In my review of the first part of Atlas Shrugged, I described it as "better than I expected", and I was honestly looking forward this installment. I guess it's roughly as good as the first. On the positive side, some things actually *happen* in this movie, which is a step up, but other things pull it down, so it's kind of a wash.
First, although it takes up where the first left off, all the actors have magically changed - and for the most part they're worse than the originals. I actually liked the first Hank Rearden, but this guy is smug jerk who goes through the whole movie with a superior smirk frozen on his face. Dagny has bags under her eyes and a permanently strained look that I couldn't help but interpret as menstrual cramps. The smoldering passion between the two of them that was in the book went from lukewarm in the first part to nonexistent in the second. While we're on that subject, the makers shied away even more from Rand's penchant for rough sex, and toned things down even more than first, which was already strictly Hallmark Channel to begin with.
The Wesley Mouch of the first movie really captured the insidious evil of the character Rand had written, while this guy's just kind of annoying. One of the only ones who did a halfway good job was the guy who played Ken Dannager, the coal magnate, but he has a small part and disappears around the middle. The only truly good casting was Dagny's brother. Rand would have been pleased.
Easter Egg alert: keep an eye out for a short cameo by Teller (of Penn and Teller) - in a speaking role!
The movie also abandons the atmosphere of the first, so now it looks more like "the future" than a weird alternate history of the 50s. This arguably makes more sense, but it also loses some of the charm of the first - and charm is in short enough supply. It also makes it even more implausible that railroads are suddenly so important again.
Rand has a rather simple point to make, and she doesn't believe in subtlety. In the first move, she makes her point by repeating things, and in this one, she does it by getting sillier and sillier, and her plot is even more ridiculous as a movie than in print.
Things pick up a bit with some dramatic tension after Dagny goes on vacation and the railroad begins to fall apart. This is the high point of the movie and it's actually pretty good for a while. Here, the movie actually makes its point in the action, rather than by preaching, but it's too little to late.
Those who have read the book will recognize the beginning as foreshadowing Dagny's arrival in "Galt's Gulch", which gives you hope you will actually see their vision of Rand's Utopia. Unfortunately, the movie ends with that arrival, so you'll have to tune in for the third installment - presumably with totally different actors and settings - for the payoff.
Once more, the movie is pulled down by slavish devotion to the book. Rand believed that great men could follow many paths: engineers, scientists, artists, architects, businessmen, authors, musicians...pretty much anything by comedians. Like the book, and all her books, there's not a trace of humor in the movie. The closest thing to a "joke" is when Francisco D'Anconia sets fire to his mines to bankrupt his investors. Yup, a real knee-slapper that one. He is polite enough to warn Rearden (making it both arson *and* insider trading) - and of course nobody else matters.
Even so, although Rand's writing is devoid of humor, she at least gave them a certain "joie de vivre" that's totally lacking in the movie. The actors deliver their lines, economic lectures, and sermonettes without a trace of joy or passion.
It struck me that James Taggart's wedding is a good representation of the movie as a whole. If listening to a political debate at a wedding reception is your idea of a good time, then you'll probably love this movie. Otherwise, like me, you'll probably want to shout "lighten up" at several points.
Still, if you watched the first one, you'll probably want to watch this one, and if you watch this one, you'll find yourself hoping they'll finish the trilogy. I want to see their vision of Rand's Utopia. Personally, I've always wondered who cleans the toilets in a society populated entirely by arrogant supermen.
First, although it takes up where the first left off, all the actors have magically changed - and for the most part they're worse than the originals. I actually liked the first Hank Rearden, but this guy is smug jerk who goes through the whole movie with a superior smirk frozen on his face. Dagny has bags under her eyes and a permanently strained look that I couldn't help but interpret as menstrual cramps. The smoldering passion between the two of them that was in the book went from lukewarm in the first part to nonexistent in the second. While we're on that subject, the makers shied away even more from Rand's penchant for rough sex, and toned things down even more than first, which was already strictly Hallmark Channel to begin with.
The Wesley Mouch of the first movie really captured the insidious evil of the character Rand had written, while this guy's just kind of annoying. One of the only ones who did a halfway good job was the guy who played Ken Dannager, the coal magnate, but he has a small part and disappears around the middle. The only truly good casting was Dagny's brother. Rand would have been pleased.
Easter Egg alert: keep an eye out for a short cameo by Teller (of Penn and Teller) - in a speaking role!
The movie also abandons the atmosphere of the first, so now it looks more like "the future" than a weird alternate history of the 50s. This arguably makes more sense, but it also loses some of the charm of the first - and charm is in short enough supply. It also makes it even more implausible that railroads are suddenly so important again.
Rand has a rather simple point to make, and she doesn't believe in subtlety. In the first move, she makes her point by repeating things, and in this one, she does it by getting sillier and sillier, and her plot is even more ridiculous as a movie than in print.
Things pick up a bit with some dramatic tension after Dagny goes on vacation and the railroad begins to fall apart. This is the high point of the movie and it's actually pretty good for a while. Here, the movie actually makes its point in the action, rather than by preaching, but it's too little to late.
Those who have read the book will recognize the beginning as foreshadowing Dagny's arrival in "Galt's Gulch", which gives you hope you will actually see their vision of Rand's Utopia. Unfortunately, the movie ends with that arrival, so you'll have to tune in for the third installment - presumably with totally different actors and settings - for the payoff.
Once more, the movie is pulled down by slavish devotion to the book. Rand believed that great men could follow many paths: engineers, scientists, artists, architects, businessmen, authors, musicians...pretty much anything by comedians. Like the book, and all her books, there's not a trace of humor in the movie. The closest thing to a "joke" is when Francisco D'Anconia sets fire to his mines to bankrupt his investors. Yup, a real knee-slapper that one. He is polite enough to warn Rearden (making it both arson *and* insider trading) - and of course nobody else matters.
Even so, although Rand's writing is devoid of humor, she at least gave them a certain "joie de vivre" that's totally lacking in the movie. The actors deliver their lines, economic lectures, and sermonettes without a trace of joy or passion.
It struck me that James Taggart's wedding is a good representation of the movie as a whole. If listening to a political debate at a wedding reception is your idea of a good time, then you'll probably love this movie. Otherwise, like me, you'll probably want to shout "lighten up" at several points.
Still, if you watched the first one, you'll probably want to watch this one, and if you watch this one, you'll find yourself hoping they'll finish the trilogy. I want to see their vision of Rand's Utopia. Personally, I've always wondered who cleans the toilets in a society populated entirely by arrogant supermen.