Review of Dune (2021) by Caadn — 23 Oct 2021

Herbert's original novels have been a passion of mine since an early age. Through multiple re-readings, they have held up due to the depth and complexity of their mix of compelling characters, philosophical concepts, mysticism and political intrigue which work to paint a universe of immense scope. Sadly, Villeneuve's reductionist vision comes as a crushing disappointment in light of the richness of the source material.

Understandable, and even necessary, was the urge to streamline the storyline in order to make the dense original narrative comprehensible to unfamiliar audiences. This is even more the case given how much Lynch's attempt (and to a lesser degree Harrison's) struggled under its weight. However, in his quest for accessibility, Villeneuve and his screen writers cut too deep and gutted the narrative of SO much material that what makes the Dune universe truly compelling and unique is lost. The pendulum swinging so far in the opposite direction from the earlier film and mini series leave us with nothing more than just another forgettable, generic action sci-fi epic. While the universe is beautifully rendered and a visual treat to behold, very little beyond the visuals exists to recommend the film. Key elements of the social, political, ecological or anti-colonialist plots are carved out or downplayed to the point of forgettability and cliché. Key lines that could have quickly and easily added context and depth are omitted from the dialog. What remains is often underwhelming and delivered in a manner that misses accentuation of important points or conveyance of convincing and compelling emotion. This so effects characterization that the fate of the characters becomes at best an intellectual concern. Odd timing choices also exist where information that would have provided insight into the universe, character motivation and lend narrative tension are often provided either after the scenes in which they would have been most useful or so early in the film that by the time they're relevant they've been lost amongst the clutter of prior scenes and the slow drag the lack or real content turns the film into. The sheer missed opportunity Villeneuve's film represents is made even more shocking and tragic given the decision to cut the original novel into two films. With a 155-minute runtime to tell just half of the story, you would expect a significantly deeper and more nuanced tale, not one floating so much closer to the surface.

While I feel Villeneuve's approach to Dune was attempted with much more artistry and reverence for the source material, it nonetheless reminds me of Verhoeven's treatment of Heinlein's Starship Troopers, another conceptually rich novel that did not deserve the cinematic abuse it received. Villeneuve, with what feels like some more or less simple changes regarding direction and the screenplay, could have delivered to us not just a visually stunning film containing the action he was clearly aiming for, but also one that preserved Dune's more cerebral nature that has made the novels so engrossing for so many.

As has been the case for Villeneuve's directorial predecessors, the challenge of Dune has proven to be too much. Hopefully, we won't need to wait another 25 years for someone with greater vision to make an attempt to deliver the adaptation both Herbert's novels, and we as an audience, deserve.