Movie Review # 472: Dune (2021)

Ladies & gentlemen, welcome back! Today, we are going to be talking about a science fiction/adventure film that is based on a book series that has spanned apparently over twenty books, something like that. Not only that, but the makers of this film are have seemed to want to create a film in the likes of Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, or those kinds of films. Not a bad idea! Anyway, based on the novel series of the same name by Frank Herbert, the movie that we are talking about shall be the one, and only Dune.

Plot: Set in the year 10191, a young man named Paul (Timothee Chalamet) , and his parents (Oscar Isaac, and Rebecca Ferguson) live on an ocean planet called Caladan. But one day, they are asked to go to a desert planet called Arrakis, unaware that an evil emperor (Stellan Skarsgard) wants to use this opportunity to stage a coup, and take over the planet for his own personal gain. With the help of some allies, will Paul, and his parents Leto Atreides, and Lady Jessica be able to join the natives of Arrakis protect the planet, and save it from being conquered by Vladimir Barokken, and his evil army once and for all?

Well, I’m sure that just as the movie makers of Lord Of The Rings, or those of the Harry Potter series, or Chronicles Of Narnia movie series were trying to make those as great as possible, the movie makers of this new Dune movie series are trying to do the same. So that raises the question as to whether or not they succeeded in doing so. Well, in more ways than not, they did. However, there does lie a difference between at least this first installment of the Dune movie series, and the Lord Of The Rings, or even Harry Potter, or even the Narnia series. That would be that even if the book series of those are better, the movies do a good job of being nearly as good, or great, as their respective book counterpart versions. As for Dune, at least as far as this first installment of movie version goes, this film does seem to do a mostly good job of sticking as close to the book version as possible. Now, just so you all know in advance, I never read the Dune book series. So what do I know as far as that situation goes? Still, while you watch this film, it’s clear how good that this movie is trying to be, and is for the most part. However, there are a couple ways in this movie version could have maybe been a little better than it was in the end. First of all, some of the secondary characters could have probably been given a bigger role than they seemed to have in the end, especially when it comes to some of those that appeared in the beginning. That brings me to the potentially second issue of this film. That being that somehow, the ending probably could have maybe been extended by maybe an additional 10-15, if not 20 minutes just to get to know some additional characters that appear near the end of this film. Okay, I understand that maybe we get to know some of those characters more in the sequel that’s supposed to come out two years from now. Still, is it too much to ask to get to know some of those characters a little more in this film too? Oh well!

But now, on to the really good stuff. And trust me, there’s a lot to like, no, more like love about this film. First of all, there’s the score by Hans Zimmer. Okay, even though there aren’t songs in this film (which why would there be if this isn’t supposed to be that kind of film), Zimmer shows once again how well he can do with engaging the audience with his music. Because of this, it wouldn’t be surprising if people were to want the soundtrack for this film after seeing it. Whether it be the more quieter moments, or even the most thrilling moments that will most likely keep people on the edge of their seats, the score is bound to be memorable. Next, of course there’s the acting. I mean Oscar Isaac as Paul’s father, or Timothee Chalamet as Paul himself are really good. Even Rebecca Ferguson does great as Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica. Considering that she has mostly played in roles that have involved her being a love interest to a make, or, in the case of 2017’s The Greatest Showman, a potentially seductive female to main character P.T. Barnum, this was a welcome change in roles for her. And of course with Stellan Skarsgard as Vladimir Barokken, he does a great job of playing the human/alien character of this film. The only minor squabble that one may have in regards to the acting portion of this film is that Chalamet as Paul might have made his character a little too serious for a good majority of this film. Oh, and this review probably wouldn’t be the best if I were to fail to mention Zendaya as Paul’s love interest, Chani. Additionally, the world building, especially for the planet Arrakis, is really impressive. In fact, one could argue that the world Arrakis may have possibly been explored a little more than say the desert planet of Tatooine in the Star Wars movie series. Also, how could you not like the jokes, and some of the creatures that reside on Arrakis. Not to mention that when you get to have scenes like our main characters sleeping in compounds at night, it might not be too big of a shock if more people were to want have more opportunities to sleep under the stars more at night, or even sleep in a compound, and hear the sounds of say crickets, or other peaceful noises at night. Another thing to appreciate is how creative this film is when it comes to certain scenes that involve certain characters having to control their desires, needs, or emotions in some of the most creative ways possible. One final thing that’s worth mentioning is how Dune, more often than not, seems to act like a more mature version of a film series like Star Wars. Okay, that might sound a little cliched. Still, when you have a film with a Star Wars feel, but with a more thrilling kind of feel, and likely feeling a little more adult, how could especially the older crowd not appreciate that aspect of this film as well?

And that’s my review for Dune. Even if this film may have felt a little shorter than it should have been, and some of the characters not feeling quite as fleshed out as they should have been, this film is still really fun. It has elements like really great thrilling sequences, potential romance, excellent cinematography, and world building, mostly great characters, a really fun score, and a very well developed story, even if a little too short, despite it’s running time of two hours, and thirty-five minutes. Truthfully, after you watch this film, you’ll most definitely leave wanting to explore more of this world, even come two years from now, when the sequel is supposed to be released. I, for one, am curious to see how well they do with expanding this story, and how well we get to know the characters in future films. Definitely see Dune in theaters, instead of on HBO Max! Dune is most definitely a movie that deserves to be watched on the big screen before possibly being rewatched on video. Plus, Dune, like many films of this caliber, deserves to be watched in theaters in the first place. In all honesty, you’d be surprised by this film in the end, even if the book may be better. Again, go see this film if you haven’t yet. This film is so worth your time.

Final Grade: A-