The Circle

PG-13

Released Apr 28, 2017

1h 50m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Sci-Fi

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List

16%

Tomatometer

147 Reviews

21%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Mae Holland (Emma Watson) seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she lands a job with the world's most powerful technology and social media company. Encouraged by the company's founder (Tom Hanks), Mae joins a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes soon starts to affect the lives and futures of her friends, family and that of humanity.

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Critics Consensus

The Circle assembles an impressive cast, but this digitally driven thriller spins aimlessly in its half-hearted exploration of timely themes.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Director James Ponsoldt (who adapted the book with Eggers) barely develops any character besides Watson's, piling on narrative complications instead.

Apr 9, 2020

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Bland performances from talented actors, and boring direction from a very talented director, and awful editing...

Rated: D

May 12, 2018

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

The Age (Australia)

An idea in a Hollywood thriller is almost an accident now, so The Circle deserves praise for thoughtfulness.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 23, 2017

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Regardless of what it teases, “The Circle” doesn’t really go anywhere and that may be its biggest flaw – lots of potential, practically all of it wasted.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film never delves into a thorough consideration of its concept; and what's more, the story lacks a narrative thrust to support its otherwise neat ideas.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The sort of movie that's convinced of its own urgency and importance, even as viewers only see something that's obvious and overbearing.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 1, 2021

Full Review

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alan g

Abuse of an excellent cast. Hanks and Watson are wasted. Misstep by the leads. How did they choose this piece of trash?

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

Full Review

Kirsten W

I thought it was boring. As other reviewers have said, the ideas and ramifications of AI could’ve been explored much deeper, but they were not. The ending is shockingly poor! I wasn’t sure I even saw it, so I pulled the movie up again to watch the ending. I did see it, but I thought it was just the end of a scene not the whole darn movie!!!

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/29/24

Full Review

erroll f

Oh my what a potboiler. Even Tom Hanks can’t save this loser. I tried really hard to like this movie, but it was far too disjointed. The only redeeming value I could find is it may enlighten some of the dangers of artificial intelligence leading to socialism.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

Aaden F

Just plain bad. It's seriously nothing more than an aimless nothing burger of a movie that I had completely forgot about until now when I have nothing else to do but write a review for a movie I hate. A waste of time that I can't recommend you dodge enough.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/29/24

Full Review

Tommi A

A very shallow representation of the book and a weak movie on its own, no character developments and an extreme oversimplification of the concept make it one of the worst movies i’ve seen recently. With a cast and director so highly praised it really lacks any depth or potential that it could have had. The short duration of the movie is another bad choice, the movie deserved more time and attention to dialogue and character development that this movie profoundly lacked.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/12/24

Full Review

Mary S

On a par with THX 1138 and attempts at Fahrenheit 451 and The Giver. Bad dialogue and wandering camera did little to focus the theme.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/24/24

Full Review

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James Ponsoldt

Director

Emma Watson

Mae Holland

Tom Hanks

Eamon Bailey

John Boyega

Ty

Karen Gillan

Annie

Ellar Coltrane

Mercer

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The Circle: Trailer 2

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The Circle: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Mae Holland (Emma Watson) seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she lands a job with the world's most powerful technology and social media company. Encouraged by the company's founder (Tom Hanks), Mae joins a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes soon starts to affect the lives and futures of her friends, family and that of humanity.

Director: James Ponsoldt
Producer: Gary Goetzman, Anthony Bregman, James Ponsoldt
Screenwriter: James Ponsoldt, Dave Eggers
Distributor: STX Entertainment
Production Co: Likely Story, Route One Entertainment, Playtone
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|A Sexual Situation|Drug Use|Some Thematic Elements)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 28, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.5M
Runtime: 1h 50m

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