''Atlas Shrugged'' is a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

of American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

drama films In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular sup ...

. The series,

adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

's 1957 novel of the same title, are subtitled ''

Part I Part One, Part 1 or Part I may refer to: Music * ''Part 1'' (EP), a 2016 EP by Guy Sebastian * ''Part 1'' (O-Town EP), a 2017 EP by O-Town * '' Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made'', a 2009 album by Fol Chen * '' Part One (album)'' Televisio ...

'' (2011), '' Part II'' (2012) and '' Part III'' (2014); the latter sometimes includes ''Who Is John Galt?'' in the title.

Synopsis

The films take place in a dystopian United States, wherein many of society's most prominent and successful industrialists abandon their fortunes as the government shifts the nation towards socialism, making aggressive new regulations, taking control of industries, while picking winners and losers. * In ''Part I'', railroad executive Dagny Taggart (

Taylor Schilling Taylor Schilling (born July 27, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Pr ...

) and steel mogul Henry Rearden (

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

) form an alliance to fight the increasingly authoritarian government of the United States. * In ''Part II'', Taggart (

Samantha Mathis Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in '' Pump Up ...

) and Rearden ( Jason Beghe) search desperately for the inventor of a revolutionary motor as the U.S. government continues to spread its control over the national economy. * In ''Part III'', Taggart ( Laura Regan) and Rearden (

Rob Morrow Robert Alan Morrow (born September 21, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Dr. Joel Fleischman on '' Northern Exposure'', a role that garnered him three Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Best Actor in a Dramati ...

) come into contact with the man responsible for the strike whose effects are the focus of much of the series.

Overview

Production

See '' Part I's production'', '' Part II's production'', '' Part III's production''

Plot

See '' Part I's plot'', '' Part II's plot'', '' Part III's plot''

Cast

The film trilogy is unique in that none of the same actors reprised their roles in the next films.

Reception

The trilogy received predominantly negative critic reviews. Further, the aggregate earnings in the USA box office is just under $9 million, with each film performing worse than the last on both accounts. * The first film, directed by

Paul Johansson Paul Johansson (born January 26, 1964) is an American-born Canadian actor and director in film and television, best known for playing Dan Scott on the WB/ CW series '' One Tree Hill'', ''The Notebook'', and for his role as Nick Wolfe on the s ...

, stars

Matthew Marsden Matthew Marsden is an English and American actor, producer, singer and former model. He has appeared in films such as '' Black Hawk Down'', ''Helen of Troy'', '' Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid'', '' Tamara'', '' Resident Evil: Extincti ...

, Johansson,

Graham Beckel Graham Stuart Beckel (born December 22, 1949) is an American character actor, known for his roles in films and guest appearances on television. Early life and education Beckel graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. ...

and

Jsu Garcia Jesus "Jsu" Garcia (), also credited as Nick Corri (born October 6, 1963), is an American film and television actor and producer. Together with author John-Roger, he runs the production company Scott J-R Productions. Early life Garcia was bor ...

was released in April 2011; it had a USA box office of $4.6 million on a budget of $20 million. Most of the marketing was done online. * The second film, directed by

John Putch John Putch (born July 27, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his recurring role as Bob Morton on the 1970s sitcom ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' and as Sean Brody in the film ''Jaws 3-D''. ...

, stars

, Jason Beghe,

Patrick Fabian Patrick Fabian (born December 7, 1964) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). His film roles include '' End Game'' (2006), '' Cloud 9'' ( ...

D.B. Sweeney Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born November 14, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jackie Willow in Francis Ford Coppola's '' Gardens of Stone'' (1987), Lt. Phil Lowenthal in '' Memphis Belle'' (1990), and Travis Walton in '' Fire ...

and

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips. His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' Americ ...

; it had a USA box office of $3.3 million on a budget of $10 million. * The third film, directed by J. James Manera, stars Laura Regan,

Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann ( ; born February 26, 1958) is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series ''Ally McBeal'', which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" M ...

Kristoffer Polaha Kristoffer Polaha is an American actor. He is best known for his starring roles on television as Jason Matthews in ''North Shore (2004 TV series), North Shore'', Nate Bazile, Nathaniel "Baze" Bazile in ''Life Unexpected'', and Henry Butler in '' ...

Lew Temple Lew Temple (born October 2, 1967) is an American actor known for roles in ''Domino'' and ''Waitress'', and for playing Axel in the third season of '' The Walking Dead''. Early life Temple was raised in Texas. He was the 1982 Baseball MVP at Ro ...

and

Joaquim de Almeida Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida () (born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese actor. He started his film career playing a role in the 1982 action film '' The Soldier'', and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the ...

; it had a USA box office of $0.8 million on a budget of under $5 million.

Home media

''Part I'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on November 8, 2011; ''Part II'' on February 19, 2013; and ''Part III'' on January 6, 2015.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlas Shrugged Atlas Shrugged Film series introduced in 2011 2010s drama films 2010s science fiction films American political drama films American science fiction films American dystopian films American film series Films about businesspeople Film series based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language science fiction films