Review of Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) by Buybuydandavis — 29 Aug 2012

As I'm close enough to Rand's sense of life and theory of art, I enjoyed it on those terms. Those are characters and a story I'd wish to see. Rearden. Francisco. Lillian. Very well done. Rearden is understated and in better humor than the book Rearden. I think I like the movie Francisco better. Lillian was an improvement over the book too - warmer and with more charm. Rearden and Dagny were hit and miss. Their across the table business dealing was stilted, but they connected well on some smaller, off hand interactions that gave me a feeling of connection between them.

On the downside, I thought the plot got butchered starting from the sex scene with Rearden and Dagny, and continuing to the end of the movie. It's like they ran out of cash and couldn't pay for all the scenes required. But if you haven't read the book, you probably don't notice the butchery, and if you did read the book, you'll take the good and gloss over the bad.

Also on the downside, Hugh Akston was all wrong in character, and both he and Stadler were just too young. For such a small part of the book the movie made a decent self contained whole. The negative reviews on the acting or production values were unfounded. I do think it falls well short of the book, but most adaptations do, and it is a lot to live up to. If you like the themes, you won't get them anywhere else, and you'll find decent acting and a coherent if hurried plot to embody them. A decent movie giving you something you won't get elsewhere. Moderate thumbs up.