A pro vs. con analysis of the AS movie from a life-long Rand fan and Objectivist sympathizer (but not associated w/ any particular "faction"):
PROs: Nice production design, visuals, cinematography, sets, costumes, effects, and soundtrack. Adequate script. No sign of the "low-budget" look & feel that I feared going in. With some exceptions, the casting captured my life-long mental image of the characters very well. A couple of scenes (not many) were as good as I hoped for.
CONs: Extremely lackluster and perfunctory directing and acting. The movie was far too low-key and undramatic. This story calls for constant tension and dramatic flare -- instead, the acting was flat and lifeless. Dagny and Rearden had near-zero chemistry. Some scenes (e.g., the anniversary party, Dagny's encounter w/Hugh Akston, all scenes w/ D'Anconia) utterly failed to convey the whole point of the scene from the novel. The overall effect is to almost trivialize Rand's grand theme.
If I'd seen this movie without ever having read the book, I'd say "What's the big deal? Two business people struggle to modernize a railway and end up in bed, while some stranger in a hat is whisking away other business people -- so what?" Too bad. A different director and better acting might have saved this script.
PROs: Nice production design, visuals, cinematography, sets, costumes, effects, and soundtrack. Adequate script. No sign of the "low-budget" look & feel that I feared going in. With some exceptions, the casting captured my life-long mental image of the characters very well. A couple of scenes (not many) were as good as I hoped for.
CONs: Extremely lackluster and perfunctory directing and acting. The movie was far too low-key and undramatic. This story calls for constant tension and dramatic flare -- instead, the acting was flat and lifeless. Dagny and Rearden had near-zero chemistry. Some scenes (e.g., the anniversary party, Dagny's encounter w/Hugh Akston, all scenes w/ D'Anconia) utterly failed to convey the whole point of the scene from the novel. The overall effect is to almost trivialize Rand's grand theme.
If I'd seen this movie without ever having read the book, I'd say "What's the big deal? Two business people struggle to modernize a railway and end up in bed, while some stranger in a hat is whisking away other business people -- so what?" Too bad. A different director and better acting might have saved this script.