The first thing worth pointing out with this new Dune movie is that it is, in fact, “Dune: Part One.” This is a film that hopes it will be the start of a new franchise out of the gates. Fortunately, the overall product directed by Denis Villeneuve is a good one.
Dune has succeeded at transferring the notoriously dense novel into a great and viewer-friendly space opera that goes beyond what people have grown accustomed to from offerings like “Star Wars” and “Star Trek.” It’s that “Part One” element that the problem lies-this feels like half a story.
This film is based on Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel and tells the tale of Paul Atreides, a noble of House Atreides. While Paul’s family tries to position itself as dominant against the villainous House Harkonnen, every noble family is vying for dominance over Arrakis, a desert planet.
Rather than fighting over oil, as some people might imagine, this desert planet is the sole venue from which spice can be collected. This spice is not like pepper or cinnamon but is the sole impetus for galactic commerce as it allows for the bending of space and time. It is during this politicking that Paul discovers he might be a fabled super being with influence spanning galaxies.
Paul is played by Timothée Chalamet, who does his best to mesh an alien mentality blended with human empathy.
Paul is not someone who wants to be a duke but just wants to chill with Duncan Idaho, played by Jason Mamoa, blowing off his classes and complaining about family affairs to his friend. This is one of the few humanizing moments for Paul who otherwise comes across as someone who knows everything and seems equipped to handle any challenge.
While the rest of the cast is great, most of these big names feel squandered in service to Paul and the hope that these characters will be back for another installment. Oscar Isaac is a presence with his limited screen time, serving as Duke Leto. Isaac’s character is a righteous and honorable man whose leadership seems beyond reproach despite moving his entire clan to Arrakis.
While we have already established that Paul takes most of the spotlight, that extends to female characters like Zendaya’s Chani.
Chani is Paul’s love interest and partner in the second half of the novel but this Chani is little more than a “sexy lamp.” Rebecca Ferguson gets a bit more to do as Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica, though most of that is spent fussing over her family instead of highlighting her powerful role as a sister of the Bene Gesserit organization.
Here’s hoping that the women of this film adaptation will get to shine as brightly in the sequels as they do in the book. One notable exception is Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet-Kynes. This is a gender-flipped version of the Imperial liaison who is conflicted between Arrakis and its indigenous Freman and her allegiance to the Machiavellian Emperor.
The main highlight of this film is its setting. All of Villeneuve’s characteristic approaches to cinematography can be found here and in top form.
Abstract ships, monolithic and brutalist architecture, sweeping landscapes full of desolation and an amazing bass-focused score from Hans Zimmer are all delights for the eyes and ears.
Dune is supposed to be an epic in every sense of the word and this film delivers every beat it can in its runtime. Thankfully, much of the information dumping from the book is absent and the less obvious politics are explained in a way that keeps events clear.
Again, the sole crime of this film is that it cuts off somewhere in the second act of the narrative, which might leave sand in some viewers’ mouths.
As an aside, this film still plants seeds for future films with various visions experienced by Paul, depicting battles with the Freman. Hopefully, executives will be keen to let the other shoe drop and approve Part Two.
Should we get that sequel, it is very likely that a matinee screening of the duo will take up more time than the original 1984 version with actors like Sting, Patrick Stewart, Kyle MacLachlan and Brad Dourif.
