The Giver
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: August 15, 2014
6.2
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 244 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
121
Mixed:
82
Negative:
41
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User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
0
DannyGNov 8, 2014
Do Yourself A Big Favor! Listen to the Audiobook Read By Ron Rifkin, Instead!
"A" for effort! "F" for outcome! Wow! What a huge disappointment. The story I heard on audiobook was gut-wrenching and incredibly powerful. The film, on the otherDo Yourself A Big Favor! Listen to the Audiobook Read By Ron Rifkin, Instead!
"A" for effort! "F" for outcome! Wow! What a huge disappointment. The story I heard on audiobook was gut-wrenching and incredibly powerful. The film, on the other hand, had so many goofy plot holes you could drive a tractor trailer through them! I realize this is not an easy story to adapt to the screen; but then don't do it if ya can't do it right!

What a waste of acting talent! Yikes! Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep did their heroic best. But it just didn't come together! This is the kind of story that would be better done by less well known actors because I can only imagine how much pressure must have been put on the producer and director to dumb down the story to make it commercially viable. Lets face it, sometimes art and and capitalism simply don't mix!

The philosophy behind The Giver reminds me of a famous dictum by none other than Buddha himself. To summarize: Avoid all extremes. Life is neither black or white, but an endless variety of other colors. Don't become evil - or do evil - to prevent evil. Find the middle way. The world of the Giver is about living life grossly out of balance. Something most societies in the world - including our own - are doing right now!… Expand
2 of 2 users found this helpful20
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0
dem74Aug 20, 2014
WOW, what a terrible adaptation. If you like slow moving storylines, unanswered questions and just plain boredom, this movie is for you!

Another poor attempt of taking a popular book and trying to interperet it into film. Most of theWOW, what a terrible adaptation. If you like slow moving storylines, unanswered questions and just plain boredom, this movie is for you!

Another poor attempt of taking a popular book and trying to interperet it into film.

Most of the positive reviews of this film are from people who just geeked out over the book. While the book was great, this film was not.

The young lady (teenager?) who sat next to us actually brought a copy of her book along. She was snoring 40 minutes into the film.

Truly awful. If you have nothing better to do with your $20 bill, go see another movie.… Expand
3 of 6 users found this helpful33
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3
HaithamBSep 13, 2014
The Giver took nearly 20 years to make! I was expecting a deep, emotional and unique human story. However, the movie is underdeveloped, rushed and dull. The performances don't make up to the one most major disappointment of the year.
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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1
phildogAug 19, 2014
The creator of the classic book for which this movie was based had one request. "Please don't turn this into a teen romance."

She was right. The turned a provocative, interesting, albeit flawed book into a horrendous mess. It doesn't knowThe creator of the classic book for which this movie was based had one request. "Please don't turn this into a teen romance."

She was right. The turned a provocative, interesting, albeit flawed book into a horrendous mess. It doesn't know what it wants to be, what it's trying to do, or anything else for that matter. Aweful, aweful movie.… Expand
2 of 5 users found this helpful23
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0
GavrocheMCAug 24, 2014
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Let me start out, Yes, I have read book, and yes I Loved the book. I think it one of the best book I've ever read. I've was excited when the movie was Announced. Then the trailer... I got nervous. Very nervous. But I was still excited. So months pasted by and I forgot about the movie until July. Then the movie came out at No.5 at the Box Office. Boys, We have a Bomb at our hands. So today, My sister decided to buy my ticket for this movie for my Birthday. After the first 10 min of this movie. I knew it was bad.

The Story: If you read the book. You still don't know the story, According to the writers.

The Acting: Okay... At times. Now that I think about it, it bad. Taylor Swift has 15 seconds of screen time. Even though she has 3 billing in the cast list.

The Additional's: This category is about any of the Additions added into the movie. They forced a love triangle. The love story was so forced. It laughable how cheesy it was. I can explain it in two word: Completely Unncessary

The Ending: They change the ending a lot. Now instead of having it end on a cliffhanger. That to complicated* for us. *=Sarcasm. Now they end with Jonas passing the Barrier of Memory. Now everyone in the "Community's" have memories. Nice job Phillip Noyce. You buttered the best ending to book, ever.

Overall: I despise this movie. I hate it. 0/10… Expand
2 of 5 users found this helpful23
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1
MargateExpertAug 15, 2014
You think, how bad can it be with Jeff Bridges and Streep? It is dumbfoundingly trite, stupid and boring, actually. I haven't read the book, but my son the college English major said that it, too, sucked. Sounds about right, since it wouldYou think, how bad can it be with Jeff Bridges and Streep? It is dumbfoundingly trite, stupid and boring, actually. I haven't read the book, but my son the college English major said that it, too, sucked. Sounds about right, since it would have been hard to make a movie this bad from a book that had any merit. I am encouraged, however, to see that so many others who have posted here apparently disliked the film. I'd have thought the under-30 crowd that writes most of the user reviews at Metacritic would have thought 'The Giver' profound. I won't bore you by arguing my case, since addressing the myriad flaws and weaknesses in this film would be like critiquing the paintings of Walter Keane, or Muzak. Trust me, it stinks.… Expand
5 of 13 users found this helpful58
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0
bigfoot6463Aug 26, 2014
So many bad movies so far in 2014 and this tops the worst of the worst. People who gave this movie more than a zero must have been watching a video on youtube and drunk while on crack. Sorry if I offended anyone but it is what it is. Did notSo many bad movies so far in 2014 and this tops the worst of the worst. People who gave this movie more than a zero must have been watching a video on youtube and drunk while on crack. Sorry if I offended anyone but it is what it is. Did not care about any of the actors. I did not say I do not like any of the actors. I do like the main actors but they all sucked except Jeff Bridges. What the hell were they thinking when they said yes to act in this movie. I know, take a guess. Main actors were hard up for money. MY RATING: -20. Yes minus 20. Trust me, do not support this movie by going to the theater. They do not need credit for taking a roll in this mess of a movie. Watch it on TV for free. It will be there very soon. This will take a toll on the main actors for taking part in this stupid flick.… Expand
2 of 12 users found this helpful210
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3
Trev29Nov 15, 2014
One look at the trailer and I knew this movie was going to be bad. It was poorly adapted for the screen not just in the screenplay but in tone. Sub-par acting did not help. It was mostly just boring.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
SpangleApr 13, 2017
It seems Hollywood has this factory in which it manufactures a variety of products. From bad by-committee scripts, unholy editing mishmashes at the behest of studios when a director gets too auteur for their liking, and of course their mostIt seems Hollywood has this factory in which it manufactures a variety of products. From bad by-committee scripts, unholy editing mishmashes at the behest of studios when a director gets too auteur for their liking, and of course their most rewarding product line: bland 20-something actors for young adult movies. Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush have to be the most bland of them all with both entirely lacking any semblance of acting ability, yet they look young and the teen target audience will find them mildly attractive. Thwaites is so bland, in fact, that I did not remember I saw him in Gods of Egypt where he was practically the lead. Now that is bland. He is a cardboard cut out of a young adult actor and Rush is hardly much better. The Giver also has a rare bad performance from Meryl Streep alongside a good one from Jeff Bridges, who constantly seems shocked by how bad the movie around him is turning out to be. You can practically see Bridges trying to remember how big the paycheck was for this one and trying to ascertain whether it was worth it or not in the end.

Surrounding these unfortunate actors is the plot of The Giver, which is actually quite compelling when considering just the premise. Set in a world where all emotion, feeling, memory, and color has been erased, the world is divided into communities watched over the elders, namely Chief Elder (Streep). At various stages of life, there are ceremonies. When one is given to their family, when they are nine years old, when they graduate from school and are given their job, and when they are released to elsewhere. At the graduation ceremony, Jonas (Thwaites) is skipped over and called last, as he is to become the new Receiver of Memory. He is the only one allowed to feel, have emotions, and learn about the past and what the world used to be and he must learn from The Giver (Jeff Bridges), who is the current receiver of memory. Yet, armed with his knowledge about how they "release" aka kill the elderly and babies, as well as his love of Fiona (Rush), Jonas wants to save the world and give everybody what the Elders had taken away many years ago.

Yet, how the film approaches this is quite heavy-handed. Acting all knowing, the film shows how with hate and war, which are bad and why feeling was stamped out, also comes love. And love is worth everything. While this may be true to some degree, it simply sounds preachy and then the film further digs its grave by including obnoxious montages where it celebrates life and shows the beauty of the world. It practically plays like an advertisement for life where the film constantly preaches about the power of love and how it outweighs hate in the world. Again, maybe true, but The Giver always comes off as pretending to know everything about the world and having to teach the viewer about what it all means. While it has a compelling premise, it panders too heavily to the young adult audience in this regard with an over-the-top demonstration of love and how it can solve all things. It is too naive and romanticized to really work and not come off as pandering, ham-fisted, and coming from a place of great superiority.

This same appeal to young adults is found in the "transformational" and "eye opening" romance between two bland leads that lack chemistry or any character development whatsoever. Instead, they are just young adult romantic stock characters that have this unspoken passion for one another even when neither are actually able to feel anything. They lack any definition and instead are written to have the other complete their worlds. In many respects, they are Manic Pixie Dream Boy/Girl's for one another and act entirely selflessly to advance the other, but ironically, when two Manic Pixie Dream Boy/Girl's meet, nobody advances. These are thinly written characters to the point that they are practically invisible. Every action is for plot convenience and the acting hardly breathes life into these stock characters found in The Giver.

For a film with such a compelling premise, it winds up being largely quite tame. With bad characters, a bad romance, bad acting, and a heavy handed and naive take on life and love, The Giver winds up piling up weaknesses that sinks its ship. Yet, these are mostly quite passive. None of these bad elements are absolutely abhorrent and the film never winds up battling between being bad and dreadful. Instead, it just toes the line and is entirely passively bad, going down with nary a whimper. It is a film that is content to appeal to its target demographic, present hollow and naive ideas that appear thoughtful and appeal to the minds of teenagers, and then toss out some bland young actors that also appeal to that demographic. It is a film that is defined by just how below average it is and how safe it plays everything. It is this paleness that relegates The Giver to being so average and safe that it is bad.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
foxgroveSep 27, 2014
The problem with 'The Giver' is that despite a concept of enticing possibilities, it just never gets going to make one sufficiently interested. I would go as far as to say that the conclusion is far better than the build up which is flat andThe problem with 'The Giver' is that despite a concept of enticing possibilities, it just never gets going to make one sufficiently interested. I would go as far as to say that the conclusion is far better than the build up which is flat and ponderous offering little to make one care about proceedings.
Two major stars have, for some obscure reason, decided that their film outing this year is going to be in a big dumb popcorn movie. Well, it's certainly dumb but the quality (and even the disappointing setting) is anything but big. Jeff Bridges spends the entire film with a look of angst plastered on his face, and Meryl Streep, in an unflattering wig, once again proves that she is a compelling force despite bad material.
The special effects have a cut price feel to them and the only real show of imagination thrown up is to have the film slowly transcend from black and white to colour as the young lead protagonist expands his knowledge. Finally, the images used to represent past memories, obviously taken from stock footage, are not only unexceptionally bad choices, but also of rather poor quality.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
lukechristianscMar 2, 2015
Jeff Bridges has tried to make the novel "The Giver" into a film, so this is sort of a passion project for him, but the screenplay and the movie is a whole atrocity. I have read the book it was an astonishing tale of a calm society. ThisJeff Bridges has tried to make the novel "The Giver" into a film, so this is sort of a passion project for him, but the screenplay and the movie is a whole atrocity. I have read the book it was an astonishing tale of a calm society. This film misses some of the great details that the book had, they took the main character Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) and turned him into a complete idiot in the book he did not tell anyone about his training or told what he learned such as dancing, the word 'love' or show his skills as a receiver of memory. But no! screenwriters Michael Mitni, Robert B. Weide turned the best sci-fi of the decade into an atrocity adaptation into a best seller into film. Grade D… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
launchpad2132Oct 4, 2014
The Giver is one of the Best books I have read of all time. However the movie failed to compare. Between the fake emotional stakes, the romance that seemed like it was 90% of the plot, and the fact that the best parts of the book weren't evenThe Giver is one of the Best books I have read of all time. However the movie failed to compare. Between the fake emotional stakes, the romance that seemed like it was 90% of the plot, and the fact that the best parts of the book weren't even in the movie. And I'm 14, the age that they wanted this movie to be for, and may I say. It was just crap. The only reason I didn't give it a zero was Jeff Bridges's acting.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
CameraBounceGodOct 29, 2015
the three is for the book......the movies random images for the most part get a huge annoying zero......it hurt to watch the slide scene somehow......the jump scene barely made sense......why was asher never punished.? was he..all im sayingthe three is for the book......the movies random images for the most part get a huge annoying zero......it hurt to watch the slide scene somehow......the jump scene barely made sense......why was asher never punished.? was he..all im saying is the girls were overly attractive or whatever that is....sexual...things going on....the palm trees were not what i was picturing at all......lol the cabin was lousy....he never looked in even...he never tranferred cold....to avoid detection....lousy… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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3
ConnorkirkerSep 20, 2015
The Giver is yet another YA movie based on a best selling book. I'd tell what it is wrong with it in one word the ending. The plot was confusing the acting was bad.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
ThatOneNerdyGuyDec 13, 2018
I have never read the book, so i'm just going to stay to the film for this review. for the first half of this movie i was surprised, i found my self enjoying the movie with an interesting story and some damn good camera work with some prettyI have never read the book, so i'm just going to stay to the film for this review. for the first half of this movie i was surprised, i found my self enjoying the movie with an interesting story and some damn good camera work with some pretty good shots. although this movie really gives in to how bad teen book adaptations are. SPOILERS after this paragraph



the movie shows how human emotions are vital to a stable society, which i like but then they brought in love which allows the terrible romance to take place, if you thought the romance in the star wars prequels were bad you will hate this. The 3rd act consists of the main character trying to save a baby he grew a connection with.. for some reason as they are planning to "release" him (kill him) but the main character sets off to a journey outside the futuristic utopia and tries to get to the "edge" so memory and emotion will be restored to the utopia. but then the movie leaves an ending where you have to guess what happens next, don't get me wrong i love ending like this but when there done right. the question is "did the main character survive?" but he had the baby that was with him... who he was trying to save... from being killed. are you seriously telling me the main character lead his friends and himself in danger to save a baby and he just kills it? not to mention the love interest is about to get a lethal injection, what happens after then? does she die or because emotion is back all of a sudden they wont execute her? i cant believe i was forced to watch this steamy garbage.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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2
tuuooooJun 1, 2022
Bad. I had to read the book for school. After we watch this mess of a movie. It doesn't follow the book and is too fast paced. Don't watch.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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