I saw Atlas Shrugged 2 over the weekend.  It is the second part (out of three) of the movie based on the book by Ayn Rand.  I wrote my review of the first Atlas Shrugged movie last year.

Despite some negative reviews, even by libertarians, I still enjoyed the movie.  You definitely should see the first one before seeing the second.  I would also recommend reading the book before seeing the movie, but I’m sure that is not the case for everyone.  The book is over 1,000 pages long and it isn’t an easy read.  I’m curious what the movie looks like to someone who hasn’t read the book, but I suppose those people are curious about the differences of the book and movie.

It has been 12 years since I read the book from start to finish, but I still remember it fairly well.  I remember the book being a bit more of a mystery.  It seems that you know what is going on a little more with the movie.  That is the way it seems to me, but again, I’m not sure if that is just because I have read the book and I know what happens.

The second movie starts off with the end of the movie.  Dagny is flying a plane in the mountains.  I thought they were playing the wrong movie at first.  I knew it was the end of part 2 or the beginning of part 3.  After showing that clip, the movie then goes back in time 9 months to tell the story leading up to her flying the airplane.

I still remember when I read that part of the book 12 years ago.  It was in the summer and I was actually excited to get home from work every evening so that I could read for a couple of hours.  I was a rather slow reader (I like to absorb everything).  I read almost every night and it took me about a month to finish the book.  But I remember that part about her flying the plane in the mountains and what happens next.  It was really exciting to read and anticipate what would happen next.

The book starts off rather slow, but I found that things built up more and more.  The third part of the book is by far the best.  As far as the movies go, I found the first one a little better than the second.  The acting was just ok and the storyline stayed mostly with the book, although the movie takes place in the future.  Obviously, because the book is so long and has to be fit into three movies, there is a lot that is cut out.  For example, Francisco’s speech is a very condensed version.  I’m sure Galt’s speech will be much the same way in part 3.

I have to say that I am quite excited for part 3, which will hopefully come out next year.  It was my favorite part of the book and I fully expect it to be my favorite movie.  Hopefully I won’t be disappointed.  In the meantime, if you haven’t read this great pro-liberty book, you probably have about a year to do so before the third movie comes out.