Atlass Shrugged: Part 1
3.5/5
Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical mystery, true to Ayn Rand's literary version published in 1957.
Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) struggles to keep her brother James Taggart (Matthew Marsden) from destroying Taggart Transcontinental, a massive railroad company founded by their grandfather. Seeking desperately needed repairs on Taggart Transcontinental's one hundred year-old rail lines, Dagny turns to industrialist Henry Rearden (Grant Bowler), who's company has developed a new metal alloy. All the while many of Dagney's employees begin to turn up missing, each leaving her with a mysterious question, "Who is John Galt?" As Dagny and Rearden's ambitions meld they discover an unnerving revelation that explains the sudden disappearances linked with the mysterious "John Galt".
Apparently this was a low budget film, but it was hardly noticeable other than the fact that there were no big names acting in it. But there didn't need to be. This is a story about philosophical views. It is very character driven and it's clear that Paul Johansson did an excellent job of directing his actors into those roles.
Admittedly, the dialog was a bit extensive, but given that this is a film adaptation birthed from a monolithic novel, I'd cut Johansson some slack. Each character personifies a specific school of philosophy related to consequentialism and what better way to personify philosophical ideas than through conversation. Lots and lots of long bits of conversation...
I read that many critics were dissatisfied by the "mild" political undertones present in the movie. But I would argue that the film is more philosophical than political, as was the book. You can't talk extensively about egoism or utilitarian views without mentioning capitalism. No way around it.
It's merely Ayn Rand's own philosophy, objectivism, explained eloquently in a creative fictional story. If her views offend you, that doesn't make it a bad movie. Whether you subscribe to Ayn Rand's outlook or not it should at least be acknowledged that this movie was done damn well. It's not easy to adapt any book into film (especially a huge novel like Atlas Shrugged), and Johansson was at least brave enough to attempt it.
Hopefully the next two films will be just as good.
3.5/5 Stars
I believe that we are more accountable for using the information resources that are freely available to us. In contrast it has been my experience that we are also becoming lazy as a result of the technology. By this I mean that many people would rather be entertained than use their intellect. This movie expresses what could happen if the intellectually stimulated people just choose to quit society. I expect that this will develop into a shift of power as the diligent individuals take advantage of the free information while the self-absorbed individual will expect more service and less labor. For those that have not seen the movie, "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1" is an excellent intellectually stimulating movie that also challenges the viewer to self-reflection.
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