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User Reviews for: Dune

Jordyep
9/10  3 years ago
Denis Villeneuve is the man!
There’s only one word that came into my mind after watching it: finally.

Finally, a blockbuster that isn’t afraid to be primarily driven by drama and tension, and doesn’t undercut its own tone by throwing in a joke every 30 seconds.
Finally, a blockbuster that puts actual effort in its cinematography, and doesn’t have a bland or calculated colour palette.
Finally, a blockbuster with a story that has actual substance and themes, and doesn’t rely on intertextual references to create a fake sheen of depth.
Finally, a blockbuster that doesn’t pander to China by having big, loud and overblown action sequences, but relies on practical and grounded spectacle instead (its got big sand worms, you really don’t need to throw anything at the screen besides that).
Finally, a blockbuster that actually feels big, because it isn’t primarily shot in close ups, or on a sound stage.
And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow.

(Yeah, I know _Tenet_ did those things as well, but I couldn’t get into that because the characters were so flat and uninteresting).

This just checks all the boxes. An engaging story with subtext, very well set up characters, great acting (like James Gunn, Villeneuve's great at accentuating the strengths of limited actors like Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa), spectecular visuals and art design (desaturated but not in an ugly washed out way), pacing (slow but it never drags), directing, one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores: it’s all here.
I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half.
It can occasionally hold your hand by referencing things that have already been established previously, and some scenes of characters explaining stuff to each other could’ve been conveyed more visually.
Other than that, it’s easily one of the best films of the year.
I’ve seen some people critiquing it for being incomplete, which is true, but this isn’t just a set up for a future film.
It feels like a whole meal, there are pay offs in this, and the characters progress (even if, yes, their arcs are still incomplete).

8.5/10

I can see two things happening from now on.
Either people will go and see it, and they’ll reject it because it’s too weird and has too much of an artistic bend.
Or people won’t even bother because it isn’t a prequel, sequel or part of an established IP.
In any case: I don’t see this getting a straight up sequel with at least some commercial consessions.
But even if that happens, at least we’ll always have this one.
Similar to the book, its biggest achievement will hopefully come from all the stuff it’ll inspire for the future.
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Reply by Lainfan
2 years ago
@jordyep "And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow." Hate to point this out, but Dune is very much an already established IP. As you mention at the end of your review, it is an adaptation of a novel (with a rather large following), and it has several earlier adaptations in several media including a not so small movie in the 80's.<br /> <br /> "I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half." + "... conveyed more visually."<br /> Totally agree, my main issue with this movie is the same. Even the impressive big shots do not manage to distract from the pacing issues of all the exposition that had to be discussed. Also, I found the main character somewhat lacked to show some character in the first act. It was mostly others describing/planning for him.<br /> <br /> (Edited for some nuance)
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Reply by Jordyep
2 years ago
@lainfan I know, but the David Lynch adaptation was so abysmal that it doesn’t really count in my book. And I doubt many people saw that tv adaptation in the 2000’s, so I wouldn’t really call it an ‘established IP’ in a cinematic sense. Maybe that’s hypocritical from my side, but I’d only hold that against the movie if it this was an unnecessary remake that doesn’t bring anything new to the table (besides maybe updating the effects), but that’s clearly not the case here.<br /> <br /> And yeah, Paul’s a bit of a passive character in the first act, but that’s often how the heroes journey is written. Look at characters like Frodo, Luke, Harry Potter; they all start as passive (or even reluctant) heroes who are forced to step up to the plate once their mentors get killed.
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Reply by Lainfan
2 years ago
@jordyep Fair point. I tried to get through Lynch's movie a few times, but I have never been able to finish it. And it is true there have not been main stream Dune related projects in a long time.<br /> <br /> I see what you mean, I think my nitpick about the first act is more about lack of showing character instead of telling. At the end of the movie I not felt like I know who he is and even less who he was, even though he is the main character. And from that 'lack of understanding' i tried to trace back what could have caused that.<br /> Of course that could just be a me-issue, and not the movie. But I think it is not so much his passiveness, and more because I didn't get to **see** enough of his original character by actions (or choices.) Some of it is shown or told, although perhaps not that clear (or just not to me.) I thought the most defining scene for who he is in the beginning is [spoiler]when he is meeting the old Gesserit leader. He seems rather pubescent in his breakfast conversation with his mom, disliking ceremony, uninterested in his tasks, and unmotivated or even lazy about developing his 'Jedi mind trick' skills. He doesn't look excited to be a king (or anything others want for him), but (or maybe because of earlier said point) he feels attracted to Arrakis. And ofc the dream as extra motivation works fine. [/spoiler] So I don't mean he is a blank slate, his character is there, but I think it might have been preferable to have more visual conveying of his character instead of others saying he is [spoiler]rebellious like his father (I expected him to do something rash in that scene because of that for example) or explaining how the shields work, which is also shown in the literal same scene anyway.[/spoiler]<br /> <br /> ps. Your review is very on point though.
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Reply by dewille
2 years ago
Second that! I was pretty much sure he will not screw this movie up and I was right.
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Reply by wolfkin
12 months ago
@jordyep <br /> <br /> &gt;finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow.<br /> <br /> nobody tell him.
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Mex5150
4/10  2 years ago
I'll open by saying I am not a fan of Villeneuve. In fact, I think he's a hack whose only genuine talent is making stupid people falsely think they are actually quite smart. I am also a HUGE Dune fan. They have been my favourite series of books since I first discovered them as a teenager. So although I hoped for the best with this, I was expecting the worst. What I got was somewhere in the middle. It's an OK movie, not great, thankfully not terrible, but OK

It got some things right the 1984 Lynch version got wrong, but still somehow managed to get other stuff wrong (including stuff Lynch got right). It was also a surprise how much Villeneuve just lifted directly from the Lynch film, both visually and auditorily.

The wardrobe choices were a huge disappointment. If you didn't know the time setting, going just on the clothes in the new Dune you'd be forgiven for thinking it was set a mere forty or fifty years (if that) in the future rather than the twenty thousand years in the future when it's really set. The Lynch stillsuits look futuristic, unworldly, and something that really would keep you alive in the deep desert. The new desert wear looks like they are just going to go dirt biking for an hour or two in our present-day world.

The casting (completely ignoring the pointless gender swap) was good, However, with the exception of Paul, Chani, and Rabban the original casting was all better. But the original (apart from the odd decision to use the totally unsuited Kyle MacLachlan) was a masterclass in how to cast the perfect people for the role.

Anyway, enough of the comparisons, This film is about the first two-thirds of the first novel. I always thought the story would be better told via a big-budget TV series (or even mini-series) rather than a standalone movie. I still think what they tried to cover here was too much for a single movie, but it was a step in the right direction.

The film mainly sticks to the book story but does make some needless changes, the most obvious of which being the changes made to both the gender and story of Liet Kynes, which in turn impacts the story of Chani. Most other changes are small and mainly insignificant though.

The film being filmed in Norway, Jordan, and Abu Dhabi it looks fantastic and very well suited to the large screen. And it's clear a great deal of time, effort, and money was put into the sets that looked equally good as the places they were meant to be.

The acting was of a suitably high standard, but unfortunately, many of the Dune names and terms were horribly mispronounced. That and the Hans Zimmer fart that is played constantly throughout the soundtrack is likely to pull people out of their immersion in the movie.

I was also somewhat surprised by what was left out, OK the source material is VERY dense and obviously some needed to be cut, but I don't really think it's made clear just how crucial melange is to the functioning of the empire and society as a whole. Also what (and why) mentats are is largely ignored, you may think that isn't overly important, but it is at the core of how many things are done in the Dune universe.

Over all, it's not a bad movie. Despite its flaws, I still think the 1984 Lynch version is better though.
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Reply by Jordyep
2 years ago
@mex5150 Alright, so because you have an underdeveloped taste in film, people who get him and his films are suddenly pretentious? How about you try to detach your own fanboy expectations from what Villeneuve’s vision for the material is? You’re critiquing things that don’t matter whatsoever.
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Reply by andriagassi
2 years ago
@mex5150 Even David Lynch thought that the 1984 film was a total failure.
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Reply by Mex5150
2 years ago
@jordyep One of us here is a dedicated fanboi, it's not me though LOL And I'm not saying people who like him are pretentious, I'm saying you probably have a *VERY* low IQ but he tricked you into thinking you have a high one because you adore his work (as I pointed out in the review).
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Reply by Mex5150
2 years ago
@andriagassi I'm not claiming the '84 is perfect, it certainly isn't. But I think (as I said) despite its flaws, it's still better than the 2021 version though.
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Reply by Jordyep
2 years ago
@mex5150 I like this movie, I like him, but that doesn't make me a fanboy. What makes you a fanboy is critiquing inconsequential, shallow shit that nobody besides people who are way too into the source material care about. You have to give creators the artistic freedom to present their vision of the material. It's shallow to critique something like the costuming simply because it isn't close to how you envisioned it. The same goes for the gender swapping and pronunciation. It doesn't matter, it's inconsequential to the story. You don't have a grasp of what makes a movie good or bad, just sayin'
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Reply by Mex5150
2 years ago
@jordyep I said the film was OK and gave it an average (and in my view accurate) score, you jumped down my throat because I didn't think it was perfect, that pretty much screams fanboi if you ask me. Sure wardrobe, accurate pronunciation, etc may not be important to you, that's fine, but other are interested in that type of thing. I'm not going to run every single comment I make past you first to make sure it matches up to your exacting standards in your super hero and slasher horror movie reviews LOL You thought it was great, good for you, I thought it was better than expected, but not as good as I would have liked. Just sayin'
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Reply by Jordyep
2 years ago
@mex5150 I didn't jump out at you because of your score. You can criticize it for all you want, bash it, I don't give a single fuck. However, I will call you out for writing a shallow review, which has nothing to do with adhering to my own personal standards, but the standards of criticism in general. Like I said, you don't seem to have a grasp of that, which is why you're falling back on things that really don't matter, objectively.
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Bragison
CONTAINS SPOILERS8/10  2 years ago
Dune was an amazing visual and audial experience, and it definitely captured the vibe of Dune very well, but it lacked almost all of the depth of the book, from the lore, to the characters, and especially the plot. They cut out a huge chunk of the plot in the book, almost all of the political intrigue, and that resulted in it feeling incredibly rushed and the decisions of the characters often seemed odd and unexplained. For example, in the book, House Atreides know that House Harkonnen is planning a trap, they know the Emperor has turned on them, and they know to expect the Sardauker. They also strongly suspect there's a spy among them, and the drama surrounding this is incredibly interesting, and acted as a brilliant build-up to Doctor Yueh's betrayal. Alas, all of this was cut, and the film suffered for it.

Another fairly major gripe I had was the portrayal of Lady Jessica. In the book, she was an incredibly powerful character and was feared and respected by all. She was calm, collected, intelligent, and strong. In the film, she comes across as a mentally unstable mess, constantly crying and having mental breakdowns, and very little of her Bene Gesserit power was shown.

I had mixed reactions to the other characters. Paul and Leto Atreides were great, but Rabban Harkonnen felt very odd and not like a Harkonnen at all. Thufir Hawat was also disappointing, first they made him fat when he's supposed to still be strong (albeit ageing) warrior, but then they removed any mention of him being a Mentat and cut most of his scenes from the book.

And let's not forget to mention they cut my favourite scene from the book, which featured a dinner party and acted as very important character development for Paul, as well as showcasing the political situation on Arrakis as well as the extent of the Bene Gesserit powers.

In general, it felt like this film was less of an adaptation of the story and more of an illustration of it - omitting much of the plot, lore, and character development, and replacing it with beautiful visuals and music. Overall however, despite my disappointments at the various cuts and changes, and although I will continue to wonder what could have been achieved if the story had been split into 3 films instead of 2, this remains a fairly faithful adaptation of a book which is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen, and as a result I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel.
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Reply by xaliber
2 years ago
@bragison I think Villeneuve used visual cues to signify that Thufir is a Mentat, i.e. the black makeup on his lips, just like Piter De Vries.
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Reply by Bragison
2 years ago
@xaliber yeah true, but I still would have loved them to actually mention it. Watching this film without knowing the book must be very confusing.
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VWFringe
CONTAINS SPOILERS9/10  3 years ago
Unless this is successful in the box office, we won't get a part two from this director. Please, even if you don't go into the theater, buy a ticket.

To say this was an emotionally rewarding experience, I have to also state when I was a teenager I read the trilogy four times, and the following Herbert Sr. books twice each...forty years ago. I've been waiting a long time. Yes, this was an emotionally satisfying experience. That's on me. I know the story, and....
==SPOILER ALERT==
...That was before I understood the, "white savior," trope. I mean, I understood Frank Herbert said he wanted to explore what it would take to set-up a messiah...make People believe in one and follow one. But, I did not understand it is a warning. I did not understand that what happens to the Fremen is not a good thing -- what happens to _EVERYONE_ as a result of Leto the Second following, "The Golden Path," is not a good thing. It's the ultimate warning... "Beware of someone coming in from outside promising to fix everything, and lead you to paradise," because you'll prolly just get bent over. And, even if it saves you from The Great Pause, you'll be bored for a very long time.

As a teen, and, even now, I'm enchanted by the secret powers of the Bene Geserit, the Bashar Teg, the Axolotle Tanks (female Tleilaxu) and the final Ghola of Idaho.

I'm a video addicted ADHD mo'fo, and I want very much for there to be a part two **AND** a part six...!!! **I'm gonna buy a ticket. I hope you'll join me.**
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Nathan
/10  2 years ago
_Dune_ was a massive undertaking due to the sheer amount of lore and political backstory director Villeneuve had to fit in a two-and-a-half-hour run-time, but I am happy to say it was executed brilliantly.

The story of _Dune_ is incredibly deep, there are so many layers of political factions and relationships that it can get quite confusing at times. I had to constantly be looking up specific individuals and their ties to each other to understand the minor nuances of the story. Despite that fact, Villeneuve is still able to deliver a coherent narrative that will allow the majority of the audience to understand the overarching plot. After the buildup of the first act, the story gets cooking, and I was utterly invested.

There is an incredible atmosphere present in this film. It begins as a Sci-Fi epic, following a house starting anew on a fresh planet and a new industry to conquer. You can feel the optimism and the sense of discovery in the shots due to the interesting angles, lighting, and a brilliant soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer. But as the narrative evolves so does the tone, as a thick fog of helplessness bleeds on to the screen and you can feel the dread form. This tone was quite refreshing in today’s blockbuster cinema, as each movie needs to incorporate a vast amount of unnecessary comedy to appeal to the broader audience. Dune is unapologetic about what the story is trying to deliver and gives you exactly what it wants without any concessions.

The visuals are stunning throughout the entire runtime. One of my favorite scenes was during the spice extraction visit. I loved the blend of realism that was used in this Science Fiction setting. The ships and equipment look like they could exist in our own world with a few technological advancements. The fight choreography is really well done, especially the hand-to-hand combat. The final scene was epic, each fist and punch were so sharp and calculated, it was really impressive to watch in the age of jump cut action.

The acting is perfect throughout the film, I really cannot point to any one character that felt off or out of place. Timothee Chalamet did an incredible job as the lead man. He delivered a heartfelt performance and evolved throughout the entire film into the confident leader the story crashendos on. Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, and Josh Brolin all did great jobs as well. I really brought the somewhat complex nature of Lady Jessic and Duke Leto, they had really great chemistry with themselves and with their son. Stellan Skarsgard had my favorite performance of the entire film. I felt entirely disgusted everytime he was on the screen, and he made the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall. He is truly a man poisoned by greed and will not stop at anything on his path to fortune. Jason Momoa does a fantastic job here too. I felt he really fit his role and his lines were delivered effortlessly, much better than his performance in the DCEU.

_Dune_ delivers a fantastic Sci-Fi epic that gave me everything I was looking for and I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel's release.

**Score:** _88%_

**Verdict:** _Excellent_
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