Review: Dune

My first post since March 2020. 

The past 18 months have been hell, and I don't just mean COVID. 

The last movie I saw at the cineplex was Christopher Nolan's Tenet more than a year ago, and I didn't even have the time or energy to review that. 

After recent upgrades to Android TVs at home, I could've found Dune online, but chose to make the trip to the theatre so I could experience this the way it's supposed to be experienced - on a huge screen. 

I'm also a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve, Oscar Isaac and Timothee Chalamet, so I was more than happy to support their work. 

Verdict: I rate it an 8/10. 

Dune is 2.5 hours long. 

The first hour is awesome, the second hour's great, the last 30 minutes are rather draggy. 

First, the good parts. 

Villeneuve promised a visual spectacle, and he absolutely delivered. 

One notable shooting location is the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, where Lawrence Of Arabia and a few Star Wars movies were also filmed. 

I'm familiar with Villeneuve's work, from 2013's Prisoners and 2015's Sicario to 2016's Arrival and 2017's Blade Runner 2049. I saw similarities between Dune and Arrival in terms of scale and style, but of course Dune has a much larger cast and a lot more exposition to get through. 

As mentioned, the first hour is superb, as we're introduced to the main players and the story builds up to a mid-point twist. We're treated to scene after scene of breath-taking planetary vistas and jaw-droppingly massive spaceships, interspersed with intimate sequences involving various members of the Atreides clan. 

Hans Zimmer's score fits everything perfectly, evoking awe, excitement and dread in equal measure.

 

The main protagonists are well cast, but Timothee deserves special mention. 

I'm a big fan of his work - Lady Bird, Beautiful Boy, A Rainy Day In New York, The King and Little Women. 

He's always struck me as an old soul, which incidentally, is the exact description Villeneuve used in a recent interview. 

Casting him as Paul Atreides is spot on, though he's about a decade older than the actual character, who's only 15 in the novel. ( This isn't unusual, since Jennifer Lawrence was 21 when she played 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, and Dylan O'Brien was also 21 in the first Maze Runner movie ( his character, Thomas, was 16 in the book )).

Timothee's main advantage over other actors his age is his gravitas, which has served him well in dramatic roles. 

Dune, however, is a production of epic proportions, with a cast comprising many famous actors, a few of whom have been part of lucrative franchises as well ( e.g. Oscar Isaac - Star Wars, Rebecca Ferguson - Mission: Impossible, Jason Momoa - Aquaman ). 

I'm very pleased to report that Timothee is more than capable of holding his own, and is never dwarfed by anyone or anything, even the giant sandworm. 

He infuses all his scenes with quiet strength, occasionally shooting dagger stares at Paul's enemies. 

His main weakness is probably his relative lack of physicality, which is evident in the fight scenes. The way Villeneuve shot certain parts of these suggests Timothee had a stunt double, so a few of the impressive moves probably weren't performed by him. 

But the best part about watching any Timothee Chalamet film at the theatre is his face. From his teens to around 21 years old, he was charmingly boyish. These past couple of years, he has matured and now looks fully grown up. He's one of those lucky people whom the camera loves. With Dune's beautiful costumes, makeup and cinematography, it's impossible to look away every time he appears.

Now, the not so good parts.

If you haven't read Frank Herbert's novel, you'll have a very hard time following the story.

I got through about 100 pages before giving up, but thankfully, they were enough.

In addition to the large number of characters, there're a lot of complicated names to digest. 

E.g. Bene Gesserit, Sardaukar, Kwisatz Haderach.

The novel even has a lengthy appendix explaining these terms to the reader.

If this wasn't enough, there's the dodgy audio, which muffled some dialogue or drowned it out completely.

I had to read the Chinese subtitles to understand what was happening.

A few scenes were also very dark.

I expected the movie to condense many key events in the interest of time. 

One that's completely omitted is a welcome dinner after the Atreides arrive in Arrakis, during which the clan meets with diplomatic figures and everyone discusses politics.

A sequence involving Duke Leto's heroic rescue of a team from the spice harvester ( eventually swallowed by the sandworm ) is exciting, but pales in comparison to the book's description which, from what I can recall, took up almost 10 pages ( of tiny tiny font ), and concluded with high praise for Leto's leadership qualities.

( I don't remember Paul running out of the ornithopter and almost being left behind. Those of you who've read the novel, let me know if I'm wrong. )

There was also a section where Leto suspected Lady Jessica of being a traitor, which wasn't in the film.

The last half hour dragged as Paul and Jessica searched for the Fremen in the vast desert, before Paul defeated one of them and was accepted into the tribe. Perhaps Villeneuve wanted to illustrate the challenges they overcame, but I felt it could've been 10-15 minutes shorter.

I enjoyed Dune a lot, but encourage those who haven't read the book to do so, as it will add much more to the overall experience.

Although I got through only 100 pages on the first try ( Herbert's quite long-winded ), the movie convinced me to persist and finish the novel before Part 2 is released. 

I'm just glad these blockbusters are finally out after being delayed for a year.

My next trip to the cineplex will be for No Time To Die. Looking forward to it!