Movie Review - Dune(2021) [4/5]

Dune is one of the most beautiful pieces of cinema, with one of the best casts you’ll ever see, what could be wrong with it?

Being a person that doesn’t read books, the hype around this new Dune movie is the first time I’d ever heard of the franchise. To prepare I watched Dune(1984) to get an understanding of what's going on. From what I’ve seen online, that version absolutely did not do the books justice, by putting 6 books worth of a story into one condensed movie. Between the Dune fanbase and the level of the cast they got, director Denis Villeneuve really faced an uphill battle to make a top-tier movie.

The story takes place in the far future, where an intergalactic empire runs on a substance called Spice. It’s only when the members of the family House Atreides, led by Duke Leto(Oscar Isaac) along with his wife Lady Jessica(Rebecca Ferguson) and his son Paul(Timothée Chalamet), are sent to the planet Arrakis to oversee the Spice operation that the family see the real threats.

When talking about the best parts of Dune, it is impossible to not mention its sheer beauty first and foremost. It’s a movie that is almost a sure bet to win best cinematography at the Oscars, and it’s easy to see why. A seamless blend of CGI and natural photography, it is jaw-dropping to watch. 

Cinematography aside, the cast this movie boasts is honestly phenomenal, but thankfully they all give it everything and you can feel it throughout the movie. Timothée Chalamet once again proves why he is the single biggest actor on the rise. He can just do it all. Outside of the main three of Chalamet, Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson, the movie has a background cast with the likes of Jason Momoa, Jaguar Bardem, and Zendaya to name a few. 

For the fans of the book series, rest assured it does go much more depth than the 1984 adaptation. However, this greatly increases the watch time, and it is a Part 1, with the story left on less of a cliffhanger, and more of a “well that’s enough for today” and putting a bookmark in to be continued at a later date. With a run time of 2 hours and 35 mins, and to leave the movie with only half a story is kind of infuriating, especially considering it will be years before we see a sequel. While this sort of breaking up of the story makes sense because nobody is going to sit through a six-hour movie, in comparison to something like Lord of the Rings that filmed everything at once, and then had closer release dates, Dune may suffer.

Lastly, it is worth noting that Dune is without question a slow burner because nothing is more exciting than walking through sand and then talking for a while. If you saw the trailer, and you were impressed by the fight scenes, well you’ve seen most of them. The majority of the movie is spent admiring the beauty of the movie. Speaking of beauty, if you go to Dune to see Zendaya, like a friend of mine (me), you will be very disappointed to find out that her appearance in the movie is also mostly in the trailer, despite being on as much promotional material as Timothée Chalamet, but only appearing in the final act of the movie. 

Overall, Dune is an incredibly beautiful piece of cinema, but you feel that 155 mins run time. If you love movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, you will love it, no question.  Like a cake that is decorated beautifully, but it just tastes a bit bland, and halfway through eating your slice, before you get to eat the icing, it just ends, and you can finish it in two years' time.

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Director: Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049 + Arrival)

Writers:
Jon Spaihts (Prometheus + Doctor Strange)
Denis Villeneuve (Maelström)
Eric Roth (Forrest Gump + A Star is Born)
Frank Herbert (Wrote the Book)

Cast:
Timothée Chalamet(Call Me By Your Name + Little Women)
Rebecca Ferguson(Mission Impossible Rogue Nation + Life)
Oscar Isaac(Ex Machina + Inside Llewyn Davis)
Jason Momoa(Aquaman + Game of Thrones)
Stellan Skarsgard(Good Will Hunting + Mamma Mia!)
Josh Brolin(Avengers: Infinity War + No Country for Old Men)
Jaguar Bardem(Skyfall + No Country for Old Men)
Dave Bautista(Guardians of the Galaxy + Blade Runner 2049)
David Dastmalchian(The Suicide Squad + Ant-Man)
Zendaya(Spider-Man Homecoming + The Greatest Showman)

Running Time: 2h 35mins

Timothée Chalamet,
Rebecca Ferguson,
Oscar Isaac,
Jason Momoa,
Stellan Skarsgard,
Josh Brolin,
Jaguar Bardem,
Dave Bautista,
David Dastmalchian,
Zendaya

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi