Dune
Dune is one hell of a half of a movie — for better and for worse.
While David Lynch stuffed Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel into 137 compromised minutes, Denis Villeneuve takes his time telling the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) fulfilling his destiny on the spice-mining planet Arrakis…and takes his time some more.
But while this and arguably any faithful adaptation of Dune inherently lacks the action-packed pacing of a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings film, it one-ups those sagas in the special effects department, particularly with slick, borderline photo-real spaceships and aircraft that rank above the best such work since, well, Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049.
Lensed by the great cinematographer Greig Fraser (Killing Them Softly; Rogue One), the stunning production design by Patrice Vermette (who’s worked on every English-language Villeneuve film except Blade Runner 2049) shines to its fullest potential, bringing life on Arrakis and a handful of other planets to vivid life.
But Dune is more than just drool-worthy imagery. The diverse ensemble is expertly cast, from Chalamet’s kind-hearted, cooly confident yet inexperienced Paul, to Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac as his noble but vulnerable parents, Lady Jessica and Lord Leto Atreides.
Elsewhere, supporting players both good — House Atreides military leaders Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) — and evil — bitter Atreides rivals Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (a convincingly gluttonous Stellan Skarsgård) and his psychopath nephew Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) — so thoroughly exude their respective qualities that they couldn’t possibly be confused for the other side. And while Javier Bardem and Zendaya make decent impressions with minimal screen time, their indigenous Fremen are destined to have a significantly expanded role in Part Two.
On the storytelling front, the expanded approach allows the script by Villeneuve, Eric Roth (The Insider; Forrest Gump), and Jon Spaihts (Prometheus; Doctor Strange) to ably build out this complex universe, set up House Atreides’ betrayal at the hands of the Emperor, and establish Paul’s messianic potential. They’re also careful to ladle in a few helpful summary lines of dialogue along the way, which prove extra beneficial amidst an unbalanced sound mix that muffles numerous utterings sure to confuse viewers unfamiliar with the source material or Lynch’s film.
Speaking of the 1984 version, it’s only so beneficial to compare it with Villeneuve’s film, though several differences, especially at the beginning, are intriguing decisions and it’s nice of ol’ Hans Zimmer to pay tribute to Toto’s heroic “Main Title” theme on a particularly epic desert shot near the film’s end.
Still, this Dune is very much half of the story, concluding with certain major players just introduced or yet to appear, and Villeneuve noticeably laboring to figuring out where to divide the chapters. Quentin Tarantino didn’t have that issue with Kill Bill: Volume 1, but Dune is a different beast with distinct ambitions. As such, it’s almost unfair to review it as a standalone work, but as the introduction to a larger project, it sets the stage well and gets far more right than wrong.
Grade: B. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande. Also available to stream via HBO Max until Nov. 21
(Photo: Warner Bros.)
