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The Circle

Play trailer 2:26 Poster for The Circle PG-13 Released Apr 28, 2017 1h 50m Mystery & Thriller Drama Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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15% Tomatometer 146 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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The Circle

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Cork B The acting is ok. The premise, while interesting, has been done better with a lot of other big tech gone wrong films. But holy crap the character motivations are SOOO stupid... Hanks is the baddy that wants to spy on everyone and does so by announcing it (maybe this isn't SO blantently stupid in 2024... like how Idiocracy was a spoof until it wasn't). If you are gonna be evil, and least tell everyone you WON'T be evil. It works alot better that way. Boyega is the reluctant founder who hates what his work has become so he... uh, sulks at parties and hides in tunnels and makes the WORST character decisions... probably should have stuck to coding. Gillan is kinda a pointless side show about... something... working too much? Which has nothing to do with the plotline other than 'big company evil'. And Watson... ah Watson... the naive new employee that totally goes along with every 1984 thing the company wants to do until the last 15 minutes of the movie. Yikes. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/17/24 Full Review Dan B I liked it. It was different and a "could happen someday" feel to it. One never knows in the day and age of no privacy that we already have. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/07/24 Full Review Marlene A That's the first piece of stinky I've seen with Tom Hanks in it. I so regret the time I've spent watching this idiotic movie. It tries to make some point, but it doesn't, and the acting is not the best either. I wish I had seen the reviews before I wasted my time. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/31/24 Full Review Olivia B Like others have said, impressive cast lineup and you can tell they had potential for a great movie. Good theme and general concept but the acting was lackluster and it seemed a bit rushed, not enough build time for emotional investment. Bummer. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/28/24 Full Review David H This is a movie that gives you the feeling that it should have been much better than it is Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/24/24 Full Review Kyle A Awesome concept with terrible execution. Kept waiting for it to get good but never did and the ending was abrupt. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/22/24 Full Review Read all reviews
The Circle

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

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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