The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
Features  |  Reviews
unsexy2011_1000x50b

Review: Atlas Shrugged

Not all books should be made into movies
By TOM MEEK  |  April 12, 2011
2.0 2.0 Stars

Actor Paul Johansson, in his directorial debut, sets his adaptation of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel — now a Libertarian sacred text — in a near-future (2016) plagued by socialism. Somehow, though, the economy is stuck in the '50s, where US steel, oil, and rail interests are world-shaping industries. At odds are brother and sister Jim (Matthew Marsden) and Dagny (Taylor Schilling) Taggart over the future of the family's railroad empire. Dagny turns to radical steel magnate Henry Rearden (Grant Bowler), but dirty backroom politics by the socialists stifle their capitalistic ventures. In addition, the mysterious John Galt (Johansson) is whisking any promising leader off to some netherland. It's that sci-fi twist, in part, that made the book a cult classic. But Johansson's version, though admirable in scope, comes off too much like an overcranked episode of Dallas. Not all books should be made into movies, and this is one of them.

Related: Review: Neil Young Trunk Show, Review: Good Theater's solid Moonlight and Magnolias, Review: Nine Nation Animation, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Movies, Books, Dallas,  More more >
| More

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
[ 12/09 ]   Dan Blake and Jason Palmer  @ Wally's Café
[ 12/09 ]   Esperanza Spalding + Geri Allen + Toni Lyne Carrington  @ Scullers Jazz Club
[ 12/09 ]   Mos Def  @ Wilbur Theatre
ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: TRESPASS  |  October 13, 2011
    If Rod Lurie's errant remake of Straw Dogs didn't tickle your morbid fear of home invasion, then perhaps the latest from Joel Schumacher ( Falling Down ) might do the job.
  •   REVIEW: SHARK NIGHT 3D  |  September 06, 2011
    David R. Ellis's dimensionally enhanced thriller doesn't knock off Jaws so much as it reconfigures Deliverance , with a slight nod to Friday the 13th .
  •   REVIEW: CHASING MADOFF  |  August 23, 2011
    Few will dispute the evil avarice behind the $50 billion Ponzi scheme Bernie Madoff masterminded.
  •   REVIEW: GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE  |  August 16, 2011
    The little TV series with the can-do pipes rolls out a concert tour that's essentially a love-in with its fan base.
  •   REVIEW: LA RAFLE  |  July 19, 2011
    In La Rafle , director Rose Bosch boldly tackles the psyche of Hitler, showing the Führer enjoying the high life with Eva Braun as he instructs his minions to pressure France to hand over its Jews so he can sate his genocidal bloodlust before the Allies fully catch on to his heinous mission.

 See all articles by: TOM MEEK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed