The Circle

When I hear the words 'made for Netflix' in a movie I shudder. In my experience it usually means poor script, average film at best. Bright, the Will Smith movie I recently reviewed, is a great example.

The Circle is also 'made for Netflix'. Well, in the UK at least it went straight out on Netflix missing the cinema. However I wanted to watch it due to the stars that were in it and boy was I wrong about this film.

A good lesson is never assume, and this film shows that best. In fairness the stars in it are epic. You have the brilliant English actress Emma Watson, best known for her role in the Harry Potter series of movies, although in this role she uses an American accent.

Next up you have Tom Hanks, who needs no introduction, having been in an enormous amount of outstanding, Oscar worthy films. You have John Boyega, a well known actor to Star Wars fans, and of course the very lovely  Karen Gillan, who I will always remember as Amy Pond in the Doctor Who television series. For once, she gets to use her actual Scottish accent and doesn't have to put on an American accent, like she did in the new Jumanji movie.

The film itself is a disturbing look at a future that for all we know may not be very far away. Imagine if everything you do was live on the internet. Imagine if you had to swallow a tracking device so the company knew where you were at all times. Imagine if it was compulsory to have an account with one particular company just to vote, to pay taxes and more.

The Circle is a disturbing look at a future that I don't think is very far away. It's a very good movie. But, what makes it good? The answer is that this movie is exciting and at times uncomfortable to watch because it's a future that potentially could quite easily happen.

If you think I'm describing an episode of Black Mirror that's because this film may as well be a feature length episode of that show. Everything that happens in this movie are the same sorts of things that happen in Black Mirror. Now I love Black Mirror, which is what made this film so great for me.

In conclusion this is a very good film and it brings into thought a future that potentially is already happening or not far off. Well acted and really enjoyable movie, if you love Black Mirror you'll love this movie, but even if you haven't seen Black Mirror this is still a very good watch. And it's free on Netflix in the UK so it won't cost you anything, apart from a Netflix subscription.

Exciting, dramatic and a great way to spend 1 hour and 49 minutes. 4 stars awarded.

*This review is all my own work, please don't reproduce without my permission thank you.

Comments

Popular Posts