Dune
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert (original author…Godfather of Sci-Fi novels)
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Stephen Henderson, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Reason for watching: New release and it’s a Denis Villeneuve movie…and it’s DUNE!!!
Number of times I’ve watched it: first time viewing
***
Look, 2021 may not have been the comeback for movies that we all wanted it to be, but you would be crazy to think that the blockbusters have not been outstanding and epic. Dune is the epitome of that. The sound, the acting, the design, the combat, the cinematography. I hate using the word film like I’m some kind of snob (because the fact of the matter is that Cats and Citizen Kane are both “films”), but this movie really is a film! The only downside here is that it feels like it’s only the first act of a larger story.
Here’s the very basic summary though: some 8000 years in the future when interstellar travel is possible, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) is the son of Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson). After taking control of the world Arrakis, the Atreides family finds themselves at odds with the previous rulers the Harkonnens, led by Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgard) who intends to lead an invasion of the world and regain it. Working with his trusty advisors and mentors Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and native Arrakeans Chani (Zenday) and Stilgar (Javier Bardem), Paul leads the fight against the Harkonnens. Usually, I will give you a better plot summary here about what happens in Dune, but so close to the release of such a huge movie that I loved I am going to hold back on that. Honestly, you could read through the 400+-page novel Frank Herbert wrote in the 1960s (and the FIFTEEN total books he wrote in the series). However, I have an ulterior motive for not wanting to explain the plot: it’s because I am lazy. I’m currently reading through actual novel this movie is based on, and it is dense as you can imagine. On every other page, there’s a new term that I have to either google or flip to the back and find a definition for. It is ridiculous.
Anyway back to the movie.
Denis Villeneuve is the perfect director for a project this vast in scale. His use of the camera and the backgrounds and sets really creates a desolate world that feels deadly to all in it. You just have to see Villeneuve’s work in Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 to know that Warner Bro’s put this project in the right hands. But he is also very capable of capturing intimate moments (see his other work in Prisoners). If the project had gone to a different director, we might not have gotten someone who could really balance the scope of this story and the personal growth of Paul as he becomes a man.
Our cast is terrific as advertised. Individually they understand the kind of characters they need to play and fill those shoes well. Seeing Chalemet play a character of destiny is a nice change of pace for him;p having seen his last few movies I was glad he got a role with a little more gravitas. Ferguson really stands out as Lady Jessica as she grapples with the journey she has to face with her son. Skarsgard looks nigh unrecognizable and disgusting as Baron Vladimir.
What keeps me from enjoying this movie more was the knowledge that this story is clearly not over. The entire thing feels like the first act to a story. The last 45 minutes of this movie seems to be the inciting action to me and now we really seem to have a direction for where the story is going. I’ll go back to just how massive and dense the source material is. There truly is so much to unpack so I understand why the studio split the book into two parts. One could argue it is a cash grab, but they’ve done the same thing for less (i.e. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). It did not stop me from loving this movie though.
8/10
Until I see another one.