The Giver Review - 2½ Stars

“The Giver” does a bit of re-gifting in this familiar plot.  Set in the future when the world has started over and society has eliminated passion and emotion.  Jeff Bridges plays the giver–the elder and only person allowed to hold the memories of the past.  In a scene that feels like the choosing scene in “Divergent” or “The Hunger Games” or even the sorting hat in “Harry Potter”–young Brenton Thwaites is selected as apprentice to “The Giver.”  The old man and his new disciple bond over the loss of love and hate and pain and joy and life and death, and the kid embarks on a journey to return them to society. Taylor Swift has a creepy moment or two as a departed daughter.  Meryl Streep gets more creepy as the all-seeing hologram intent on keeping life safe.  I also liked seeing Katie Holmes as Brenton’s concerned mother.  The plot feels like a lot of other movies, but it tells its familiar story in an easily watchable manner.  Does it deliver what it promises?  Youth in rebellion.  Is it entertaining?  Easy to watch. Is it worth the price of admission?  Some who love the book will love this.