DUNE Movie: Thoughts, Opinions, and Impressions

[The Soloist]

I've just watched Dune for the third time tonight. Keeps getting better every time.

The visuals are impeccable. The acting is superior. The movie doesn't manipulate the audience emotionally. We have to connect the dots as a spectator and choose how we see each character. The pacing is implacable like a metronome and psychological tension is palpable every minute. A mature movie for a mature audience.

It's a tour de force. 10 on 10.

 

[GothmogIV]

So, having watched Dune (2021), I'm not overly impressed with the writing or the acting. As pertains to the writing, enormous liberties were taken with the script. It's, at least in my opinion, a very dumbed-down version of Dune. The acting is fairly wooden as well, which is to be expected from Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista. I've never seen any of Chalamet's other work but if this is his level of acting, well I'm not impressed. As to Josh Brolin, it was fairly standard gruff Brolin.

Visually, it was fine although there were still major problems - mostly due to the way Hollywood movies work. The stillsuits are designed to capture nearly all water lost through sweat, exhalation, and elimination. And yet the major cast goes around unmasked for most of the time. I know. I get it. The stars didn't sign on to have their faces covered up.

And finally, again minor but big, the accents. I know that serious sci-fi is supposed to have English accents because it's Fakespeare. It's faux gravitas and it's stupid. So what happens when you jettison the fake English accents and have epic scifi with flat American accents? Everything just seems, well, flat. Not to mention that it leads to jarring American pronunciations like "HAR-kuh-nin" and Beast "Rabbin."

Maybe I was "spoiled" by the David Lynch version or too many readings of the book in my youth but my thoughts on the movie are that it is "Dune, based on the book by Frank Herbert." And yes, many of these are little things. But little things add up.

But what did you think?

I just rewatched the 2021 version in anticipation of seeing the new one on an iMax screen next week. I had a similar experience: the cinematography is ravishing, and the soundtrack is great, but...I miss the weird vibe of Lynch's 1984 version ("You must milk this cat"). It was fine. Close to meh.

 

[The Soloist]

Well, I'm glad the 80s-kinky Lynch version was wiped clean of my memory and replaced by Villeneuve's.

 

[The Soloist]

Part II, with part I constitutes the best sci-fi political saga ever filmed. Hoping for a third film.

 

[payn]

Just got back. It is breathtaking the imagery combined with an excellent score. Cant wait for part III.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I rarely care about movies anymore…

But…

I am watching this with my wife ASAP…we really liked the first one and were both cussing when it ended and we knew we had to wait!

We have a nice 4K TV now so will rewatch the first one to prepare….

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Saw it the other night. It was not great. Still looked good. But it struggled with getting the story out.

I get that they were trying to tone down the white saviour aspects of the story. But they really didn't do a good job of it. They needed to cut out extraneous bits (e.g. everything with Feyd Rautha) and develop Paul's reluctance more and make his choice that much more difficult and have more dramatic weight.

Also, small niggly world building things bothered me. e.g. When Gurney asks Paul how many troops he has and Paul says "200" I had a real moment of disconnect. That the whole Fremen/Harkonnen war took place in less than 9 months made it feel cramped and small. Oh and the Emperor telling Paul that he killed Leto because Leto was weak. In the book he killed Leto because Leto was a threat. Doing it because "Leto was weak" is just some bog standard hack writer garbage.

Overall, colour me disappointed. I really enjoyed part 1 and was looking forward to this one a lot.

 

[briggart]

Saw it the other night. It was not great. Still looked good. But it struggled with getting the story out.

I get that they were trying to tone down the white saviour aspects of the story. But they really didn't do a good job of it. They needed to cut out extraneous bits (e.g. everything with Feyd Rautha) and develop Paul's reluctance more and make his choice that much more difficult and have more dramatic weight.

Also, small niggly world building things bothered me. e.g. When Gurney asks Paul how many troops he has and Paul says "200" I had a real moment of disconnect. That the whole Fremen/Harkonnen war took place in less than 9 months made it feel cramped and small. Oh and the Emperor telling Paul that he killed Leto because Leto was weak. In the book he killed Leto because Leto was a threat. Doing it because "Leto was weak" is just some bog standard hack writer garbage.

Overall, colour me disappointed. I really enjoyed part 1 and was looking forward to this one a lot.

I didn’t take weak as meaning that Leto was not a threat. Actually the opposite of that. The Emperor said the Leto’s weakness was ruling by following his heart. I think that the Emperor means that Leto was not enough of a cynical/pragmatic leader to avoid becoming a threat to the Emperor, thus forcing the latter to get rid of him. I think that at that point the Emperor believes Paul may have won a battle, but he’s confident that he will eventually win the war. To him, Paul is acting based on emotions, not reason, and that makes him weak, like his father.

 

[payn]

Saw it the other night. It was not great. Still looked good. But it struggled with getting the story out.

I get that they were trying to tone down the white saviour aspects of the story. But they really didn't do a good job of it. They needed to cut out extraneous bits (e.g. everything with Feyd Rautha) and develop Paul's reluctance more and make his choice that much more difficult and have more dramatic weight.

Also, small niggly world building things bothered me. e.g. When Gurney asks Paul how many troops he has and Paul says "200" I had a real moment of disconnect. That the whole Fremen/Harkonnen war took place in less than 9 months made it feel cramped and small. Oh and the Emperor telling Paul that he killed Leto because Leto was weak. In the book he killed Leto because Leto was a threat. Doing it because "Leto was weak" is just some bog standard hack writer garbage.

Overall, colour me disappointed. I really enjoyed part 1 and was looking forward to this one a lot.

Different folks...

Spoiler: spoiler

Everything with Feyd was excellent. The artistic moments with the Harkonnens was amazing and I am glad Dennis put that in.

I liked the Emperor's moment of weakness trying to get under Paul's skin. Act tough in the face of the decision like it was his own. It was pretty well established he was tricked into doing it by the Bene Gesserit and not because Leto was weak. The matters of the heart being an issue with Leto and Jessica for those in power is well established in the novel.

The "200" moment was excellent because Paul was still doing everything possible to avoid going south and enlisting the fundamentalist. He had fooled himself into thinking his rebellion moment could go on forever. Reuniting with Gurney was a conflict point pushing him into his destiny. As for war in a blink of an eye, much of the film felt cramped because major details were glossed over so they could focus on the feel and ambiance of Dune. I dont understand missing the weight on Paul and his decisions, I felt it through almost the entire film. That was an artistic choice that I understand folks not being a fan of. I do miss the details and the political intrigue.

If I had one big complaint, its not enough Baron Hark involvement.

 

[The Soloist]

Different folks...

Spoiler: spoiler

Everything with Feyd was excellent. The artistic moments with the Harkonnens was amazing and I am glad Dennis put that in.

I liked the Emperor's moment of weakness trying to get under Paul's skin. Act tough in the face of the decision like it was his own. It was pretty well established he was tricked into doing it by the Bene Gesserit and not because Leto was weak. The matters of the heart being an issue with Leto and Jessica for those in power is well established in the novel.

The "200" moment was excellent because Paul was still doing everything possible to avoid going south and enlisting the fundamentalist. He had fooled himself into thinking his rebellion moment could go on forever. Reuniting with Gurney was a conflict point pushing him into his destiny. As for war in a blink of an eye, much of the film felt cramped because major details were glossed over so they could focus on the feel and ambiance of Dune. I dont understand missing the weight on Paul and his decisions, I felt it through almost the entire film. That was an artistic choice that I understand folks not being a fan of. I do miss the details and the political intrigue.

If I had one big complaint, its not enough Baron Hark involvement.

This! That is exactly how I saw it.

I don't like it when the central character's indecision/refusal is prolonged to the point it becomes tedious. Villeneuve struck the right balance for me.