Dune

Dune – 2021 (Action, Adventure, Drama)
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“Dune” has long been considered an “unfilmable” work, and honestly, after watching this, I may have to agree. To be fair, I’ve never seen the 1984 version by David Lynch (although I do own it, so I need to get on that.) Previously the film was in preproduction by the director Alejandro Jodorowsky; this was such an infamous achievement that an entire documentary has been made just on the work he had put into a film that was never made.

In the lead-up to this new version, many comparisons to “Star Wars” have been made in the marketing. As far as I can tell, the closest to “Star Wars” that this comes is that it’s in space, has aliens, and involves “spice.” Other than that, this is very much a creature of its own and a derivative work at that. Director Denis Villeneuve (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Sicario) built this world packed full of many compelling images and yet, in my opinion, forgot to include any substance. I feel like part of this could be since he spends most of the two hours and thirty-five-minute runtime building these worlds. I get the importance of this, but in a film that is the first of a proposed trilogy of films, he has to remember that hooking the audience is more critical than creating another world in the future.

I gave this a 2.5/5 because that’s where I felt after the film, I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. I left feeling that I was in the middle of the road without much understanding of where to go from there. I will still watch the following two films because I feel invested. However, I doubt I’ll fall for Villeneuve’s marketing the next time. He was quoted as saying, “Watching ‘Dune’ on a TV is like driving a ‘speedboat in your bathtub’” I’m a huge fan of movie theaters, and while this did offer some spectacular visuals, I don’t feel that it was as important as I thought to watch it on the big screen. I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but I also don’t think most will appreciate it to that extent.

Overall, I’d say the film had a great score, vast and impressive set pieces, a lot of filler, and little substance. It is a 2 hour and 35-minute film that felt all four hours while watching it. So as you can see, I was left not being sure how to best rate it. My experience wasn’t the greatest, but I can see the potential and am excited at the thought of what this universe can be. 

As always, please don’t take my word for it. I only share my feelings and thoughts on these films. If you love something that I hated, then your opinion on it is valid. If you hated a movie I loved, again, you are entitled to that opinion. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it, my favorite part of film is that two people can watch it and have two entirely different experiences.

For the fun of it, I rewatched Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049” as part of my project watching all of the films set in the Alien/Predator universe (yes, Blade Runner is there, check out my social media to find out how.) I adore this film; it had so much heart and just the right amount of nostalgia from the original “Blade Runner” film.

I’m very much looking forward to “Last Night in Soho,” although I feel that it may not be able to live up to what I’ve built it up in my mind.

Where to watch: In Theaters and Streaming on

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About Post Author

Chris Jones

OverlyHonestMR@gmail.com

https://mailnewsgroup.com/ohmr/

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