Dune - Film Review

As time has gone on, some of the best directors of the past half a century have faded away leaving me wondering who might be able to fill the void left behind. After seeing his brilliant work with Blade Runner 2049, I genuinely believed that Denis Villeneuve might be the next Ridley Scott. No, it wasn't because of the Blade Runner connection, but it was more-so due to Villeneuve's ability to convey subtle storytelling along with truly brilliant cinematography (typically involving landscapes). With all of that said, I had to admit I was eagerly looking forward to seeing this in theaters, however perhaps I expected too much.

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this in theaters, but it is also available on HBO Max.

General Information 
Dune is a space opera science fiction film that was released on 22 October 2021. It is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel of the same name. It was directed, co-produced, and co-written by Denis Villeneuve with Greig Fraser providing the cinematography. Legendary Pictures produced this film under Warner Bros. as the distributor. As like with many modern-day films, Hans Zimmer provided the scoring for this film. As of 26 October 2021, the film has accrued around $223 million (worldwide) against a budget of approximately $165 million (not counting advertising). It has a 74 Metascore on Metacritic as well as a 83% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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David Lynch's 1984 adaptation is well-remembered, although that may not be a good thing

For many fans of Herbert's novel, one cannot see this movie without at least having some knowledge of the 1984 adaptation directed by David Lynch. That particular film is generally regarded with less-than-favorable criticism (it holds a 41 Metascore on Metacritic), however it does have a bit of a cult following. To be clear for the purposes of my review of this most recent iteration of Dune: I have not seen the Lynch film, nor have I read the book. As such, I intend to review this on its own merits without comparing it to previous iterations.

The Story

In the far-flung future, mankind uses a substance called "spice" for interstellar travel. Spice can only be found on the desert planet of Arrakis, which is inhabited by giant sand worms and a xenophobic race of people called "the Fremen." For the past 80 years, the intergalactic empire had assigned the noble House of Harkonnen fiefdom of Arrakis. For unknown reasons, the emperor decrees that House Atreides now has control of the planet, which leaves Duke Leto I (played by Oscar Isaac) in charge of setting up production on the planet. The duke's son and heir, Paul (Timothée Chalamet), joins the ruling entourage to Arrakis and begins to experience visions that potentially point to the future. Solidifying control over Arrakis won't be easy though as Paul and his father find themselves entrenched within an intergalactic conspiracy comprised of political intrigue and double-dealing.

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A new noble house has arrived in Arrakis

In general, all stories have a set of characteristics that are required for it to effectively work. The basic story arc consists of the following: an introduction; inciting incident; rising action; climax; falling action; and resolution. Each part is integral and can be found in nearly every story from the most basic of fables to the biggest of blockbusters. Unfortunately, Dune does not have all of these characteristics, which leaves it feeling woefully incomplete.

 

The likely culprit behind this failing is that this is an adaptation of a book that is quite large and it's abundantly clear that Villeneuve wants a sequel to continue the story. Despite this fervent hope (which now appears to be coming true), the story for this specific film is unfinished. There is no clear story climax or any of the following characteristics as it prematurely ends within the rising action stage. The excuse for this being part of a multi-film epic has no grounds as other epics have contended with this issue and succeeded time and time again. The Lord of the Rings series executes this perfectly, and even lesser series at least still complete their respective arcs (they may be bad for other reasons though). As it stands, Dune is essentially an overly long pilot to a television show.

Dune fails to complete its story arc

There's a good amount of world-building that I enjoyed that really fleshes out what Arrakis is and how its inhabitants survive in its harsh environment. I loved seeing the small cultural nuances of the Fremen and it was interesting seeing how the colonizing forces of House Atreides interacts with this foreign civilization. It's disappointing that these detailed touches aren't applied to the antagonistic House Harkonnen, nor the overall intergalactic empire. This lack of detail especially extends to individual characters as very few personalities in the story ever manage to expand beyond their bare essentials.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

The area where Villeneuve's vision stands out strongest continues to be its visual effects and superb sound design. From beginning to end, this film is a feast for the eyes, and I'm completely blown away by the incredible landscape shots and impressive CGI. I had heard about the giant sand worms before seeing the film, but I was not fully prepared for just how big those things are onscreen! Beyond the larger set design, I'm also equally taken with the various costume designs as there's a lot to take note of without a character even acting.

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The giant sand worms look really cool

The Acting

When speaking to potential viewers, I have frequently heard that the main draw for this film is its all-star cast. It's certainly true that there's an incredible group of performers aligned behind this movie, but having good actors does not equate to good performances. Even with all the spare time the story gives its characters, we don't ever really see much from anyone. I found myself reminded of Blade Runner 2049's muted acting in this, however Blade Runner 2049 had a purpose behind this direction as many of the characters weren't supposed to behave like a regular human. In Dune, there's little for the actors to work with and it shows.

I haven't seen Timothée Chalamet in too many roles, however I can tell he's trying in this, and I think he does the best he can with what's given to him, but I never found Paul to be all that interesting of a character. There aren't many memorable scenes that I can recall from his performance, and yet he's arguably the best of the lot with Rebecca Ferguson coming in at a close second. I had some choice words for Ferguson's performance in Reminiscence, but I'm glad to see she does a much better job in this.

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Chalamet tries, but Paul remains an entirely forgettable protagonist

The antagonists played by Stellan Skarsgård and Dave Bautista are probably the most disappointing acting elements of this film as they barely have anything to do with little to no explanation for their characters' motivations or actions. Once again, I don't necessarily blame Skarsgård or Bautista as I think that they simply didn't get much to work with and it seems my theory on this is right. Skarsgård stated in an interview that there was "...no room for any psychology, or sort of diving into [backstory]" in regards to his character. I personally find it amusing the interview I'm referencing is speaking so highly of how Skarsgård's and Bautista's characters were portrayed, but I think this genuinely speaks to the poor writing that this film's actors and actresses had to contend with.

The Best of the Best: The stunning visual effects and world-building.

The Worst of the Worst: The lack of a complete story despite being quite long.

Calhooey Score: 4/10 - Below Average

Would I Recommend?

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No amount of visions of Zendaya are going to make this film more complete

Dune is a beautiful, yet incomplete product devoid of compelling characters or much depth. It pains me to write that as Villeneuve completely blew me away with Blade Runner 2049, but yet all of the evidence shows that many of the poor decisions with this are at his feet. I genuinely hope that this movie does get a sequel, because it will be truly tragic if all of this time and work was for nothing. As it stands right now, I can't recommend this. There are better space operas out there and better stories to see. If you want a good Villeneuve film, watch Blade Runner 2049 instead. When the sequel does come out, I would consider recommending seeing this right before heading to the cinemas.

Spoiler Comments

• I've thought about the story arc issue quite a bit. I imagine one could potentially argue Paul's escape through the sandstorm might be the climax of the film; however, I would disagree with that as it's not all that well executed.
  
• Why do House Atreides and House Harkonnen hate each other? I understand that House Atreides seemingly posed a threat to the emperor (although I can't see how since they were wiped out with relative ease), but I was kind of hoping to hear the Baron give some type of monologue explaining why he personally hates Duke Leto I.
• People across the room died from that poison Dr. Yueh put in the duke's mouth, and yet the Baron somehow survived a face-full of it? I am incredulous...
• Dr. Yueh's betrayal was so strange. Even when he was in the process of paralyzing the duke, it never seemed like he actually expected the Baron to honor his agreement. 
  
• Is Gurney dead? We saw all of House Atreides' forces get massacred, so I'm assuming he is.
  
• That little desert mouse was probably my favorite character in the movie.
  
• Why are the Harkonnens going to now massacre the Fremen? Why didn't they do it in the previous eighty years that they controlled Arrakis?
• By the two-hour mark of this film, I was starting to wonder if we'd ever actually see Zendaya's character before the credits rolled.
• Does Paul get to keep that dagger now that he's killed a man with it?
• Also, how does one go about getting a tooth from a giant sand worm?
  

References

(1) Dune. (n.d.). Dune film image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/.

(2) Dune. (n.d.). Dune 1984 version film image. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/.

(3) Watkins, T. (2021, October 26). House Atreides image. Cosmic Circus. Retrieved from: https://www.thecosmiccircus.com/dune-review-why-my-appreciation-grows-with-each-viewing/. 

(4) Iowa Rambler. (2020, September 9). Giant sand worm gif. Retrieved from: https://systlin.tumblr.com/post/628810764646531072/sandworm-dune-2020-a-sandworm-is-a-fictional. 

(5) DuneMovie. (2020, September 9). Timothée Chalamet gif. Tenor. Retrieved from: https://tenor.com/view/giving-the-sign-timothee-chalamet-paul-atreides-dune-the-sign-gif-18400823.

(6) Chalamet, T. (2021, July 21). Zendaya image. Tumblr. Retrieved from: https://chalamet-chalamet.tumblr.com/post/657415529678651392/timoth%C3%A9e-and-zendaya-in-dune-october-22-2021.