Read Mixed User Reviews for The Circle (2017)

5

Sweet_Old_BobMay 2, 2017

I really looked forward to this movie. The suggested story of the future, a big internet social media, an outstanding cast with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks - and then the whole thing fizzled out. It was just plan-jane mundane. The scenery wasI really looked forward to this movie. The suggested story of the future, a big internet social media, an outstanding cast with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks - and then the whole thing fizzled out. It was just plan-jane mundane. The scenery was good, the photography was good, the acting was good. It's just the story that wasn't any good. I was really disappointed.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

LeZeeNov 29, 2017

Despite a message film, an average!

A book based film. Pretty much set in the present world scenario. The world where the internet, the social media is controlling people. If any revolution must take place, that's none other place than theDespite a message film, an average!

A book based film. Pretty much set in the present world scenario. The world where the internet, the social media is controlling people. If any revolution must take place, that's none other place than the virtual world. So a young woman who worked hard to get a job in a leading tech company, starts her life anew. At one end, aged and seriously ill parents, and the other end, making an unexpected leap in the workplace lead her to be a celebrity overnight. But it's only going to change her life forever, but how is to know, one must watch the film.

It was an Emma Watson's film. Tom Hanks was is an important role, but Watson led the show. Nice theme, but predictable storyline. I indeed guessed the end, which spoiled my watch. Slightly an awareness film too. Not all the technology can make life better, but sometimes opposite. Particularly, the film highlighted the privacy issue, how important it is for everyone. And at a same time, transparency too can bring a major change in society. But it all depends on the people and their professions. Surely not to be missed, despite you enjoy it or dislike it.

6/10… Expand

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5

marcmyworksJul 24, 2017

Its a shame a film with such a great premise turned into such a colossal bomb. The acting, script and characters are all horrible and the commentary on "online living" is just didn't seem plausible. Wouldn't the government have interjected?

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4

MattBrady99Aug 27, 2017

This is one of those films were at the end of the year people will look back and say "Wow, that came out?". Besides feeling like a bad episode of "Black Mirror", the movie fails at being...well, a film.

With the message of 'The Internet isThis is one of those films were at the end of the year people will look back and say "Wow, that came out?". Besides feeling like a bad episode of "Black Mirror", the movie fails at being...well, a film.

With the message of 'The Internet is bad' force so down in your throat, you wish to force your message down it's throat with "I GET IT! I GET IT! I GET IT!". I though they could've do something clever or creativity, but of course not, since it's takes effort I guess.

Emma Watson, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, and Tom Hanks not doing much in your movie is the biggest wasted opportunity. Doesn't help with the cringey dialogue and dull scenes that feels like filler.

R.I.P Bill Paxton and Glenne Headley. Both of them play Emma Watson parents in the movie. What an awful way to go out.… Expand

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4

trebligApr 28, 2017

The Circle takes an interesting premise, though one that has been seen in other movies, builds up its intensity, and then fizzles. The plotting felt thin, as if it weren't fully developed. At the start of the movie, there is a scene playedThe Circle takes an interesting premise, though one that has been seen in other movies, builds up its intensity, and then fizzles. The plotting felt thin, as if it weren't fully developed. At the start of the movie, there is a scene played for satire in which Emma Watson's character receives an orientation of sorts on how to socialize with her colleagues at her new workplace. That was one of the high points of the movie. It was clever, well-acted, and set the tone for how companies like Google want users to become fully immersed into their products. That tone, played comedically and dramatically, is dropped for the rest of the movie. Another scene, later in the movie, depicts the hysteria of e-mobs when self-righteousness rules out any acts of human decency. It's a scary, effective sequence. Besides those two high points, the rest of the movie feels almost inert. The intensity that builds to the e-mob sequence felt as if it were going for another high-intensity sequence. Instead, the movie ends and the credits roll. Hmmmmm. Inside this movie, there was a great one trying to get out. Alas, it didn't happen.… Expand

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6

KaptenVideoMay 25, 2017

Oh look, here's the movie that everyone loves to hate in Spring 2017! It's the critically reviled techno thriller which is played out as George Orwell flavored near future sci-fi, only everything in is already real. More or less.
A girl (EmmaOh look, here's the movie that everyone loves to hate in Spring 2017! It's the critically reviled techno thriller which is played out as George Orwell flavored near future sci-fi, only everything in is already real. More or less.
A girl (Emma Watson of „Harry Potter“ movies) working at one of the world’s largest tech / social media companies discovers that modern technology is only as cool as the people who own it. Turns out, free lunches are not that free after all.
„The Circle“ can be called an insightful look about perils of our digital life, or „a paranoid thriller without suspense, urgency or a single new thing to say“, as Rolling Stone has delightfully put it.
Many gravitate towards the latter. Me, I am more generous here. I'd call it a fully functional movie, just not a very gripping one.
The main problem may be that if you know about the digital life and it’s shadow side, „The Circle“ only recapitulates the often heard bullet points and adds nothing new. And if you don’t know or care, then nobody offers convincing arguments to invest yourself in it either.
The result in its one-note-ness and unelegant-ness resembles some popular teen drama: you can watch it and don’t have to feel bored exactly, but you'll never mistake it for really good stuff. In the age of quality TV series, „The Circle“ can’t help but feel anachronistic, although its topics are thoroughly modern.
Emma Watson is a bit too charmless to carry the result alone but her more intriguing co-stars (Bill Paxton in his final movie role, Tom Hanks as the founder of the company, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headley) are sadly delegated to sidelines and can’t really help carry the weight.
All in all, I gotta say, the reputation of „The Circle“ is worse than the movie itself. Sure, it’s not great, and would probably work better as an episode in anthology such as „Black Mirror“.
But there’s nothing really wrong with it either. It’s a serviceable thriller for educating youngsters and effective cautionary tale about modern digital life.… Expand

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5

Reginald050877May 10, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I like Tom Hanks. Emma Watson is Ok. I thought Egger's THE CIRCLE was an interesting if dated book. A lot of what was written in 2013 has become closer to reality than theory. With that being said, I think the filmmakers made a Ok movie...just OK.

First, the movie is not on the same tone level as the book. Frankly, the book was more R rated due to some uneasy anecdotes in Mae's life and due to the language tone of the book. That's part of the story, and the PG13 rating was not enough.

Second, they fundamentally changed the story which changed "the story" and aim of everything. Ty/Kalden was really not present in the story. His mystique was gone. Mercer? They destroyed his character by turning him from someone Mae did not like to someone she actually liked to some level of attraction. If you see the final act in the book compared to the movie, you will see a difference in how Mae reacts to the events which is a key part of the theme of the story. Not sure what they did with Francis. He as EXTREMELY important to the development of Mae's character.

Lastly, I think it would have been better if they had slowed things down a bit and made the movie about 30 minutes longer. They would have allowed more time to develop Annie more. She represents a key theme of the book too: Positive Workaholic vs Destructive Workaholic.

As I say all the time about book-to-movie adaptations, read the book first please because it makes the movie easier to accept despite concessions almost always made in the transference. Just an OK movie...but I like Tom Hanks...and Emma is Ok. :)… Expand

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4

bobbymbJan 25, 2018

Nagyon unalmas volt ez a film. Nem sok filmre mondom ezt, de nehezen tudtam végignézni. Tom Hanks miatt kapott 5 csillagot. Emma Watson játéka most 0 volt. Az alapsztori és Tom Hanks miatt kezdtük el nézni, de nem sikerült olyan filmetNagyon unalmas volt ez a film. Nem sok filmre mondom ezt, de nehezen tudtam végignézni. Tom Hanks miatt kapott 5 csillagot. Emma Watson játéka most 0 volt. Az alapsztori és Tom Hanks miatt kezdtük el nézni, de nem sikerült olyan filmet csinálni, hogy az élvezhető legyen.… Expand

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5

CoKronakanFeb 19, 2018

Sadly this movie is painfully average. The actors where great, but I feel like they could have done so much more with that great cast, it was a waste of their talent. Overall this movie does nothing to great, and the ending of the movie justSadly this movie is painfully average. The actors where great, but I feel like they could have done so much more with that great cast, it was a waste of their talent. Overall this movie does nothing to great, and the ending of the movie just leave a sour taste in the mouth, because it feels like something is missing and doesn't have a solid conclusions. Anyway there where a few very interesting references, but non the less it could save the movie. It feels like this movie would have been a solid 9/10 if it was a Black Mirror episode. But like this a standalone movie it's just average.… Expand

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5

Movie3Jul 15, 2018

...the ending confused me. This movie was okay and kind of propaganda-inducing to some people (not me), and made you think.

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6

LORDtroldemort1Jun 22, 2019

Despite an uneven plot, choppy direction and an inconclusive ending, the circle still manages to just about give audiences an entertaining film.

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5

netflicMay 1, 2017

The idea of this movie is rich with potential: what role social media plays in our lives? An excellent topic for discussion.
But the movie itself turned out mediocre at best. Many characters look caricaturish and two-demential at best. WhileThe idea of this movie is rich with potential: what role social media plays in our lives? An excellent topic for discussion.
But the movie itself turned out mediocre at best. Many characters look caricaturish and two-demential at best. While cinematography is stunning at times, directing an acting could be much better.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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4

EpicLadySpongeApr 28, 2017

The Circle proves that even the greatest actors can even end themselves in a mediocre film. Not much can be explained here, but it may be showing us that this film tried so hard to end up what it is today. Unfortunately for us, the directorThe Circle proves that even the greatest actors can even end themselves in a mediocre film. Not much can be explained here, but it may be showing us that this film tried so hard to end up what it is today. Unfortunately for us, the director managed to end his great (or at least somewhere there) film streak with this mediocre attempt to join there in the first place.… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

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4

shpostalApr 28, 2017

We've been warned about "Big Brother", the surrender of privacy and all the horrors one can imagine in a high tech world ever since Orwell's "1984", or with a religious theocracy thrown in for even more of a horrible scenario, MargaretWe've been warned about "Big Brother", the surrender of privacy and all the horrors one can imagine in a high tech world ever since Orwell's "1984", or with a religious theocracy thrown in for even more of a horrible scenario, Margaret Atwood's equally terrifying "The Handmaid's Tale". But still, the future intrigues us all, and because I do like Tom Hanks a lot, and like Emma Watson too, "The Circle" was disappointing in its delivery and lack of menace that would have made a cautionary tale a very frightening one, which it should be. The premise is sound - "The Circle" basically is using false excuses to develop and sell technology that would totally destroy every last ounce of privacy of anybody using a phone, computer or even out in public with miniature spy cam/computers hidden all over the place. Cynics like myself contend that day is probably already here in one form or another, and the global impact described in the movie is in our near future because we are addicted to social media and in the name of "socializing" have idiotically surrendered every last vestige of personal privacy or freedom. For others who still have a bit of faith in humanity to draw the line before that scenario happens, it's a cautionary story at best, and where tragic things happen because of this intrusive company, it falls flat. I am surprised that Hanks and Watson were agreeable to this movie given its weakness and watered down version of what could happen. Watson's performance is flat, Tom Hanks simply isn't menacing enough to scare anybody, and the supposed "fix" for the problem is shallow at best, and contradictory as pulling off such a feat without a spoiler alert would be virtually impossible once you see the movie and see how sophisticated the supposed "Circle" and its computer might are supposed to be. So while it's not terrible, and serves its purpose to remind all of us how our civil rights are being taken away with no thought about it, and the necessity to do what we can to protect ourselves. As a captivating movie however, it's a dud.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

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5

AWESOM-0Sep 12, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Although it’s clear what they are saying it still somehow feels like the messaging is muddled. It’s almost like the writer and director had two different ideas where this was heading. The cast is great but the middle to end was edited pretty badly. Knowing what we know about Emma Watson’s character,I think the transformations she had throughout the movie aren’t given enough weight, so they lose credibility.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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