Dune (2021 movie)
I read the novel Dune by Frank Herbert so many years ago that I basically remember “fear is the mind-killer” and “the spice is life,” and nothing else. So I had the privilege of beginning this film with more or less no expectations outside of those set by the trailer.
Overall, this movie gets a wow from me. I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you just want my opinion and nothing else - this movie is definitely worth a watch. If, like me, you have trouble waiting for sequels and follow up stories on cliff-hangers, then maybe wait until Dune Part 2 comes out in 2023. Otherwise you’re going to suffer from the long wait ‘til Fall 2023. Otherwise, go out and see it right now! And read on if you want to know what I saw as the movie’s strengths and drawbacks. Spoilers towards the bottom, with what I hope is ample warning.
The aesthetic of Dune is starkly beautiful, the action is intense and advances the plot, and an incredible cast of great actors get to really show off. I wasn’t really familiar with Timothée Chalamet, and at first he underwhelmed me as a young Paul Atreides. But as the movie progresses, he displays more and more heart and nobility. Which I suppose was probably the whole point of his character arc! Oscar Isaac plays a downright majestic Duke Leto Atreides. Jason Mamoa plays a fierce warrior in Duncan Idaho, and Josh Brolin brings gravitas to the veteran and teacher Gurney Halleck.
On the other side of the aisle, Stellan Skarsgård really acts the hell out of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. My favorite villains tend to be more nuanced (I like a villain who commits evil for reasons we can almost understand. Josh Brolin’s Thanos truly sees himself as the good guy, saving a dying universe. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin came from nothing, and all he does ties back to his poor roots, his abusive father, and the love he experiences in the first season of Daredevil. Not so, Baron Harkonnen. The Baron is simply a hedonistic, vile, powerful man. But Stellan Skarsgård really brings him to life. There are few beings I would less interested in meeting than the Baron. He is positively fearsome - Skarsgård really brings back the almost casual or resigned malevolence of Cerdic in the 2004 King Arthur film, for any who remember that.
The lack of nuance in Baron Harkonnen speaks to the only real fault I find in the movie - it is too much, too fast. The perils of adapting a novel to movie form are on full display here: This story deserves 20-30 hours of content to explore each character, each facet of the story. To develop the world and the protagonist and the antagonists. We need MORE. Brolin’s Gurney Halleck and Mamoa’s Duncan Idaho barely get a couple of combat scenes each and a few lines of dialogue. They deserve hours. Zendaya’s Chani is barely present - an ephemeral beauty in Paul’s visions until the climax when she finally makes a real appearance (indeed this most clearly represents the arc of this movie’s plot - a clear Part I arc getting Paul and Chani together to set the stage for Part II). We will certainly get more next film, but more would be better here too. Same with Javier Bardem’s Stilgar.
The greatest disappointment to me is the lack of Oscar Isaac. As I said above, he plays a downright majestic Duke Leto, but the movie only hints at tales of his past greatness. His mere presence gives truth to the notion the movie puts forth that the Atreides’ family is a rising star in this galactic imperium. However, the movie never gives us a chance to SEE what makes Duke Leto great. It limits Oscar Isaac to a few scenes and just uses him as a springboard for Paul and his mother.
The movie truly hits its stride when… (MAJOR SPOILER BELOW)…
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…most of these big name characters are killed off, and the focus of the movie narrows to Chalamet’s Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica Atreides (played by Rebecca Ferguson). Without needing to compete for screen presence, Ferguson’s Lady Jessica can really cut loose - and she is a badass. Zendaya finally gets a chance to bring Chani to life, and we see the first sparks of what we know is going to be a romance between Chani and Paul.
If the last 30 minutes of this movie are any indicator, Dune Part 2 is really going to hit the ground running with a reduced focus on a core cast of amazing characters. And I’ll tell you what - after everything that happened, I am angry-waiting for Part 2 because I cannot wait to see Paul Atreides get his revenge.