Review: Dune
Paul Atredies (Timothee Chalamet) is the son of the powerful Duke (Oscar Isaac) who has just been given stewardship over the desert planet of Arrakis. There, one of the most important substances in the universe, "spice" is mined. Paul has been having dreams about this planet, mainly about a young woman, Chani. (Zendaya) He's unaware of what his destiny awaits.
I'm somewhat of a Dune noob. I never read the books, nor did I see David Lynch's effort before this. I did see the documentary Jodoworsky's Dune, which I hated. I didn't expect to ever be looking forward to another Dune adaptation until they attached one of my favorite directors, Denis Villeneuve. So I can only speak for myself, someone without a lot of knowledge of the source material, but I absolutely loved this.
I wanted to see Dune on the big screen, so I went to the theater instead of watching it for the first time on HBO Max. This is the first Max release that I actually did that for, and I'm so glad I did. The booming score alone in Dolby Atmos was worth it.
For something "unfilmable" I found the film pretty easy to follow. There's a lot of set up explaining the politics, we get proper introductions to all of our main characters (though some of them leave us far too soon) and It did not feel at all like a 2 and a half hour film.
Chalamet is a great lead. I'm interested in seeing what awaits Paul in part two. My favorites were Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. A lot of the film is focused on Paul, and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) so these characters don't get a ton of screen time, which is one of my few complaints, but actors do well.
The ending isn't going to satisfy most people, because this is only part one. I wasn't ready to leave. I could've watched a straight four hour movie of this with no intermission and not batted an eyelash. I was so immersed and impressed. I ended up watching this film again on HBO Max last night a second time. Maybe it will be a third by the time I've posted this.
Recommended: Yes
Grade: A+
Memorable Quote: "It will be a honor to die with this." - Chani (Zendaya)
You hated Jodorowsky's Dune? *runs & cries*
ReplyDeleteI just....yikes not for me. lol
DeleteI have a very weird relationship with Dune as a property. A million or so years ago, I wrote the official strategy guides for Prima Publishing for the Dune 2000 and Emperor: Battle for Dune computer games, both of which took a lot of their visual style from Lynch's movie. I was even deposed for a court case involving them.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to this, and hoping to see it in the next day or two.
Oh wow that's fascinating! That sounds really cool (execept for the court case part). I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteI hope WB in their quest for new franchises gets out of the way and lets Denis have full control over the whole series. It could be amazing!
ReplyDeleteI hope so! I'm so glad they announced part II.
DeleteAs someone with no knowledge about Dune at all, your review was such a relief to read! I've prioritized other movies this week because I know Dune will be around for a while but I'm looking forward to seeing it after Halloween :)
ReplyDelete