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New The Giver movie got mixed reviews from top critics. The Weinstein Company released their new drama/sci-fi flick, “The Giver” into theaters this past Thursday, August 14th, and the top critics have submitted all their reviews. It got mostly mixed reviews with an overall score of 46 out of a possible 100 across 31 reviews over at metacritic.com.

The movie stars: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, and Taylor Swift. We posted blurbs from a few of the critics,below.

Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 75 score, stating: “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 at the New York Post, gave it a 63 score. She said: “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 from The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 60 grade, saying: “A lazy ending mars this fine, if generic, take on a much-loved YA novel.”

Sheila O’Malley at RogerEbert.com, gave it a 50 score, stating: “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 from the Wall Street Journal, gave it another 50 score. He stated: “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 at Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 50 grade, stating: “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 from USA Today, gave it a 50 score as well, stating: “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 at the Boston Globe, gave it a 50 score, saying: “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 from the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 grade, stating: “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 at Variety, gave it a 50 grade. He said:”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 at Entertainment Weekly, gave it a 42 score. He stated: “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 over at the New York Daily News, gave it a 40 score, saying:”The Giver was ahead of its time as a book. But as a movie, it’s too late.”

Peter Travers at Rolling Stone, gave it a 38 grade,stating: “Lowry took chances with her novel. The movie of The Giver takes none. It’s safe, sorry and a crashing bore.”

Lastly,Manohla Dargis at The New York Times, gave it a 30 score, stating: “In the end, it taketh — your time, patience and faith in newly imagined dystopias — more than it giveth.” Stay tuned. Follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here. Follow us on Google Plus by Clicking Here. Follow us on Twitter by Clicking Here.

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