Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Atlas Shrugged II (Vanity)
Vanity | October 14, 2012 | ConservativeInPA

Posted on 10/14/2012 2:11:18 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA

Reporting from South Central Pennsylvania ...

I took the family to see Part II this afternoon. We had to travel to Susquehanna Twp. (Harrisburg Regal Theater) to see the film. The 12:55 pm showing was nearly unattended and was in one of the smaller theaters in the multiplex. I was disappointed in that, although I am anti-social and it was basically like sitting in front of my big screen at home (just a bigger screen) which was nice.

My 17 year old daughter has read the book. It is good to hear her say that the book is better than the film. My 15 year old daughter is finally motivated to read the book. When we returned home, she immediately started reading.

Overall the film was good. The message is powerful. I did not particularly like the change in cast form Part I, especially Miss Taggert. The actress in Part I was much hotter looking and equally capable of acting. I also preferred the Eddie from Part I. My family also liked the cast from Part I better, and was even more outspoken than me. That, however, didn't ruin the film for any of us. I am not going to pay to see the film again, but I will watch it when it is on Netfilx or On-Demand.


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Books/Literature; Business/Economy
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last
Overall, I give the film 3 and 1/2 stars.

It fit well in a fine Sunday of beautiful autumn weather, worship, family, FR, and reloading. Those are my actual activities today. I guess I am still clinging to my guns and religion ... Typical Central PA activities.

1 posted on 10/14/2012 2:11:22 PM PDT by ConservativeInPA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

I went on Friday afternoon in Augusta Maine. Maybe 30 people. Knew about half.

I enjoyed it very much;But I’m a big fan.

I give it a 3 to 4 also.


2 posted on 10/14/2012 2:14:26 PM PDT by maine yankee (I got my Governor at 'Marden's')
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA
thanks, for the report...i guess (some of) the actors didn't
want their names associated w/AR's AS
..better opportunities elsewhere.

3 posted on 10/14/2012 2:19:45 PM PDT by skinkinthegrass (WA DC E$tabli$hment; DNC/RNC/Unionists...Brazilian saying: "$@me Old $hit; w/ different flie$" :^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

not impressed with part i. hope part ii is better. it was hard to identify with the characters inpart i.


4 posted on 10/14/2012 2:20:41 PM PDT by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

I just saw 2016 Obama which is now on demand. Pretty good!!! I do recommend it!!!


5 posted on 10/14/2012 2:22:27 PM PDT by tallyhoe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

Saw it Saturday afternoon. We also liked the cast better in Pt. 1. However, Pt.2 was a better production and the message was powerful and eerily pertinent to today.

There were about 25 people at our showing for the early matinee in northern Illinois. We would rate it 3.5 stars. Can’t wait for Pt. 3.


6 posted on 10/14/2012 2:31:10 PM PDT by libertymaker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

I saw it last night in Delaware and there were only a dozen people at the late showing (9:20 pm). I loved it. I had not seen Part I. I thought it did a great job of casting the government as pure evil and revealing liberty as the great value that binds us all together in civilization. It’s quite a wild story. At the end the protagonist, Dagny Taggart, meets John Galt. Jason Deghe as Henry Reardon was simply fantastic. His speech before the government tribunal was riveting.


7 posted on 10/14/2012 2:31:55 PM PDT by WashingtonSource
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

Saw the 11 a.m. showing at a theater in a Dallas, Texas suburb. Maybe a dozen people there...and the crowd was retirement age (except us).

Of course, that time conflicts with church services so expect crowds will be larger later. However, definitely lighter than for Part I.

Part II had the hard slog of tying Part I with a Part III conclusion that one hopes is filmed and distributed. The middle is the difficult segment of any trilogy.

That being said, the cast and director changes did hurt the movie. The cameos were amusing but detracted from the message.

I suspect the only way Atlas Shrugged will ever get talented low-budget treatment on the screen is if the book becomes a British television series. Fat chance of that happening.

I’ll watch the third movie (if they make it) but Part II has really lowered the bar on expectations. What a shame.


8 posted on 10/14/2012 2:34:18 PM PDT by peyton randolph (FUBO and his wookie beard)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: camle
it was hard to identify with the characters inpart i.

I read the book and saw part I.
I couldn't identify with any of the characters.
I thought the whole lot of them were insane.

9 posted on 10/14/2012 2:37:49 PM PDT by Rightwing Conspiratr1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: skinkinthegrass

You would be guessing wrong.

The producer thought he needed “better talent.” Read up on it. It’s bizarre.


10 posted on 10/14/2012 2:40:39 PM PDT by ConservativeMind ("Humane" = "Don't pen up pets or eat meat, but allow infanticide, abortion, and euthanasia.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA
Saw it last night. The film started and moved a little slowly, but got more interesting near the end - especially after Readon's "conviction." But then, the novel did as well.

I also was a little disappointed in the casting changes from AS I. At times, Dagney looked a bit like Hilary Clinton. Was most disappointed in Hank's recasting - I though I was watching Jesse Ventura half the time with the gravelly, street-slang voice. D'Antonio's new actor was the best change, IMO.

Three stars out of five.

11 posted on 10/14/2012 2:42:29 PM PDT by fwdude ( You cannot compromise with that which you must defeat.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA
I am pretty sure the change in cast has to do with budget constraints and scheduling conflicts. The movie got made, that's the important thing. I do hope they keep DB Sweeney for part 3, though. Since he only had 12 seconds in this one, I think there is a good possibility.

I think as storytelling goes, part 2 was better than part 1. It had an action-movie feel toward the end, even though the CGI aircraft were a bit cheesy.

All in all, a faithful rendition of Ayn Rand, and actually fun.

12 posted on 10/14/2012 2:47:47 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Government is the religion of the psychopath.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA
I did not particularly like the change in cast form Part I, especially Miss Taggert.

My wife agrees with you.

13 posted on 10/14/2012 2:47:58 PM PDT by sauropod (Only two of God's creatures can employ the term "we": newspaper editors and men with tapeworms-Hayes)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: camle

I agree. I’ve read the book four times since 1966. I got the DVD out of Walmart’s discount bin a couple of months ago. It was OK, but nothing to write home about. I think that when you build up the characters and scenes in your mind’s eye, someone else’s vision is often a let down.

Same thing happened to me with Gunsmoke. I’d listened to it on the radio for a couple of years. When it hit TV, many of the characters were “wrong.” Never became a fan of the TV series for that reason.


14 posted on 10/14/2012 2:48:08 PM PDT by Roccus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: WashingtonSource

I saw it yesterday and thought it was pretty good. I liked the first Dagny better, but found out the new one is Samantha Mathis. She was Princess Daisy in the Mario Bros movie a long time ago. I thought the speech that Hank Reardon gave should be used this election cycle. It is GOOOOOOD!


15 posted on 10/14/2012 2:51:26 PM PDT by originalbuckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

My wife and I saw it in Mesa Friday evening with the Ron Paul Phoenix Meetup crowd. We enjoyed hanging out with other libertarians, and we enjoyed the movie. I liked the modern touches, such as the mention of the “Recovery Czar” and the product placement of the Apple Macbook Pro. I found it ironic, however, that the automotive product placement was a Fisker Karma, the subject of huge controversy over direct and indirect subsidies through the stimulus program.


16 posted on 10/14/2012 2:56:14 PM PDT by AZLiberty (No tag today.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

MrsSgtBob, and I saw it Friday with maybe fifty others...can’t tell if that was a good showing, as we don’t go to the movies.

Didn’t think nothing of of the cheap ticket prices as I thought that was the “norm”....’til this morning. The ticket stub says Senior Rate. We are only 49. ;-)


17 posted on 10/14/2012 3:06:31 PM PDT by SgtBob (Freedom is not for the faint of heart. Semper Fi!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservativeInPA

Saw it today also. A few thoughts:

1. Didn’t really see a compelling need to change the whole cast. The two exceptions were the actors that played James Taggart and Wesley Mouch. The new actors in those roles were definitely more in character. Sadly, the new Dagney reminded me of a younger Hillary Clinton.

2. The story quality stayed about the same as the first one. There were a few approximations where a speech or discussion which could have been 15 minutes was boiled down to 5, but that is to be exected. I actually felt sorry for the character of Dave Mitchem.

3. Like in Part I, its hard to communicate that society is collapsing when so many things looks so polished. In particular, the electronic (TVs, computers, cellphones, and software) seem not to be impacted by a brain drain. This is probably due to the relatively low production budget. Not a lot of $$ for truely distopian sets.

That being said, “Atlas Shrugged” is a hard story to put on the screen. Even a bigger budget production with more A-List actors would have had major challenges.


18 posted on 10/14/2012 3:11:59 PM PDT by rbg81
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SgtBob

Happens to me all the time.

When you’re 20, everybody is old.


19 posted on 10/14/2012 3:13:24 PM PDT by maine yankee (I got my Governor at 'Marden's')
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: maine yankee

We had a good laugh at that....I hope the young lady at the box office gets a job at the resturant we ate at that evening.

Cheers!


20 posted on 10/14/2012 3:18:34 PM PDT by SgtBob (Freedom is not for the faint of heart. Semper Fi!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson