Reviews

I love Ayn Rand's works, especially Atlas Shrugged. I saw part 1 of this series twice, and thought it was pretty good.

This is not the Atlas Shrugged film rendition of my dreams, but it is a serious and respectful presentation of her story, ideas and attitudes. The story has been brought out of its age (the fifties) to our times. This works, but is not what I would have preferred. The principles are timeless - why not present them as she did?

The main characters (Dagny, Hank, Francisco) are done very well and do seem like Rand heroes. This is critical, of course, and is the best aspect of the movie. The film is also faithful to the main story line, though much has been left out. Not everything can fit in the time allowed.

If you admire Rand, or don't know her, I think you should go to this. The ideas are important, and it is a pleasure to see them in action in a great story.

I am very familiar with the novel, and love it. The movie does not supplant the novel for me because it cannot explore the ideas as the novel does, but the movie supplements the novel and is very good on its own terms.

The novel is so rich in plot and ideas that even the three projected movie installments cannot cover it all, and difficult deletion choices must be made. I thought the makers did a good job of adapting, and made good choices of what to keep and what to cut.

All the actors did a very good job. Thanks to Taylor Schilling's superb performance, I now love Dagny even more than before. I look forward to seeing this again, and to the future installments.