Atlas Shrugged: Part One

Filmmaker Paul Johansson's first part of a proposed trilogy—a low-budget adaptation of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel extolling unfettered capitalism—covers roughly the first third of the book, in which heroine Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) joins forces with industrialist Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler) to rebuild much-needed railways despite interference from a socialist-leaning government, corrupt unions, and greedy rivals. Although the material demands epic treatment, it's been reduced here to a succession of talky sequences marked by didactic dialogue and wooden performances. Oddly, although the action is updated to 2016—a cheesy prologue depicts a global crisis in which gas is selling for more than 30 bucks a gallon—the plot mechanics, fashions, and ambient music remain tied to the 1950s. John Galt (Johansson), the book's mysterious hero, appears here only as a shadowy figure recruiting important men to join him in a strike against a system that is crushing individualism and entrepreneurial spirit. A critical and commercial bomb, this disappointing opener is not recommended. (F. Swietek)