The Circle: First reviews for the Dave Eggers adaptation starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks are in

'Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror TV series may be better equipped'

The eagerly-anticipated film adaptation of Dave Egger's dystopian thriller The Circle debuted at Tribeca Film Festival last night (26 April).

Eggers' book, released in 2013, has been given the big screen treatment by James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now, Smashed).

Emma Watson stars in the lead role as Mae, an uncorrupted young soul who scores an entry-level job at Facebook-style tech company Circle which is run by Tom Hanks' Eamon Bailey and his co-chief played by Patton Oswalt.

Upon her arrival, the announcement of a new gadget threatens to reestablish the world order in terrifying ways.

The Circle co-stars Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 star Karen Gillan, Boyhood breakout Ellar Coltrane, John Boyega and Bill Paxton in one of his final roles following his death in February.

Here's the early word from the world's press.

Variety - Owen Gleiberman

“A movie where the heroine, in her innocence, goes over to the dark side of corporate power is not necessarily a movie you can warm up to. The Circle is a fascinating but chilly parable, a film for the head rather than the heart (or any place lower). It’s a bit of a thesis drama; its driving passion it to warn us about how a surveillance society will work.”

The Hollywood Reporter - John DeFore

“...we probably already live in a scarier world, filled with stranger horrors, than the one The Circle presents as a cautionary tale. Given the speed and unpredictability of change in this arena, it's reasonable to wonder if a big-budget feature film, much less one based on a four year-old novel (by Dave Eggers, who co-wrote this adaptation's screenplay), can hope to speak to the needs of the moment. In its quicker-turnaround, nugget-sized parables, Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror TV series may be better equipped.”

The Wrap - Dan Callahan

"The Circle takes a valid concern about lack of privacy in the Internet age and turns it into a hyperbolic and finally laughable melodrama."

The Circle doesn't yet have a UK release date but is unveiled in the US on Friday (28 April).