New The Giver Movie Received Mixed Reviews From Major Critics
The Weinstein Company released their new drama/sci-fi film, “The Giver” into theaters this past Thursday, August 14th, and the reviews are in from all the top critics. It turns out that it went over close to half well with them with an overall score of 46 out of a possible 100 across 31 reviews at the metacritic.com site.
The film stars: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, and Taylor Swift. We posted blurbs from a couple of the critics,below.
Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 75 score, saying: “Just in the last few months, we’ve seen “Snowpiercer” and “Divergent,” which also deal with what happens after a civil collapse. The Giver, the latest in this weird trend, approaches a now-familiar topic from a new angle, and, of the three, it’s the most visually arresting.”
Sara Stewart from the New York Post, gave it a 63 grade. She stated: “The Giver is at its best when Bridges expounds on civilization’s lost beauty and savagery; at other times, it’s strewn with implausibility: For a totalitarian society in which everyone is monitored constantly, our hero is able to sneak around an awful lot.”
John DeFore over at The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 60 score, stating: “A lazy ending mars this fine, if generic, take on a much-loved YA novel.”
Sheila O’Malley from RogerEbert.com, gave it a 50 score, saying: “Despite a truly pained performance from Jeff Bridges and a beautifully imagined, three-dimensional futuristic world, The Giver, in wanting to connect itself to more recent YA franchises, sacrifices subtlety, inference and power.”
John Anderson over at the Wall Street Journal, gave it another 50 grade. He said: “What’s so unfunny about peace, love and understanding? Plenty, it turns out. But for much of the movie, viewers will be asking themselves where the conflict is. And, by extension, the drama.”
Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 50 score, saying: “The Giver doesn’t seem entirely consistent about its own rules and races far too quickly to a thoroughly unsatisfactory conclusion that raises three questions for each answer it provides.”
Claudia Puig over at USA Today, gave it a 50 score as well, saying: “While the adult performances are strong, especially Jeff Bridges in the title role, youthful characterizations are not nearly as illuminating as they were on the page.”
Ty Burr from the Boston Globe, gave it a 50 grade, stating: “The movie runs an hour and a half. Lowry’s book can be read in less than a day. It still gives anyone — child or adult — more than enough to wrestle with.”
Michael Phillips over at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 score, saying: “It’s not a lousy experience. Taylor Swift shows up in a glorified cameo. Thwaites has promise; Rush has more than that. But for a movie decrying the concept of societal “sameness,” The Giver is a hypocritical movie indeed.”
Scott Foundas from Variety, gave it a 50 score. He stated:”The Giver reaches the screen in a version that captures the essence of Lowry’s affecting allegory but little of its mythic pull.”
Jeff Labrecque from Entertainment Weekly, gave it a 42 grade. He said: “It falls apart with a slapdash final act that doesn’t work as drama or action and only serves to undermine Jonah’s heroics.”
Joe Neumaier from the New York Daily News, gave it a 40 grade, stating:”The Giver was ahead of its time as a book. But as a movie, it’s too late.”
Peter Travers over at Rolling Stone, gave it a very bad 38 score, saying: “Lowry took chances with her novel. The movie of The Giver takes none. It’s safe, sorry and a crashing bore.”
Finally, Manohla Dargis over at The New York Times, gave it a very poor 30 score, saying: “In the end, it taketh — your time, patience and faith in newly imagined dystopias — more than it giveth.” Stay tuned. Also, get your favorite Movie stuff, and more by Clicking Here.
