Saw it tonight in SF. Trailers before the movie: Zero Dark Thirty, Promised Land, Hitchcock, Parker.
Theater was in a multiplex and was about 1/4 to 1/3 full for a late afternoon showing.
Complete silence from the audience during the trailers, except maybe for “Parker.”
Spoilers below....
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I liked (at least visually) the original casting of Dagny, Rearden and Francisco in the first movie. The new Dagny (Mathis) is a haggard Taggart, but I guess trying to run a railroad with the gov’t breathing down your neck has to have that effect. Rearden (Beghe) was mmmm eh OK I guess. Francisco (Morales) was too old and his lines a bit too glib, he didn’t make eye contact but always seemed to be looking off to the side. I liked the first Francisco (Jsu Garcia) better.
The writing was excellent and I was blown away by how well they edited and compressed some scenes without sacrificing the continuity of the story at all.
* Beginning and ending the story with the journey/chase scene (Dagny running after Quentin Daniels) to Galt’s Gulch
* Engineer Allen’s brief roadside synopsis of what went wrong in Starnesville and what became of the 20th Century Motor Corporation (nicely done)
* Quentin Daniels in his lab with the miracle engine
I enjoyed Robert Picardo as Stadler. He has a copyright on brilliant scientists who don’t suffer fools gladly.