The Circle: 'Truman Show' Meets 'The Social Network' Meets 'Paparazzi'

The Circle, a movie about the dangers of a world run one by one social media company, is getting smashed in the reviews, and for good reason.

Audiences will see familiar names like Tom Hanks and Emma Watson and be tricked into seeing The Circle. And why wouldn't they? The trailer makes The Circle look thrilling and smart. However, not even Tom Hanks and Emma Watson can save the dull story, unimaginative plot, and overall lack of character development.

The movie stars Emma Watson as Mae, a young and energetic employee of the Circle--the most powerful and only social media company in the future. Tom Hanks plays Bailey, the Steve Jobs-esque CEO, the older but still cutting edge and cool brain behind it all. We see Bailey mostly in the roll of giving seminars about all the cool, positive things the Circle is doing for society .

Through a series of events, Mae climbs the ladder from beginning coworker to front and center of the company, even sharing the stage with Bailey. She is the first person to go "completely transparent." Meaning she is basically on Periscope 24/7--We see her every move. The continuous comments that Mae receives are where the movie is funny and offers a commentary on how absurd society is. Mae's 24/7 Periscope receives comments that a normal Periscope today would. Smart, outrageous, off topic, and comments only meant to provoke a reaction. I found myself chuckling at the comments, but I was more focused on reading them and not what as actually happening in the movie.

I cringed at some of the dialogue and how it was delivered. We are supposed to end up fearing the Circle, but I didn't believe Mae's mom when she said, "Oh no! you can't go back to circle!" The line just sounded silly.

The Circle is basically The Truman Show meets The Social Network meets Paparazzi... We see a cool social media campus, a girl going live to the world, and how drones and cameras can ruin good things.

Remember that 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey about a 24/7 television show about one guy? That's The Truman Show. If you haven't seen it then I suggest you watch it soon. Seriously, it's on Amazon Prime. However what The Truman Show succeeds in doing--engaging the audience through comedy, suspense, and the journey of Truman discovering what is the truth--The Circle fails. I didn't care about the characters, there was not enough suspense and thrill, and I found myself not caring about the weak climax. The movie needs more character development. The audience doesn't love or hate anybody. I don't even know if the movie succeeds in making the audience weary of social media... but that is a tough feat.

It's an interesting idea for a movie and raises interesting questions about where society is possibly heading. But ultimately, Rotten Tomatoes is usually right and in this case the 17% seems to hit the mark.

Save your money and watch The Truman Show instead.