Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 - A Review from a Critical Thinker

Atlas Shrugged - the movie.  Since I finished reading it in 1999 I have often wondered if it could be made into a movie.  For one thing it espouses ideas that are violently opposed to the, decidedly left leaning, Hollywood elite.  I have also wondered whether the didactic nature of the story could translate to film, and if it could, would the masses would go see it.

Ayn Rand's masterpiece is essentially a tale of the collapse of a society in which innovators (free thinkers, captains of industry, producers) are threatened by an exploitative, government led, populous.  Throughout the novel the protagonist, Dagny Taggart, struggles as she watches producer after producer disappear just as the "looters" suck the very will to live from society.

Rand's novel promotes the idea that living for the sake of one's self is paramount.  The antagonists in her story think otherwise, and through various laws come up with ways to make sure that the efforts of those who "produce" are shared by those who "can't" do the same for themselves...after all, who could expect people to take care of themselves (sarcasm for those who can't tell).

I consider Ayn Rand's novel to be one of the greatest novels ever written, and as such, it is one of my favorites (if not my favorite).  On a personal level, I would love to have the movie be a smashing success.  In my heart I hope for a huge blockbuster that would miraculously show everyone just how we need to change the direction we are headed in, not only as country, but globally.  In my brain, I know that people are pretty set in their ways.  Those that have read the novel with an open mind see what I see.  Those that have not read the book, or refuse to, will not change their mind because of a movie.

Having said all of that, this is a movie review.  I want to be impartial, unlike many of the film critics out there.  By all accounts this was a very low budget film, $15-$20 million.  As such, there are no "stars" in the film.  I could list the primary cast, but it would be silly to do so.  I have never heard of any of them, although I have seen them in supporting roles in other movies.  Despite the relatively unknown cast, the actors seemed to hold there own on camera.  I did not sense any awkward moments that you can sometimes get in a movie with "B" actors.

The cinematography and production value were, likewise, very good.  There were grand sweeping shots and very good CG scenes that made me feel like I was in a much higher budget film.  So far so good.

The movie follows the books storyline pretty closely.  To fit on film, it has to be an abridged version, but it is true to the book.  Again, so far so good.

Where the film may be a let down is in the translation from book to film.  Rand's nearly 1200 page book has huge moments in which the primary characters made grand soliloquies.  There is simply no way to bring these to film without most of the audience getting up to refill their popcorn buckets.  The very length of the book also means that the movie will, at the very least, need two more installments.  This may work for Harry Potter, but will it work for John Galt?  Much of what I love about the book, besides the simple message, is lost because of the loss of these grand speeches.  To bad, but that is what happens to books when they are turned into movies.

I believe that in the end only those of us who want the movie to do well will allow ourselves to go and watch it.  I thought the movie was good.  I would give it a solid B, or 4 out of 5 stars.  I would not expect anyone who has not read the book to go see it.  I would hope they would see it, but that is all.

If you are someone who is truly open minded, and you can stand being bludgeoned by Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, then you should go see the movie.  You probably won't feel like you have had the cost of a movie ticket stolen from you.  If you are someone who believes everything you read in movie reviews, or if your heart is hardened to the idea that "attacking the most productive of society" is a bad thing, then you should probably go ahead and wait for the next mindless film that comes out....Scream 4 perhaps.

To all of you who are already love the story of Atlas Shrugged, go see it.  To all of you are not afraid to challenge your socio-political beliefs, go see it.  To all of you who think that we need to stifle the productivity of the brightest and hardest working in our society, go see it....then come back here to complain about it :)