Review of Dune (2021) by Atlanticlotion — 22 Oct 2021

Judging as a film fan rather than one determining accuracies or lack thereof from Herbert's universe. ----.

2.5 feels long with a slow burn like this, but justified considering the massive undertaking that Dune is. Rushing through the material any faster would undoubtably push this film into sci-fi action camp.

Villeneuve captures both intimate moments and armada-scale scenes while showing immense care / craft for both, while holding our interest as we ping pong between the two. Paul's character starts in a juvenile depiction, and we are brought up to speed alongside him throughout the film. We experience his world and it's sudden shifts in parallel which helps a viewer stomach the leaps we must take. This style also helps us justify where his character and the film ends.

The movie is well acted, but the sparse dialogue, furrowed brows and 1000 yard stares as the main dish is a tight box to play in. Yet everyone seems to deliver quite well. Chalamet is great and certainly delivers on carrying the film.

The sound design is incredible, see it in a theater or invest in sound (you won't regret it.) The cinematography and CG are beautiful. Blade Runner serves as a fairly stellar depiction of a some-what distant future, where Dune mixes in more mysticism and fantasy and takes us far off-world without being hokey (which is a difficult thing to do). It's difficult not to see a lot of semblance to Star Wars baked in between the literal war in the stars we're watching, Oscar Isaac, sand monsters, and the Annakin ora floating over Paul. If Star Wars was made strictly for adults, this would be an acceptable form (although a bit more graphic violence could help this movie deepen the seriousness of what we're seeing, but doesn't feel mandatory or missed here.).

The only disappointment of the film is realizing you've spent so much time simply to google "Dune 2 release date" considering the film feels half-way through (or less) of whatever it's trying to deliver. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.