The first two movies from the series, despite actors changes in part II, were close enough to the book to reflect its spirit. That all changed for the worse in part III.
Dagny wakes up from her accident in (insert one of several names), where John Galt has gathered all the intellectuals on strike from Big Gov. While she does admire their cause and actions, her heart still belongs to the "real world", which is crumbling more and more. She does go back, and found that in her absence, her inept brother has just become a hollow puppet of government.
Like Part II, Part III had a complete change of cast, and this time it's awful. D'Anconia, who supposedly spent his childhood with Dagny, looks like he could be her father or uncle. Wyatt now looks like Matthew MCconaughey from Dallas Buyer's Club (minus the HIV, but kind of thin), James Taggart now just looks like a hollow shell who gets manipulated rather than try to manipulate to be part of the "aristocracy of the pull."
Also, the movie now has a narrator. It was fine to introduce John Galt and how he reacted when the 20th Century Motor Company adapted its suicidal and woke policy, but for the rest it felt so out of place - as if he was meant to keep people up-to-date with what happened in the previous movies. And if they had one, why didn't they make him talk when the lights on New York went out? This really was the climax in the book - Rand had such an admiration for the city.
Galt's monologue apparently clocks at two hours in the book. While it was impossible to reproduce it textually, it left so much out, like the insistance that the people of mind on strike are just responding to demands to "stop their greed." His dialogue with the Head of State sums up to "get out of the way", which is too simplistic And Cheryl's arc was merely a blip in the scenario of part II and III, while her suicide was an integral part of the story and a show that objectivist love needs to include the mind.
Let's not forget Big Gov scheming, which barely had time to develop - and the true project F was what made the Mississippi bridge fall, not just red tape. That was quite important; it showed that government "inventions" aren't meant to improve society. And why bring Sean Hannity again to defend Galt? Glenn Beck has some more credibility, but he's still a conservative.
At least, Ron Paul made sense in the context - he should have had a little more time in front of the camera. Speaking of positives, John Galt was actually well-portrayed. Unlike most of the cast I would say, he doesn't look like a top model; he has a handsome face but doesn't look like a superhero. And while exaggerated (especially with the music), the contrasts between Galt's Gulch and the rest of the world were done well and showed the difference between hope and despair.
In short, I can't quite recommend this movie. It tried to tie too many loose ends at once which completely spoiled the movie. A few more minutes would have helped to integrate these elements and would have eclipse the change in cast.
Final rating: 2.5/5