Well here’s a movie where I’ve avoided trailers like the dickens. Denis Villeneuve is directing? I’m already there. I don’t need marketing, or myself, building up any false expectations in my head ahead of seeing the grand scheme of this movie as it is intended. On top of that, have you seen this cast – Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista – superb talents in the pocket of their craft, and a couple that are just fun to have around. I genuinely haven’t been this excited for a call sheet since SPECTRE, and I as I buy my ticket I realise I’m busting with excitement that I’m about to see this movie. Denis Villeneuve is coming off Bladerunner 1949, another epic sci-fi with heavy expectations to shoulder. His filmography further consists of Arrival and Prisoners, for evidence of scale and solemn characterisation. This bloke knows how to make movies. And Dune is finally here! No more dodging trailers, after an entire year!
In a far-off future, Arrakis is an arid planet with a lot of ‘spice’; important fuel necessary for interstellar travel that must be filtered from the desert sands. The Emperor has decreed that the Atreides family clan, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) and his heir-to-be, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), will take over the mining of spice from the scrupulously selfish House of Harkonnen, led by a jealous Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård). Upon moving to Arrakis, it becomes obvious right away that navigating the desert planet is treacherous, and Atreides may have been set up to fail, with mining equipment far from pristine condition. Meanwhile, on Paul’s matriarchal side, is an honoured organisation that specialises in mind control and premonition, which could explain why Paul has been having recurring dreams of a desert girl he has never met, even before the news of the family’s move to Arrakis was ever announced… There’s a lot going on, and a lot of futuristic customs to explain – you’re just better off watching Dune for yourself, and if you call yourself an epic film buff like me, I bet you already have.
I found the easiest thing to marvel at with Dune is the advanced technology and weaponry that is everywhere, and I spent the entire movie intrigued to learn how it all works. I’m sure Dune will be compared heavily to Star Wars in some corners of the internet, and it must’ve been a challenge for Dune to visually distance themselves from the ‘galaxy far, far away’. But, by embracing a dour tone, and placing grave importance on the functionality of the technology, I’d say it succeeds. This production design is a great feat within itself, and if I was to watch this movie again tomorrow, I’d eagerly await checking out the technology and mechanics mastered in this movie first and foremost – I think my favourite invention is the body armour suit, that shudders blue for protection, but can turn red and puncture if the threat presses upon them for too long; they look cool.
As for the story – I’d heard this movie was slow and long, and that very seldom bothers me; movies like Ad Astra,and even Bladerunner 1949, are slow, and it’s all part of their charm. I’d always rather a movie take its time, than rush past important breaks that allow for character development, or give the audience a chance to simply catch their breath. But Dune… it’s a little slow. And dense; it’s an unnatural-looking world, so there’s much for the movie to explain, grounding us in this sci-fi fiction. And plus, Dune is edited in a way that shares similarities with Inception, with quick cuts to visions and memories that may or may not even be relevant in the exact moment, since Dune is only Part One of a bigger story. Watching Dune takes a lot of focus, and I dare say, open-mindedness, with faith that the payoff is somewhere in the future, and not even necessarily today. I sense Dune doesn’t want to deprive any of its characters their weighty moments, perhaps giving them their dues just for a surprisingly large fanbase of the original novel, written by Frank Herbert. But if I wanted to strip it all back and be hyper-critical, the first hour is basically a factory transitioning to new management, and the rest is a son trekking through the desert with his mother, so I tip my hat to Dune that it’s entertaining at all.
I’ve actually owned the 1984 Dune on DVD for some time now; I picked it up at a flea market or an op shop somewhere. But I’ve never watched it; something about Kyle MacLachlan on the box art just always looked weird to me, and made me want to laugh. MacLachlan is Detective Dale Cooper to me (from Twin Peaks), and I’m literally judging the box by its cover, but that flop of wild hair on Paul’s head is Timothée Chalamet’s natural look anyway, and if you want a young protagonist that I’ll follow across distant planets, then get actor Chalamet – and he doesn’t disappoint! Despite playing another stoic bald warrior, I thought Bautista showed a new depth for himself, which surprised me for the better. The same goes for Jason Momoa, who is he’s obviously most famous for being the Leader of Dothraki in Game of Thrones, and then the King of Atlantis in Aquaman, but he’s just a soldier here; the Poe Dameron of the list of characters, if you will, which is ironic because Oscar Isaac is the King here. Isaac is phenomenal, but I think the one I admired most was Rebecca Ferguson – possibly because her storyline is the most shrouded in mystery. It seems her character, Lady Jessica, is walking a fine line somewhere between her family loyalties, her tribe’s beliefs, and her own desires, and as the movie ends, she still has as much to reveal to us as Paul himself, and the desert locals; I’m sure she knows more than she’s letting on – no spoilers, please. Zendaya doesn’t have all that much to do, but I’m sure her role will expand in the next movie(s), and Stellan Skarsgård is such a fabulous choice for this eerie villain in Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and I can’t wait to see what more he will do too. I wrote in my opener, that this cast seems plucked from the greatest of today, who I’m sure were eager to work with Villeneuve to bring this epic tale to life. Overall, I just felt the cast were all doing their own succinct thing, but they were locked in on their contribution, at service to the project as a whole; it’s brilliant.
Ultimately, Dune is a great start. As Zendaya says herself, this is only the beginning; and yes, I believe her. In the moment, I wasn’t as enthralled as I had been with the other long-winded production of the year – Justice League; but I think that was me knowing where Justice League was going and watching the extended vision play out, where perhaps I would have felt similarly too if I’d read the books, loved them, and knew who these people were already in Dune. But the more I’ve thought about Dune, the more I’ve appreciated it, and if this was a Netflix series, where ‘episode one’ had just finished, I’d be clicking on the next episode straight away – because I want to see more. And more. And more. It’s genuinely hard to judge the contents of Dune on the state of this only being the beginning of the story, and I can see the future conclusion even elevating this first chapter if it delivers as promised. I haven’t even mentioned the score, or Paul’s characterisation, but it’s all mint. Certainly set yourself aside two and a half hours and be transported off-world by the best director of the now. I’ll be happily watching this again right before Part Two.
4.5
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