Today we do another Marvelous Movies review of a fan-favorite film from the last decade: The Giver, directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Lois Lowry’s novel of the same name. Many people don’t realize that The Giver is actually a Batman movie! It stars Brenton Thwaites as Dick Grayson/Robin, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, and Cameron Monaghan as the Joker.

The Giver is a Batman movie set in a dystopian future, where the government has seized control of Gotham City, removing all memories of emotion or desire from the people. Only Bruce Wayne/Batman (Jeff Bridges) remembers what life was like before, having hidden himself and the memories of the past away in the Batcave.

When Bruce encounters a young Dick Grayson (Thwaites), he begins passing on his memories of the past–including all the fighting and detective skills he had as Batman! Dick takes these memories and skills and uses them to become Robin. He eventually learns that Bruce had another former protégé in Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Taylor Swift), who stepped down from the role after being crippled by the Joker. Well, maybe not stepped down…but you get the idea.

Bruce and Dick begin hatching a plan. Dick will go to the nearby city of Blüdhaven, taking Bruce’s infant son Damian with him to escape the dangers of Gotham, and work to restore people’s memories of the past. But when Dick’s mother Rachel (Holmes) notices he is missing, she notifies the corrupt Gotham authorities, who send the Joker (Monaghan) to bring him in! What follows is an intense chase and battle between Robin and the Joker with the fate of Gotham City in the balance!

Eventually, Dick makes it to Blüdhaven and strikes out on his own, which is where we find him at the beginning of the Titans series (2018). Meanwhile, the Joker went on from this movie to show up on season two of Gotham (2015)!

The film pays appropriate homage to the source material, and putting Batman in a dystopian future really highlights how Lois Lowry’s 1993 novel was influenced by Frank Miller’s classic 1986 comic The Dark Knight Returns.

We think this is a great film, though it’s Iron-ic that Jeff Bridges plays a DC hero here. He’s probably best known for his role in the far-superior MCU, where he played the villain in the first Iron Man movie. Maybe this just proves that Iron Man and Batman, the two billionaire playboy superheroes, are forever destined to be rivals–and Bridges the gap between the two universes!

The only cast member we weren’t impressed with was Swift, who played Barbara Gordon. She really didn’t do justice to the character as portrayed in comic book Folklore. In fact, her hair wasn’t even Red! While she may have been Fearless to try out for the role, it’s clear she doesn’t have a strong Reputation as an actress. Wikipedia shows that she’s only been in a few other movies, like The Lorax and Cats (another oft-overlooked DC film). Maybe her career will take off one day, but we think she’ll remain in obscurity Evermore.

Despite its flaws, The Giver is still an important part of the Batman mythos, so go give it a rewatch and see if you can spot all the connections!