Having long-ago read both Atlas Shrugged and The Virtue Of Selfishness, I knew exactly what I was getting in to when I made the improbable decision to check out this film. If you haven't already figured it out - I'm not a follower of Ayn Rand's... peculiarities.
But that's not what this is about. This is about the translation of a work of fiction from novel to celluloid.
The Successes: I have to admit that it qualifies as a motion picture, by definition. Kudos.
The Failures: The acting is terrible - excepting a handful of familiar faces, the cast must have been plucked from Kirk Cameron's Left Behind series, and even Michael O'Keefe hasn't done anything of note since Caddyshack. The dialogue is comical - I'm assuming it wasn't drunkenly improvised as there's a screenplay writer credit. The cinematography is sub-blargh - most of the film is set indoors and the entire look is just strange, as if some days there weren't enough people to hold the various lights and reflectors. The directing is nonexistent - I say that only because the film is directionless. The production quality is borked - the interiors were clearly done on the cheap, and (as one famous movie reviewer has pointed out) come the hell on, Wisconsin looks nothing like New Mexico. Even the costumes are junky - they're the kinds of outfits that Marshalls eventually sells to dollar stores. To top it off, the film isn't even entertaining-bad like an Ed Wood film - it's simply an exasperating, self-important POS.
Atlas Shrugged: Part I is an anti-masterpiece; if one of its empty film canisters were to come in contact with one of Citizen Kane's, the universe would explode.
Two stars, since it's twice as crappy as every other one-star film.
But that's not what this is about. This is about the translation of a work of fiction from novel to celluloid.
The Successes: I have to admit that it qualifies as a motion picture, by definition. Kudos.
The Failures: The acting is terrible - excepting a handful of familiar faces, the cast must have been plucked from Kirk Cameron's Left Behind series, and even Michael O'Keefe hasn't done anything of note since Caddyshack. The dialogue is comical - I'm assuming it wasn't drunkenly improvised as there's a screenplay writer credit. The cinematography is sub-blargh - most of the film is set indoors and the entire look is just strange, as if some days there weren't enough people to hold the various lights and reflectors. The directing is nonexistent - I say that only because the film is directionless. The production quality is borked - the interiors were clearly done on the cheap, and (as one famous movie reviewer has pointed out) come the hell on, Wisconsin looks nothing like New Mexico. Even the costumes are junky - they're the kinds of outfits that Marshalls eventually sells to dollar stores. To top it off, the film isn't even entertaining-bad like an Ed Wood film - it's simply an exasperating, self-important POS.
Atlas Shrugged: Part I is an anti-masterpiece; if one of its empty film canisters were to come in contact with one of Citizen Kane's, the universe would explode.
Two stars, since it's twice as crappy as every other one-star film.