The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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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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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The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) 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 The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) 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 The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) 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 The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) 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 The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) 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 The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) 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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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 1.5/5 Stars • 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 1.5/5 Stars • 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 1.5/5 Stars • 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 0.5/5 Stars • 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 1/5 Stars • 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 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/24/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

James Ponsoldt Director Emma Watson Mae Holland Tom Hanks Eamon Bailey John Boyega Ty Karen Gillan Annie Ellar Coltrane Mercer
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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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The Circle (2017) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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