The Circle (2017)

the audience applauded

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Blistering performances.

An interesting movie about the necessity to control everyone in a society more and more attached to the web. On one side the ideal of a perfect democracy and transparency, on the other the abuse of control and violation of privacy. It is a well done movie and an opportunity to think about the world in which we are living, but also the direction that we are taking, sometimes loosing the sense of the reality. Emma Watson is always a great actress, the plot is good, the idea original. I liked it.

I randomly decided to watch this as it contains Emma Watson and Tom Hanks so I said to myself 'How bad can it be? Then again if I want to watch a film with Emma Watson maybe I should just stick with an Harry Potter film.' After finishing watching this film I've come too two conclusions, firstly that it can be very bad and secondly, I should have just stuck with the safe option of Harry Potter for anything to do with Emma Watson. At first it had potential, I thought it was going to be a dramatic story of a girl taking down a company but for the majority of the film, it's quite the opposite which had me confused and kind of wondering where the film was going. I wasn't keen on the cringy script and it was strange listening to Emma Watson with an American accent while her friend in the film was Scottish, does make me question why she needed to have the American accent at all but that's just how they did it. Also the chap that hated how the circle was heading and didn't agree with what it had become, what happened to him at the end? I felt he should have been more involved in whatever happened at the end but he was barely seen? There's so much I could critique about this movie but I'd be here all night. Anyway I wouldn't recommend this sloppy piece of work to anyone, I did have a feeling this was going to be a disappointment which is why I waited so long to watch it and well, I was right. It's quite understandable to feel a little disappointment watching it with the talent it has and see it failing massively. 3/10

OK, the change from Saulus to Paulus was predictable, but many a-movies have been made on that topic so, why not. But the whole sense - in my opinion - of that kind of radical change in ones credo should be minutely documented, I mean, that's the whole point of it, no? What will you do on your way back to being found, how will you manage to expose your former demigods? All of that should take a little more than "I did everything you asked!". For a moment there, I was about to say, darn, the girl can act. Eventually, I returned to my initial conviction that she should have stayed with Harry Potter. There are two arguments though that I would like to contradict myself on that: first, obviously, even the mighty Hanks can be part of a nonsense like this, second, there is one scene, at the end, with Emma starring at the drones and greeting them, where she displays precisely the part she should have acted after the change in her conviction: seemingly naive but with all the knowledge she had acquired in the meantime. Sadly, she didn't. In summary: too expensive actors with to little money left for a descent screenplay. No recommendation from me.

Emma Watson delivers some Bad acting. The story could have been interesting but is extremely boring.