Posted on 04/15/2011 1:31:44 PM PDT by RobFromGa
Atlas Shrugged Part 1 Quick Review- 5 stars!
Very faithful to Rand's ideas. I didn't feel like they skipped any major items... the back story with Francisco was hinted at and would have been too hard to develop completely.
Casting was superb. Hank (Hooray!) and Lillian (Boo!)Rearden and Ellis Wyatt (!!!) were done perfectly as was Wesley Mouch and the other moochers and looters. Dagny was good but it took about ten minutes for me to completely buy her in the role.
Pace was perfect... it kept moving at a fast speed, and I didn't want it to end.
Cinematography very good- hard to believe only cost about $5 million! The Rearden Metal bridge was great, as was the Colorado landscape shots...
Audience Reaction: Duluth, GA 12:25pm showing was about 80% full (there was noon showing in a larger theater already going) & audience reacted with enthusiasm throughout and Applause at end.
Can't wait for Part 2! I will be going back to see Part One more than once...
Minor nitpick- shouldn't have had the date 2016 on the movie, it is timeless.
My husband and I went last night to see it. I loved it. He thought it started out slow, but then was OK. I’ve read 2/3 of the book so far and he hasn’t read it at all. I can’t wait for part 2.
Well I broke down & ordered the green (inexpensive ) ones from the site. The Liberty bracelet. Last day at 12.99. It may not be like the one in the movie but there will be people recognition.. much like the Lance Armstrong yellow items
I believe the choice to use relatively unknown (low profile) actors was genius. It allowed the viewer to focus on the storyline instead of the actors. When I read Atlas with the Freeper Book Club, I pictured Angelina Jolie as Dagny, Antonio Banderas as Francisco, Hugh Jackman as Hank, and Brad Pitt as Galt. Had they actually been cast in the movie, I’d have been focused on their individual roles and how well (or not) they lived up to my expectations.
I think Taylor and Grant pulled it off beautifully. I believed them in their roles. To your point about Hank Rearden - the movie absolutely captured Hank’s personality. The brief clip released of Hank presenting Lillian with his Rearden Metal bracelet just doesn’t do justice to how well Grant portrayed Hank. Every look and movement he made expressed pages and pages of the book. The critics are insane. The movie was outstanding!
I hope the effort is successful. Those threads are essential when reading the book.
Same here...I’m in East Texas, which should be fertile ground for it. The NEAREST showing is 120 miles away! There isn’t even a showing in Shreveport (50 miles away), to which I would probably travel to attend. Really annoying.
Hank
They’re already selling it. It’s under “Gear” at the website. $159. I’ll buy some for gifts just to help finance parts 2 & 3.
Just saw the 11:40 AM show in Annapolis. Theater was probably half full - 60 to 70 people.
I enjoyed the movie. I thought the acting was solid - even Dagny. I think both Rearden’s were spot on.
I think they could have better emphasized the true economic collapse that was happening. Someone who never read the book might think that things aren’t so terrible - just a mild recession.
It was better the second time, and opened up an opportunity to discuss important topics with my son in a more entertaining way than just discussing the current news...
The philosophy of ownership of one’s own productive output is so crucial to building an economic system that will create prosperity and wealth.
Speak for yourself ... I’m headed back to the theater! :)
There is still the chance for John Galt himself to tell the story of the 20th Century Motor company in Part 2 or 3...
‘Atlas’ scored $2,277 per theatre on Friday, just slightly behind the ‘Scream 4’ per-theatre take...of course, ‘Scream’ was in 10 times the number of theatres. ‘Atlas’ took in just shy of $700,000 at 300 theatres.
Movie covers part One of Atlas Shrugged.
Jeff Allen first shows up as an intelligent helper for Dagny in Atlas Shrugged, when the train crew deserts the "Comet"; Part Two, chapter X.
That would mean a probably opening weekend take of around $ 1.75 million. Not bad at all for 300 screens. Keep an eye on it!
Just got home. Here in Houston we are experiencing “Chamber of Commerce” weather. The kind of beautiful, blue sky, no-sweat spring day where the last place anyone should want to be is inside a movie theater. There were only about 15 people in the theater with us. I’m typing this while sitting outside to make up for the outdoor hours traded to see the movie.
The movie is really good, and great at times. I was very nervous about the quality of acting, having seen the two preview scenes. I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve seen the clip in which Dagny confronts the Union boss in her office, you’ve seen the worst bit of acting in the entire movie. The rest of the acting is fair to good, and in the climactic scene, Taylor Schilling invoked a sense of horror that completely makes up for her earlier miscues. Special kudos to Rebecca Wisocki’s splendid bitchiness as Lillian.
Acting aside, it’s hard to find any real nits worth picking. I think they spent a bit too long in showing the detective work by Dagny and Hank trying to track down the inventor of the engine, and some of party scenes are too long and laborious. (The director might have been thirsty while filming, as there are quite a few tight shots featuring the pouring and drinking of champagne, wine, and liquor.)
There’s a reverent adherence to the tone and dialogue of the book. It would have been very easy for them to paint Mouch and company as caricature villains to hammer the movie-goer over the head with the idea that these are bad guys, but the filmmakers resisted the urge to simplify their complex dealings.
All in all, it’s remarkable that a movie this good was made in only a few weeks with a minimal budget. I give it 3 out of 4 railroad spikes. I definitely recommend it to fans of the book.
Carlos.
To put this in perspective that's almost half of the ENTIRE WORLDWIDE box office gross for the movie about "Che" Guevarra, despite the orgasmic review from his devotees in the media.
Excellent point...I’ve noted that ‘Atlas’ is being ignored by several of the box office websites...not even a passing mention.
Attempted the 1:30 here and it was sold out. Will try again later tonight.
This was my first movie since Forest Gump. I thought the role of Wesley Mooch was absolutely brilliant. If he had a lisp, it would have been a perfect Barney Franks.
They didn’t expand too much of Reardon’s whiny family. But, for the format, a movie, I’d say it was 80% true to the book so far.
I really enjoyed this movie, the audience applauded at the end. We went to the 2:30 show, the theater was about 75% full.
The first time I read the book, I completely skipped that chapter. The second time, I read the first sentence of each paragraph. The 3rd time, I finally read it. It is a hard slog, and it really doesn’t change the book by not reading. I figured, by the 3rd time, it’s time to get through it. I’ve read that chapter every since, but it is brutal.
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