Review of Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011) by Mike B — 18 May 2011

First let me say that I loved the book, and that I've been an Ayn Rand fan for over a decade now. I wasn't expecting the movie to match the book, but I was hoping for something decent. Unfortunately this movie is just downright terrible (not just as a rendition of the book, but in objective terms as a movie.).

Probably the most offensive part of this movie is the script. The dialogue is basically incoherent. Only if you've read the book would you even know what the hell is going on. Obscure events, places and people are mentioned at random without being explained. There is basically no exposition of the motivations or mental states of the characters (except when they just ham-fistedly state their emotions.) There is barely any connection from one scene to another because the movie just jumps around from place to place, basically trying to dutifully mention every event in the book by giving it 30 seconds of explanation.

A friend of mine (who is not an Objectivist) saw the film with me and came out of it having no idea what the point of the movie was. He understood the particular events, but the entire theme was completely lost.

For a movie based on a book that has such a powerful (and clear) message, this is a pretty massive failure.

I won't even bother going over the weak acting, and poor cinematography (which consisted of badly strung together stock footage) because none of it matters when the script is this terrible.

Ultimately, Atlas Shrugged is a mystery novel. Its theme is the role and importance of man's mind in society. The movie completely failed to convey both the mystery and the theme.