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Dune Movie Review

Dune is a 2021 epic science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson among others. It’s a stupendous adaptation.

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“Dreams make good stories,

but everything important happens when we’re awake“

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I am a big fan of the source material and I find the 1984 movie quite underrated and needlessly trashed by most critics and audiences. However, that adaptation was firmly rooted in the eighties for better and for worse, which made this material perfect fodder for a new take on the story. Finally, we got the new Dune and it will go down as the ultimate adaptation.

As soon as I’ve heard that Villeneuve was going to direct Dune, I was ecstatic. After all, two of my favorites combining together into one product was going to be great no matter what, and it ended up being just as terrific as I’d hoped with only some small caveats here and there. The issues that the film has are so minor that honestly most people not loving this movie are non-fans or simply haters.

First things first, I did not appreciate that the story was split into two movies and it wasn’t even clearly told to audiences. It resembled trick marketing to be honest. Even worse was the decision to cut the movie after that ritual Fremen fight when clearly it should have ended before that mark. Overall, the last half hour padded a bit and it wasn’t nearly as riveting as the first two hours of the movie.

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With that being said, the two-movie choice ultimately mostly worked in the story’s favor for obvious reasons. There are so many amazing details, excellent world building and intricate storytelling to be mined from two movies instead of one, which made this first part absolutely thrilling to behold. As I am a fan of slower paced movies with less action, I am undoubtedly going to enjoy the sequel less. The themes of imperialism and the destruction of the environment were well explored here and both houses and their conflict are well set up for the sequel.

The one thing that held the first movie back was obviously that tiresome, very annoying inner monologue choice that was spoken out loud. It was definitely faithful to the novel, but it did not work whatsoever in the visual medium of film. This adaptation changed that drastically for the better. We get to see a different voice like a whisper and only sporadically, which added to the immediacy of those moments. Even better was the use of the commanding voice during the mental power usage. I adored those scenes as the powers of the Bene Gesserit were both super cool in execution and eerily powerful.

It is crazy to think that I was initially against the casting for the 2021’s Dune, but after watching the film, I have to say that I was convinced by the vast majority of the actors present here. This was my biggest positive surprise for sure. Timothee Chalamet is very charismatic in the main role and the way Paul is developed here was powerful. He still isn’t a leader and he has a lot to learn, so that innate childishness and inexperience was very well contrasted with his obviously messianic potential. These SF heroes are usually quite bland, so the fact that he wasn’t in this movie goes to show that the directing, acting and the script are all top-notch.

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By far the biggest improvement character-wise from the 1984 version is Lady Jessica herself. This just might be Rebecca Ferguson’s finest performance so far. She commands the screen with her regal stature and superbly executed magical abilities, but she is also very human and the emotional connection that the two share was palpable throughout.

Oscar Isaac got a less showy role, but still he made an impact as Leto. He was also very regal and the father-son bond was beautiful and refreshingly not confrontational. Josh Brolin as Gurney was a lot of fun and quite endearing while even Jason Momoa did not stick out all that much. Quite on the contrary, his Duncan Idaho was a breath of fresh air as the rare comic relief in this otherwise very serious movie.

Chani was only in a couple of scenes in the film as she will be present much more in the second film, but Zendaya is quite memorable nonetheless. I did like the scene of the betrayal itself as it was amazingly executed as are most of the big plot points here, but still Dr. Yueh needed better development for such a crucial character to the story.

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Dave Bautista was surprisingly solid in the role as his lack of stronger acting talent actually fitted the role of the Baron’s nephew like a glove. Speaking of the Baron, I absolutely loved him. Stellan Skarsgard was chilling in this role and the towering figure of the character was imposing as was his voice and the accompanying music. True menace was achieved here.

The action is also impressively executed in this Dune. The big set pieces are both explosively entertaining and suspenseful. But the choice to focus more on the adventurous and dramatic elements led to it being such an enjoyable experience for me. I was never bored despite its long runtime and truncated story, which just goes to show how well it was all realized. The faithfulness to the source material was also admirable here.

Dune is just meant to be devoured on the big screen. Although Villeneuve is probably a bit too obsessed with airships flying off and on planets, those scenes are still super memorable and the influences ranging from Scott’s ‘Alien’ to his own ‘Arrival’ are easily spotted in the ships’ designs as well as some interiors. The whole planet looked incredible and we got to explore it properly for once.

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Although a bit too earnest and serious for its own sake at times, that tone still made for an epic SF story. The visual effects are truly astonishing and some of the best that we’ve gotten so far as the ships and the fights look particularly arresting. Couple that with incredible cinematography from Greig Fraser and you’ve got a true feast for the eyes, but also for the ears as the score from Hans Zimmer is mesmerizing. The folk elements are fantastic as are the more suspenseful sections. The sound was a bit loud at times, but otherwise excellent. The pacing was problematic, but the directing is obviously phenomenal.