybody overrated it so much. Not even a close match here. Inception got this one easily.
on 1/22/2012
Two great films.Both are far from their respective directors' best work.Going with Inception.
on 1/23/2012
@KH I don't think relatability is necessarily that important, although, it is at least possible that I personally love the movie because of my own arrogant self-perception. Maybe. Not that it matters. There are many legitimate reasons for liking a movie, and yes, liking a movie because of some minor, off-hand focus on something as trivial as Facebook is still a legitimate reason. I say "minor" and "off-hand" because the film really isn't about the website at all, the website is just a tool. If Facebook had been substituted for some other obscure website the movie would NOT be able to stay the same otherwise (because the characters probably wouldn't be filthy rich). But hypothetically, would it make any difference to me or other fans of the film? Probably not. Certainly not to me and, although there are many bandwagon fans of TSN (just like all popular movies), I very much doubt that the hardcore movie fans/critics who have so vehemently praised TSN have done so just because it's about Facebook. The only problem I have with TSN is the final minute of the film, where Fincher turns Zuckerburg into his ex-gf's bitch by having him sit and wait for her 'friend request acceptance/confirmation'. Turning him into a loser at the end, as opposed to the young, prodigal billionaire that he could/should have been, was, I suspect, Fincher's way of appeasing guys like you, the guys that hate "rich d bags" and "ass holes" as protagonists.
on 2/27/2012
Inception. It is just mind blowing. Leonardo DiCaprio and Gordon Levitt on top form plus strong supporting roles. This film is the Indiana Jones of Sci Fi films.
on 3/2/2012
I agree. Inception is on another level. Both are memorizing but Inception takes the cake.
I thought the The Social Network was alright, but I feel like it's very overrated. Inception on the other hand, is just spectacular.
on 3/10/2012
Inception. Just mind blowing. As much as I love Social Network, Inception is incredible.
on 3/20/2012
Inception wins this by a notch as greatest films of 2010.
on 4/7/2012
Inception makes an awesome comeback to reign as the number one film of 2010.
on 5/27/2012
The Social Network is a 9/10, Inception's an 8/10.
on 6/3/2012
I love Fincher but I never have been that crazy about the Social Network. Maybe I need a rewatch. Until then, Inception takes this by a large margin.
I feel the same exact way nolan, huge fan of fincher but not really a fan at all of the social network
on 6/4/2012
I'm a huge Nolan fan considering the fact I have Dark Knight at my #3 and Dark Knight Rises is my most anticipated movie ever. Inception ain't no Batman though. Social Network has some smart intellectual writing. Inception's concept was complex and intriguing to me because I love to think while watching a film. There was some special charm about Social Network that caused me to enjoy it more than I did with Inception.
on 6/30/2012
Both good, but I would sit down and rewatch Inception before Social Network any day. Yeah Social Network was fast-paced, cynical and sharp-witted with the dialogue and of course it has Andrew Garfield in it (both of us had the same drama teacher at school, albeit a few years apart), but I didn't care for the characters as much as other people did. They were much more interesting and better developed for sure, but I didn't really empathize with anyone (apart from Andrew Garfield). I think Inception will be remembered as a much more influencial film, both on films and popular culture. The Social Network already had the unstoppable social engine of facebook to strike a chord with the general public, whereas Inception came from somewhere very sublime and yet very familiar; the mind. With every new dream reference in the plot I found myself thinking "yes, I've felt that before", and there are very few films which have done that to me. So Inception wins.
on 7/8/2012
Gotta go with Inception. The Social Network was so dull and boring. I failed to find any emotional content in TSN. I don't mind unlikeable characters as long as they're interesting. Sadly, that wasn't the case with TSN. The only two things I liked about it were the dialogue and Garfield's acting which in my opinion was far more effective than Eisenberg's performance. How on Earth did Eisenberg get an oscar nomination? I hated how the film was constantly trying to portray Mark as a tragic character. The ending scene with the friend request shit was ridiculous. Trying to use the Godfather II angle that it's lonely at the top. But Jesse boy is no Pacino, is he? The lack of energy in TSN was quite shocking since Fincher's films are usually zippy and dynamic. I'll take Zodiac or Fight Club any day over TSN. Inception with its imaginative conceptualization and innovative ideas was like a breath of fresh air. Nolan's immersive storytelling in Inception was a treat to watch. The relationship between Mal and Cobb seemed far more genuine than any of the phony characters in TSN. Some of you might say "that kinda was the point dude" but I disagree. Greed isn't that hard a concept to relate with. So why did I find the characters in TSN far from believable? And let's be honest, Inception will be considered a sci-fi classic in about 10 years :D
on 7/14/2012
The Social Network was not boring. I actually found it very interesting. Inception wins barely
on 7/17/2012
mind fuck vs mind genius. This one is tricky. The Social Network is more of a critics treat. Incepion on the other hand is a fanboys dream. The Social Network was released right around award season its typical oscar bait. Inception was realesed in the summer and became that rare summer block buster that actually gets oscar buzz. this is what makes it intresting. whenever a film released in the summer that is sci fi gets the same amount of buzz and praise that a film released during award season (uusually late fall throughout the winter) that is a legitamite drama lock in for best picture does, then you know Inception is something special and rare. same thing with Toy Story 3, released in the summer but still kept its buzz throughout the year. The Social Network features a kid named Mark who along with friends and partners builds a website known as Facebook. this can be 2010s Citizen Kane for al i know. But Inception is currently settings standards to not just summer blockbusters but to films as a whole. Both great films of course but Inception is pure mindfucking genius.
on 7/29/2012
both great, but the social network is masterful
on 8/17/2012
In 2010 i had doubts which one was better. Now looking back and with repeat views, i prefer Social Network.
on 8/27/2012
After re-watching both of these films a ridiculous amount of times, I'm confident I love The Social Network even more than the excellent Inception. Both are still the best films of 2010.
on 9/10/2012
Inception!
on 11/9/2012
Inception, not even close for me.
on 1/11/2013
These movies are gonna age really fuckin' bad. All hype.
TSN should age the same way something like All About Eve has aged. Or some Howard Hawks shit. Sometimes hype is justified.
on 1/29/2013
It's always been a tough choice, but I must go with Inception.
on 2/1/2013
I thought Social Network deserved the Oscar for Best Picture. He always gets robbed for his ambitious directing.
on 4/3/2013
The Social Network beats out Inception because a) Christopher Nolan is a very poor screenwriter next to Aaron Sorkin and b) I like the minimalist soundtrack of TSN just a tad more.
on 4/9/2013
Inception deserves to be the best.
on 4/11/2013
On second thought, this is extremely close. Both films were definitely the best of their year, and possibly of the decade so far...
on 4/26/2013
the Social Network was an average movie with above average hype. Fincher has done much better.
on 6/17/2013
Inception for sure. It is the more smarter flick, and it is loads of fun.
on 4/11/2014
Two fantastic films from 2010 I will go Inception
on 8/6/2014
I don't get the Inception hype. It just kept throwing in new characters without giving a shred of information about any of them. Their motivations and intentions are left blank making them look like 1 dimensional characters subject to experimentation who are simply there to carry forward a plot riddles with unaddressed contrivances. The interesting premise itself is adapted from dreamscape and paprika. That doesn't seem a whole lot intelligent to me. Memento was intelligent. The Dark Knight was intelligent. Inception is anything but. That being said I think the Social Network is a remarkable achievement withs some of the best dialogue. The Social Network is an easy winner for me.
on 2/3/2015
Fincher over Nolan any day of the week
on 3/24/2015
For me world's youngest billionaire wins in this battle
on 8/15/2017
The fact that 25 people have the Social Network ranked higher than Inception is mind blowing to me.
on 7/6/2018
Social Network every day of the week. Fincher > Nolan
on 4/8/2020
Inception everyday. Nolan >>> Fincher.
on 2/25/2021
Although The Social Network is a great film, I don't think it's amazing or a masterpiece for that matter. Don't get me wrong, the film doesn't have anything necessarily wrong with it but Inception is too entertaining and brilliant to lose here.
on 3/19/2021
Okay so after a rewatch for both films I can confirm that Inception still wins but my rating for The Social Network has gone up. It has a lot of perfect elements including writing, directing, acting, lighting, pacing, etc. However, I still found Inception to be the more impressive, intelligent, and intriguing film overall.
on 6/4/2022
TSN easy inception is so overrated
on 7/4/2022
The Social Network is definitely better. Inception is a brilliant film technically, but its narrative does have plenty of flaws and holes. The Social Network, on the other hand, has a practically perfect character arc with a very inventive and masterful style of storytelling, with gripping and amazing dialogue. And the acting is leagues better than that of Inception. So yeah, The Social Network absolutely dominates
on 8/6/2022
On a recent rewatch of both films, I still think TSN is better by quite a large margin (considering that I think TSN is better than The Dark Knight, that says quite a bit by how large the margin is), but Inception is great. I think Inception feels like a more grand and epic movie, but it really isn't fair to compare these two movies. Inception is an intelligent and intriguing movie, but Sorkin's flawless script and Fincher's perfect direction really do push it over. One of the biggest weaknesses of Inception was the dialogue. It had its moments of brilliance, but not once did it ever even come close to matching the opening scene of TSN, much less topping it. And I think, in general, writing was the biggest flaw of Inception, something that TSN dominates in. But both of these are amazing movies.
on 9/2/2022
Social Network is the best film of 2010. Shutter Island 2nd.
on 9/4/2022
I would even argue that The Social Network is the best movie of the 21st century, much less just 2010. Inception is one of the best spectacle films while still being intelligent in its execution and concepts. Unfortunately, it has plenty of plot holes and does stumble at times to move around certain things.
on 10/2/2022
The Social Network is the second best of 2010, with Inception being the first by far.
on 12/28/2022
Inception is the 2nd best movie of the 2010s. The Social Network is the best movie of the 2010s.
