MOVIE REVIEW - Atlas Shrugged Part 1

Interesting, that this movie is at the box office right now.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 is the first half of the classic Ayn Rand novel from 1957. It has been updated for the new century in some regard. It's the story of a young woman trying desperately to hold on to her giant company inof unheard of economic times. It is set in 2016. The economy is horrible, the Dow is at 4,000, and the United States federal government is controlling everything that it can. It has stepped in and made private enterprise almost non-existent. The basic message is, if the worlds people are not permitted to create freely, then the world is doomed.

The giant federal government has regulated virtually everything so that everything is "needs based" and the wealthy have no choice both in business and in private to give money to those, and to the states that have little or none. Quite simply this story of course is total social commentary by Rand, and now it's on the big screen for all to see. There is no doubt that Rand's story is compelling and of course has stood the test of half century. Especially after being panned by critics in 1957. But the book and story have become better received as time has gone on.

From a movie standpoint though, it has a ton to be desired. There is a lot of story to tell here, and seemingly they are in a hurry to do it. This movie flies right along and does push the plot down the line. No problem there. But, really stoic if not boring performances by the majority of our cast. This whole project even looks like a straight to DVD production. It even says "End of part one" at the end. This is certainly a better read than it is a movie. But I'm thinking this is thought to be topical for our times, because of the current economic climate. And it is. There is nothing wrong with this story in it's written form. It's just a boring production.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1. Last theater on the left, end of the hall. Please turn on the projector when you get there, and off when you leave. You know the that kind of movie.