Continue with Google
>
More
Certified fresh picks
New TV Tonight
View AllMost Popular TV on RT
-
I Will Find You: Season 1
65% -
Widow's Bay: Season 1
98% -
House of the Dragon: Season 3
91% -
Sugar: Season 2
97% -
From: Season 4
96% -
Spider-Noir: Season 1
92% -
The Boroughs: Season 1
96% -
The Agency: Season 2
92% -
Cape Fear: Season 1
75% -
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed: Season 1
93%
More
Certified fresh pick
Columns
Guides
-
Essential Survival Movies Ranked by Tomatometer
Link to Essential Survival Movies Ranked by Tomatometer -
Best New Action Movies of 2026
Link to Best New Action Movies of 2026
Hubs
-
Awards Tour
Link to Awards Tour -
What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming
Link to What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming
RT News
-
Weekend Box Office: Street Fighter Delivers a Knockout
Link to Weekend Box Office: Street Fighter Delivers a Knockout -
How Street Fighter (1994) Created One of the Strangest Cult Fighting Game Characters
Link to How Street Fighter (1994) Created One of the Strangest Cult Fighting Game Characters
Mainstream Reviews
Andrew Garfield gives one of his best performances in a brilliant satire of social media and influencer culture.
Not only skewers social media stardom and the very nature of the Hollywood machine itself, but also the way both reflect the increasingly shallow core values of contemporary society.
Mainstream tackles one of the most debated themes of our time in an interesting and innovative way: the (at times, unhealthy) relationship some of us have with social networks and their stars, the Influencers.
Though some of Mainstream’s criticisms are understandable and others questionable, the film proves unafraid and daring in its ambitious stylistic choices, memorable central performance and dystopian vision.
...a progressively hit-and-miss endeavor...
Its message may be muddled but thanks to Garfield’s mesmerising performance, Mainstream is certainly clickworthy.
Its commentary on vapid internet culture doesn't extend any further than poking fun at young people for looking at their phones a lot.
While it offers an almost surreal (and sometimes dated) look into our culture and its obsession with ephemeral fame and social media, its ambitious style ends up playing against its storytelling strengths. [Full Review in Spanish]
Offering little that's of substance and nothing that's ahead of the learning curve.
Once "Mainstream" locks into its purpose - showing the vapidity, cruelty and calculation of certain YouTube stars - it soars.
Gia Coppola's sophomore feature effort is a memorable, jarring satire that could help teens think critically about the personalities who influence their actions, attitudes, and self-worth.
Skewering the shallow and fickle nature of viral fame, this edgy satire ultimately lacks the courage to follow through on its convictions.
I enjoyed the film, as it kept me guessing while engaged. I can recommend all seeing it 17+, as it is clearly rated R. Despite our frustration with social media, the fact remains that it is powerful, and it can't and shouldn't be ignored.
Feels mortifyingly dated and out-of-touch, a criminal flaw for a movie whose entire identity is based on trying to hold up a mirror to its audience.
Mainstream feels like this bold and heartless statement on the social media age that is terrifyingly accurate. Andrew Garfield is a force of nature; destructive, powerful, unpredictable, and absolutely hypnotic in between.
Isn't just shrill and grating, it's also irrelevant.
Mainstream ... is here to pass judgement, and it hands down a broad, overreaching ruling that isn't specific enough to chill.
Conceived as Network for millennials or maybe A Face in The Crowd for the TikTok generation, Mainstream shows more promise from writer/director Gia Coppola, even if this one loses steam far too fast.
A more incisive film would have something to say about using empty spectacle to comment on empty spectacle.
Garfield has settled in nicely to a career, where he isn't afraid to take chances and his performance as Link is everything it should be: Damaged, annoying, noxious and desperate.