Last night, I saw Atlas Shrugged, Part II, based on Ayn Rand’s masterful novel, at The Atlas Society’s benefit screening here in Manhattan. It opens nationwide tomorrow. I’m not writing a formal review, but several friends had asked for my reactions, so here’s a no-spoiler précis:

Confirming the rumor mill, this is a far better film than Part I. The producers had more time and a larger budget, and the results are evident on screen, particularly in the special effects and the crowd scenes. Duncan Scott, my cinematic partner in the restored Italian adaptation of We the Living, was one of the screenwriters this time, and from what I’ve heard, he deserves considerable credit for the superiority of Part II.

As everyone knows by now, the cast is totally different. I wasn’t thrilled by a few of the choices of actors, but at least the egregious miscasting of several minor roles in Part I wasn’t repeated. All the performers do a good job, although I wouldn’t have envisioned some of them in certain roles, based on my impressions from the book. Judge for yourself.

Some devices, which I won’t reveal here, are ingenious and work well. But as with Part I, I don’t agree with every decision. A few scenes are heavy handed, where subtlety would have been more appropriate. And a bunch of great things that Rand was able to accomplish in the novel probably could never be translated to the screen, no matter what.

The screenwriters did a good job making Part II intelligible to viewers who haven’t seen Part I, as well as to those who haven’t read the book. I had been wondering how they would handle that challenge, especially because, given the different cast, they couldn’t plausibly use clips or flashbacks from Part I. This film also has more incident, more action, and a stronger dramatic arc—and in consequence is more gripping and entertaining.

Despite the progress, don’t expect the “mainstream” reviews to be more favorable than last time—though perhaps they won’t be quite as gratuitously unfair, nasty, and ugly. After all, one must have faith!

On to Part III. Unsurprisingly, I stand by my tendentious position that We the Living remains the greatest of all Rand films.

Don Hauptman