a90skid.com
  • Shop
  • Reviews
  • Shop
  • Reviews
0
A 90s Kid
  • Shop
  • Reviews

Starring Emma Watson, Karen Gillan, Tom Hanks and John Boyega, The Circle is a dystopian techno-thriller. Based on the best-selling book by Thomas Eggers (adapted for the silver screen by director James Pondsolt) and set in the not-to-distant future, the film explores the ethical complications of living in a surveillance society in which your every move is monitored by a higher authority.

The Circle Emma Watson Karen Gillan

When Mae (Emma Watson) lands her dream job at the world’s largest, most powerful technology and social media company, The Circle, she sees it as the opportunity of a lifetime. As she rises through the ranks, she is encouraged by the company’s founder, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), to engage in a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and her personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment begins to affect the lives and future of her friends, family and humanity itself.

Does being put under surveillance change our behavior for better or worse? Egger’s original novel portrayed The Circle as an internet monopoly. Users’ personal emails, social media, banking and purchasing are linked via their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity per person, which is trackable and fully observable by the powers that be, supposedly ushering in a new age of civility and transparency. Basically a world in which Apple is an evil, all-seeing Don Quixote, tilting at virtual windmills.

The Circle Tom Hanks

This is the point where the novel becomes a contemporary thriller, exploring the perils of a digital life where personal data is collected, sifted, monetized and used for surveillance, rendering privacy completely obsolete. The scariest part is that it’s not at all unlike the way that Google, the NSA and GCHQ operate right now. It’s hard to say whether being constantly watched would alter our behavior for better or worse. Debates about privacy are nothing new but the advent of the digital age has posed new challenges, questions and concerns which take the conversation to a whole new level.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are famously possessed with the notion that through technological innovation and disruption, they can create a utopian society in which crime is low and government is more transparent, simply because everything would be public and nothing would be hidden.

The Circle John Boyega

The Circle, however, puts forward an alternate version of the theory, a dystopia in which our lives are controlled by an all-seeing eye that stifles creativity – because creativity often rises out of rebellion and freedom. It remains to be seen whether the movie will improve on Egger’s original work, which arguably did little to move beyond its dystopian mandate to consider the potential positives of a surveillance society, but judging from the trailer, all signs suggest that it will.

One to watch will be Boyega’s performance; he’s everywhere at the moment, including a stint in London’s West End, starring in Jack Thorne’s adaptation of Woyzeck, one of the “most extraordinary plays ever written”. Since exploding onto the international scene in Star Wars: the Force Awakens as everyone’s favorite ex-Stormtrooper, Boyega’s career has gone from strength to strength and his performances are always a real pleasure to enjoy.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • Emma Watson
  • film
  • John Boyega
  • movies
  • techno-thriller
  • thriller
Naomi

Naomi has been a gamer since high school, when she discovered (and fell in love with) X-Wing on her best friend's Nintendo 64. Her favorite games at the moment are Undertale and the original Five Nights at Freddy's, even if the second one is arguably better.

You May Also Like
Kitana Fatality Screen from Mortal Kombat 11
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Film
  • Nintendo
  • Opinion
  • PlayStation
  • Xbox

We Want These Fatalities in the New Mortal Kombat Movie

  • Matthew Owen
  • April 22, 2021
Shaw and Hattie in Jeep
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Film
  • Review

Hobbs & Shaw Review – The Fist and Funniest

  • Matthew Owen
  • August 8, 2019
Pikachu narrowly dodges a Charizard attack in Pokemon Detective Pikachu
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Film
  • Nintendo
  • Review

Pokemon Detective Pikachu Review – It’s Super Effective!

  • Matthew Owen
  • May 10, 2019
Avengers Endgame Iron Man Helmet
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Film
  • Review

Avengers: Endgame Review – Whatever it Takes

  • Matthew Owen
  • April 26, 2019
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Film

Bloodshot Movie Slated for 2019 Release Date

  • A9K Staff
  • June 4, 2018
Infinity War Ending Fight
View Post
  • 6 min
  • Film
  • Opinion

The Top 3 Best and Worst Parts of Avengers: Infinity War

  • Matthew Owen
  • May 2, 2018
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Film
  • Review

Isle of Dogs – Review

  • Naomi
  • April 1, 2018
View Post
  • 2 min
  • Film

Isle of Dogs – Preview

  • Naomi
  • March 21, 2018
1 comment
  1. kritikl says:
    April 29, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    Very stressfull being watched or monitored.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

A90KID.COM

VIDEO GAMES COMMUNITY & ENTERTAINMENT

A 90s Kid is an active website and media channel, dedicated to providing you information and entertainment related to the video games industry

Navigation
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Returns Policy
Recent Articles
  • All about FIFA 2026 – Dates, Hosts, and More March 16, 2023
  • Hogwarts Legacy Review – Wizard’s Creed March 3, 2023
  • First Look at the New Spooky Scooby Doo Pinball Machine February 10, 2023
  • SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake Review – Back to Bikini Bottom January 31, 2023
  • How competitiveness drives gamers to be better January 27, 2023
A 90s Kid
© 2022

Input your search keywords and press Enter.