Atlas Shrugged, The Movie

15 April 2011
Midnight

After decades of false starts, they finally made a movie out of Atlas Shrugged. It premiered today, and I went to see it. :) I had to drive over 80 miles to Raleigh, as there were no theaters in Fayetteville showing it. But it was worth the drive!


It's been a long time coming...


I'll tuck this into my hardcover copy of the book.

Movie Website: http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/

I have read a number of different reviews of the movie, some good, some bad, mostly mixed. Several of them are here on this fan site: http://www.atlas-shrugged-movie.com/ I think that liberals and Democrats will hate it because of the ideas. Many conservatives will look for reasons to dislike it because it's by Ayn Rand. And at least some Objectivists are likely find fault with it, either because it's not perfect or because their faction didn't produce it.

My assessment is that it was a good movie. It certainly was not perfect, and had some moments where the acting felt flat. It also felt a bit rushed and disconnected sometimes, simply because they had to cram so much into so little time. But it also had moments that brought tears to my eyes - watching the blue rails of Reardon Metal being laid, and the first run of the John Galt Line were high points. There were also some very pithy scenes highlighting the differences between the moochers and the producers.

I'll throw in my own $.02 criticism here - I think they lost of a lot of the potential impact of the running of the John Galt Line by not developing the idea of the volunteers. Dagny tells off the union sleazeball who wants to stop the engineers from running the train, and tells him she'll call for volunteers. But that was the end of it. In the book, every engineer in the company volunteers, and the senior engineer gets to drive the train. There are threats against the line, and when they take the first run they see ordinary people, hungry for the sight of an achievement, lining the track for hundreds of miles, guarding it from harm. By leaving out this aspect I think they lost a lot of the meaning and emotional impact of that scene. I still enjoyed it, but I don't know how much of my own emotional reaction is due to the movie itself, my knowledge of the more complete context of the book, or happiness that the movie is finally a reality. Probably a mix of all three.

All in all I think it should have a positive effect. If it gets more people reading the book, that will be a very good thing. And it's certainly quite timely - the images and events in the movie bear an eerie similarity to what's been going on in our country for the past few years. I think it will resonate and get people fired up to keep resisting and reversing what has become "business as usual" in Washington D.C. and the state capitols.

As I was getting in my car to leave, I saw a group of people walking up for the next show carrying signs and a yellow Gadsden flag ("Don't Tread on Me"). That was kind of fun. If I let my imagination run away with me, I can even imagine some blathering, posturing, grasping Democrat politician being tarred and feathered by a crowd coming out of the movie. (Dream on!!) In sum, it was a well-spent, pleasant evening. I'm looking forward to Part II and Part III. I hope they come out soon (before the election would be awesome!)

Mood: Happy
Music: None