Atlas Shrugged: Part 1

Hollywood has courted Ayn Rand's libertarian doorstop since at least the 1970s, but the rights gradually trickled down to Forbes-feted CEO John Aglialoro, here credited as writer and producer. He's gone all out with this DIY megaproduction, whose ambition vastly exceeds its technical command. The unspecified time of the novel has been moved to 2016 (gee, who'll be leaving office then?), when America has been overrun by socialist laws. ("You know what this means?" a magnate gasps. "Nobody can own more than one company!") Campy but never dull, this first of three installments ends on a fiery cliffhanger. The completion of parts two and three would represent a victory for irrationality.

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