Unfortunately, for many critics,The Circlefell short of the mark.
Tasha Robinson’s review forThe Vergecalled it “a toothless, bland satire of a Google fantasy dystopia.”
Read a selection ofThe Circlereviews below.
Credit: Frank Masi/STX Entertainment
Chris Nashawaty (Entertainment Weekly)
“Hey, did you know that technology is a double-edged sword?
That all of the byte-sized computing power that’s supposed to liberate us may also be enslaving us?
But it’s so cartoony and ham-fisted it sabotages its own argument.”
In practice, the film version feels even more disconnected from reality than the book.
Where the book feels deliberately arch, the film just feels vague and out of touch.
The modern technological tug-of-war between privacy and security is a real and significant issue.
The version of that conflict in the film version ofThe Circleis bland, neutered, and cartoony."
It flatlines while you’re watching it."
And it’s simply incoherent in the movie.
Wait, I hear you say, that sounds eerily prescient!
It should beand yet,The Circlehas absolutely no grasp on its own tone.
ButThe Circleis all foreplay, playfully prodding without providing a satisfying payoff."
It’s in the honorable tradition of the Elia KazanBudd Schulberg morality playA Face in the Crowd.
