Readers of this site will most likely recognize Atlas Shrugged for its connection to the BioShock series of games. But, before visions of Big Daddies and underworld Utopias send you rushing to pick up a copy of the movie, the connections are mostly philosophical. Sorry to say, there's no direct connection, which is a shame since a Plasmid or two could have really spiced up this otherwise dull adaptation.
It's 2016 and a gallon of gas costs $40, leading to the re-emergence of railroads as the only way for people to efficiently travel for long distances. Taggart Transcontinental Rail is in a good position to capitalize on the country's return to the rails. However, the company's two heads, Dagny (Taylor Schilling) and James (Matthew Marsden) are at odds on how to best run the company. CEO James has made a series of deals through Washington cronies and promises to replace his company's aging rails with steel from a company that hasn't delivered on promises, putting the completion of the line months behind schedule.
Dagny, James's sister and the company's Vice President of Operations, decides to seek out a new partner in the reconstruction, Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler), whose company has developed a version of steel that is not only stronger and lighter, but also more cost efficient. Realizing what the new product means for the steel industry, the government moves to ban its use in the name of equality.
Determined to make the deal work, Dagny makes a deal to replace 300 miles of track with the Rearden Steel under the guise of a new company, which she names the "John Galt Line."
I'll step right past the film's overarching political and philosophical options. Not that I didn't "get" them, but those comments are best left for a dissertation and not a movie review. For those looking for the philosophy and politics, however, they are there. The message of "Big Business + Government + Unions = Bad" is obvious throughout the entire movie, which is part of the reason it simply doesn't work.
In order to get the novel's ideas out to viewers, the writers had to turn to long, overly done speeches. There are long stretches of time where people do little more than talk to each other. Worse, the dialogue is filled with language no one - not even the film's filthy rich, educated characters - would ever use in a real conversation. It's awkward, and hard to follow. Most of the film is concerned with politicking a certain political viewpoint (which, the Occupy Wallstreet group would love if they actually had Blu-ray players and TV's in their shanty towns), but there's very little else to the film.
Issues persist into the acting, which is wooden and hollow, though I imagine most of the problem is the lack of any real person-to-person drama. There's a half-hearted love story between Dagny and Reardon (who is married), but its so light and lost in the otherwise choppy plot, it never amounts to much, if anything.
If you're intent on watching Altas Shrugged: Part One, the Blu-ray isn't mandatory. Though shot on a really good camera, the Red One, the overall picture quality is just okay. The image is, at times, washed out and tends to look more like something that was shot for TV than the big screen. It just doesn't look cinematic, which is something the novel actually demands. There are a few neat visual effects sequences, though even these have a cheap, flat feel, especially in HD.
The audio commentary, featuring producer Harmon Kaslow, and writer/ producer John Aglialoro and writer Brain Patrick O'Toole, is slightly more interesting that the actual movie. As previously mentioned, the film has been in development for nearly twenty years, and Aglialoro does a good job of tracing the film's progression over the years. The background information is informative and entertaining, though they often run out of things to talk about, turning their attention to discussing what's happening on the screen. If you're interested in the film's road to completion, you're better off watching the five minute feature, "The Road to Atlas Shrugged."
Finally, there's a nearly half-hour "I am John Galt," which is little more than a bunch of Internet fans saying, "I am John Galt." It's not something you'll want to watch for very long, though I can't help but imagine a scenario where the line takes on the same symbolic message the V for Vendetta mask has for Anonymous.
A collection of movie stills rounds out the extras.
Although the movie message may pull in a few Conservative viewers, Atlas Shrugged: Part One is still a poorly made movie, so unless you're just watching with the intent of fist bumping every time someone makes a decidedly pro-Tea Party message, you're better off reading the novel or taking another trip to Rapture.
