The offspring was at Grandma's house on Friday so the spousal unit and I went to see it. My wife is a big Ayn Rand fan, and personally I think
Atlas Shrugged is definitely the most influential book I've ever read. I was very skeptical about how well it would translate to film.
First off, I thought the acting was very wooden. I know this film was made on the cheap, and they're all B-list actors, but man, it was painful at times. There were some scenes where it felt like they were a junior high drama club reading lines straight off a page.
Then, there was the story itself.
Atlas Shrugged is a very hard book to get through, mainly because it's about 2-300 pages longer than it needs to be. She may have been a genius and possessed the ability to foresee where our world was headed, but Ayn Rand also had a huge ego and refused to let anyone else edit her books. The book's plot really takes a long time to get moving and that's reflected in the film. It was hard to get drawn in until the last half hour or so.
***********SPOILER ALERT*******************
My biggest beef was with how they handled John Galt convincing all the captains of industry to leave the outside world and join him. In the book it's not apparent what's going on until you're well into the story. In the film they show him telling the capitalists about how he's created a society where a man is free to stand on his own two feet and enjoy the fruits of his labor. They pretty much gave away the entire story in the first 30 minutes. There are two more sequels coming, but the first one didn't leave much to the imagination. I know the movie was aimed at people who had already read the book, but that really disappointed me.
Overall, I would give the movie a C+.
Atlas Shrugged is my favorite book of all time, despite its shortcomings. Note I didn't say it was the best book ever written (that's reserved for
For Whom the Bell Tolls 
). I think the message of
Atlas Shrugged is so relevant to our times that it more than makes up for its flaws. I just don't think the movie was well executed. I'll definitely see the next two installments, if for no other reason than to support the film maker since I think this is a vitally important message for today's America, but I'm disappointed.
