DUNE Movie: Thoughts, Opinions, and Impressions

[Ath-kethin]

No I’m confused about what could lead someone to not want to see the movie becauSe they changed jihad to crusade?

I get how they were scared to use "jihad," as silly as that is. But there are a host of alternative terms they could have used, among them "holy war."

Instead, they chose to use "crusade." If there was a worse term they could have chosen, I can't think of one. What it tells me is that the filmmakers deliberately chose to take what is basically a white savior tale and make it somehow whiter.

That decision, and the unfortunate judgement call contained within, lets me know a great deal about how they approached and handled the story. And I have consequently lost interest in this project. Reviews I've read have mostly confirmed my call here, too.

 

[payn]

The skinny: Epic feel from start to finish in typical Villanueva fashion. Fairly faithful adaption that cuts in places that go mostly unnoticed, but could have used a little more exposition. I actually appreciated the loud as hell film score, maybe even more than the visuals, which are stunning.

Additional thoughts:
I loved Paul's little holo projector encyclopedia. I thought it was a great way it introduce exposition to the audience while keeping up the ambiance and not feeling like an info dump narration. I think a few more of these scenes would have helped. "Tell me about the emperor, tell me about House Harkonen, tell me...."

I didnt mind DV scaling back a little on Baron Harkonen. In the novel he has a ton of despicable habits that I dont think are necessary to build him up as a villain. I do wish we got a few more scenes with Harkonen teaching Rabban which would work as excellent exposition in keeping up the ambiance. Also, it would help flesh out the plot more for the uninitiated in Dune.

Also, a scene or two really could have been used to tell the story of Doc Yuewl a bit better. His betrayal is a big deal, but in this film its a blink of an eye.

I liked the scene with the emperor landing on Caladan, but wish we would have gotten to actually see the emperor. I think DV wanted to scale back the political intrigue, but again, it hurt the overall plot structure to the film. Which is my one big criticism of the film. Not enough explanation of what exactly is going on.

I think DV wanted to hand a big present to Dune fans, but he miscalculated the fans love of the lore about mentats and the political structure. In the end, fans of Dune lose a little bit of that fan service, and non-fans are likely to get a little lost in the big picture of Dune.

Just a few comments off the top of my head that stop Dune from being all out epic. Its still a hell of a movie and receives top marks from me in all other areas.

 

[Mallus]

Instead, they chose to use "crusade." If there was a worse term they could have chosen, I can't think of one. What it tells me is that the filmmakers deliberately chose to take what is basically a white savior tale and make it somehow whiter.

Dune isn’t a white savior narrative. It’s a critique of them written a few decades before the term ‘white savior narrative’ gained traction. Villeneuve’s film honors that.

I should add, “so far”. We’ll see what part 2 brings. Though after watching part 1, I get the impression the second film might end squarely in tragic Dune Messiah territory.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

Dune isn’t a white savior narrative. It’s a critique of them written a few decades before the term ‘white savior narrative’ gained traction. Villeneuve’s film honors that.

I should add, “so far”. We’ll see what part 2 brings. Though after watching part 1, I get the impression the second film might end squarely in tragic Dune Messiah territory.

From what I understand, Dune Messiah would be film 3. I do want to see them get there, as it'll be a very anti-Hollywood narrative.

 

[Umbran]

So, I just watched it. Some thoughts from a fan of the book who felt Lynch's version was a train wreck of a film.

Several people are noting the missing lore on mentats, and suchlike. I have to point out that those bits are cool worldbuilding, but... they aren't story. They only have a few hours to get though 400+ pages of book, so they cut down to the core plot points.

And still, the result... was kind of ponderous, for me. I can understand the idea of using lots of time on visuals to get across the expansive nature of the original text, and the visuals are lovely. I think they interfere with the pacing in a way that doesn't thrill me.

For example, trying to make a big action scene out of a flight in a dust storm, where you can't see anything's relative positioning, for example, comes off as a way to try to show how powerful the storm was, but the lack of context in a brown haze of dust made it confusing, and made the resolution of the problem seem nonsensical.

The writing was serviceable, the acting was fine. I think folks forget that the people in the original text are all stilted. Their very cultures are stilted and loaded with formalities, whether Imperial house or Fremen.

 

[Zaukrie]

Ya. I don't think the mentat are missed in a movie version.

 

[payn]

I missed it. I thought it was awesome when Hawat's eyes rolled over and he had an instant answer to a complex mathematical problem. I guess folks can infer what was happening there, but its also nice to get background on how and why house leaders have these experts. It's like the measters from game of thrones to every house. Not something that needs a lot of time onscreen, but a few lines mentioning it would be appreciated.

Will be interesting to see how things unfold in part II. How much more will we learn about the houses and their politics?

 

[Umbran]

I missed it.

The real question is whether folks who didn't know about it missed it. "Oh, he's a human calculator or database or something," may be all they really need, all things considered.

Will be interesting to see how things unfold in part II. How much more will we learn about the houses and their politics?

Probably not much. We have learned that politics is a big thing, but the original book didn't really give details - it is a Harkonen/Atredies conflict, with other houses all offscreen, iirc.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Probably not much. We have learned that politics is a big thing, but the original book didn't really give details - it is a Harkonen/Atredies conflict, with other houses all offscreen, iirc.

This is an interesting trick for world building. It's in LotR too. You supply just enough detail to hint at a bigger picture.

 

[Imaculata]

What it tells me is that the filmmakers deliberately chose to take what is basically a white savior tale and make it somehow whiter.

What this tells me, is that you didn't understand the story of Dune, which is a complete deconstruction of the savior/messiah story.

Everything about Paul being the supposed savior, is planned... a fiction orchestrated by the Bene Gesserit.