I began writing a Dune review when Dune Part 1 first came out in 2021. Two, three? years later, and here I am poised to see Dune Part 2 in this year of our lord 2024! Below is a snippet of that older piece of writing, amended for readability:
Frank Herbert’s novel is a pillar of SciFi, a work that exudes greatness. What makes a book great? The answer is simple–it sticks with you. A great book haunts you. Though it took me dozens of months to wade through the dense thicket of “Gom Jabbars” and “Bene Gesserits” to finally complete the novel, the images accrued in my mind and would not let me go.. A chosen prince dreaming prophecies and a magic box that induces unimaginable pain… Ancient societies of theologicians and brooding Harkonnen plots… Space guilds with navigators so estranged from their humanity that they have mutated into new species. There are so many ideas brewing within even the first few chapters of this massive work that one cannot help but fall in love with Dune even if the reading comes glacially slow. When you do finally get into the groove of the story and really dig in, the revelations strike like lightning and eventually you won’t be able to put the novel down. No detail was wasted! It all comes to an insane climax with a satisfying finish and a wonderful epilogue to close out the lore.
Dune the book is extremely cool, but it knows how to take its time. So much of the action, especially at first, occurs in the realm of thoughts and monologues. Even before I finished reading the novel, I had declared it unadaptable. Dune is so jam packed with history and interesting moments that any big budget Hollywood Director is sure to throw away the best subtle bits in favor of overdrawn action sequences and dumbed down politics. Surely, Hollywood would gut the tastiest literary bits in favor of creating a sci-fi war movie with a hot prince lead.
Previous attempts at filmifying Dune seemed to prove my concern. David Lynch’s Dune (1984), cult classic it may be, is possibly one of the worst movies I have ever watched. All of the mystique of the story is lost in a gutted hero plotline adorned in cheesy gadgetry. The acting is awful. The special effects are at times neat, but the visuals haven’t exactly held up to the test of time. There is a reason Lynch himself pretends the film doesn’t exist. Lynch’s Dune put me in a sour mood during the leadup to seeing Villeneuve’s version. I was nervous to sit down and watch an awesome novel get flayed before a massive audience once again. That is why I am pleased to say that Villaneueve’s Dune is pretty awesome.
Here is what I have to say about Dune Part 1 today, after rewatching it for maybe the 3rd or 4th time in preparation for Part 2:
Villaneueve’s film isn’t a god-tier adaptation, but it is pragmatic and beautiful. It is probably the best we could ever ask for in a mass-appeal Hollywood take on the source material. The acting is sometimes awkward, the pacing is sometimes weird, but it scratches the same itches. From the very first moment of the movie, when the alien voice booms “DREAMS ARE MESSAGES FROM THE DEEP”, I knew I was in great hands. I shivered! I must admit that I was salty to see “Dune: Part 1” as the official on-screen title. The poster certainly didn’t say “Dune: Part 1.” None of the advertising I saw indicated that I was in for a two-part series, and I was looking forward to seeing the whole story in its entirety. Even now, I am not totally certain that the series will ONLY BE TWO PARTS! I may be in for a Hobbit situation where the final arc of the novel is transformed into a massive third war film… I pray not!
(you had to hear this in theater, it isn’t the same through a computer speaker)
What we have already in Part 1 oozes ambient sci-fi coolness. The alien voice we later discover to be a Saurdakar war language is this thrumming, aboriginal throat noise that is chanted throughout. The ships thrum too, making deep, satisfying noises as they hover or move. Monoliths of impossible size move weightlessly through the air in Dune, The space ships aren’t mock-planes or shuttles like in Star Wars. Instead, the ships are globular spheres or great prisms that heave against gravity before floating like balloons. By contrast, the machinery on Arrakis shows its dilapidation. Rusting treads lumber through dunes and tow cables malfunction as sand eats away at them. The thopters, dragonflies given mechanical form, grate against the dusty air and literally tear themselves apart as they tumble through sandstorms. Villeneuve presents us with visual and auditory landscapes that absolutely vibrate, especially when the story setting transitions from Caladan to Dune. The climax of the film, the bombing of Arakeen and Duncan Idaho’s escape, is breathtaking. We see a lazgun for the first time here, and it jars your soul! The beam cuts through solid rock as if it were air.
One sound decision in particular is less than satisfying to me. “The Voice,” the magical ability that Bene Geserit wield to control the wills of others using nothing but their voice, is super cheesy in Villeneuve’s Dune. Whenever a character uses The Voice, it comes out as this weirdly edited multi-tone demon voice. It’s like a voice changer a kid would use in a Counter Strike lobby. It breaks the 4th wall and takes me out of the film– is that the voice everyone hears? Or is that the voice we, the viewers hear to indicate to us that the voice is being used? Or is that the voice that only target hears? For such a subtle ability, the presentation of The Voice is so on the nose. You know what it reminds me of? Galadriel’s momentary temptation at the end of Fellowship:
I like the LOTR films, but this particular moment with Galadriel is such a failure in my eyes because it takes a subtly scary (I dare say, ethereal) moment from the book and turns it into an over the top special effects moment. I think The Voice in Dune would have been a lot cooler if it sounded, well, normal. Maybe even whispered? As if the words themselves carry a deeply innate power that others in the room may not necessarily pick up on. Like the force in Star Wars! Regardless, I don’t want to hear cringe demon voice. Pure cheese.
Are Dune 2021’s characters cheesy too? I’d say no, though Timothee Chalamet as Paul is awkward by design. Paul is perfect, in fact. He is like a puppy that hasn’t grown into its own skin. The way characters interact with one another is weirdly anachronistic at times. Jason Mamoa as Duncan Idaho calling Timothee Chalamet “my boy” is so unbelievably forced, but the script makes up for it afterwards by having Mamoa casually making fun of Timothee’s scrawnyness. Sometimes, it feels like the characters are delivering NPC dialogue options. This is probably the fault of the source material– Herbert’s Dune sometimes reads like scifi Shakespeare, and there is simply so much worldbuilding to deliver that the characters in the movie are forced to expound pretty much constantly. At least we don’t have to deal with internal monologues like in Lynch’s film!
Some characters have been changed from the source material for better and worse. Chani in the novel is basically a character designed to be Paul’s child bearer. Book Chani submits to Paul’s tribal claim to her, they do drugs together, and then she basically becomes his girlboss warrior wife in the background, delivering heirs and such. While it has been heavily telegraphed that Chani will have a more active role in Part 2, the Zendaya we have seen so far basically manifests as an ethereal fever dream girl in Paul’s visions. Sort of like a desert wet dream supermodel. The moment the two destined lovers finally meet in the flesh near the end of the movie is perfect– Paul has no idea what to say and just sort of cringes. Timothee’s awkwardness is literally perfect here. He’s an uncomfortable little ego-twerp that, like perhaps you or I, has no clue what the hell is he supposed to say to the woman that has been showing up in his prescient wet dreams for weeks. I am so unbelievably excited to see how, if at all, Zendaya breaks Timothee out of his virginal little shell. Acid trip sequence?!
Jessica is more emotional and shows a lot more outward anxiety in this movie than in the book. In fact, she is rather cold and mean in the book, and Paul is equally distant to her. Hateful, even! The movies add a lot more warmth and care to their relationship (even when Paul yells at her for turning him into a “freak”), and this is probably fine. It’s just different. Definitely more palatable to a casual audience than having to listen to a teenager berate his own mother (it happens enough in real life perhaps).
One final character I will touch on is that of the Baron Vladimir Harokenen. Fat old Vlad! His portrayal by Stellan Skarsgård is quiet and brooding. He delivers few words at first, but when the Baron does speak, they come out as greedy snarls. “My Dune! My Spice!” “Squeeze them Raban!” This Baron slithers into a bath of oil, concocting slimy plots like some kind of reptile. Menacing. It may surprise you to know that the book Baron is totally the opposite. Outwardly machievalian, the literary Baron can’t shut up to save his life. He loves to gloat about his plans and revels in victory. When the traitor doctor is brought before in him the novel, the Baron can’t help but dote over how he managed to break Imperial Conditioning by torturing the doctor’s wife. The same scene in the movie is much quieter– the Baron barks “what do you want?” at the doctor and says little else.
I originally disliked this new Baron, but he is growing on me. The scene where the Baron compliments the Atreides kitchen as he stuffs himself across from a drugged and naked Leto is hilarious. He carries himself sort of like Don Corleone, a space gangster. He isn’t all chill, however. When Leto whispered his lasts words too low to hear, the Baron simply could not help but lean in for a listen. He hesitates, turns on his shield, and then gets real close to Leto. This scene shows, without long dialogues, that film Baron is still insecure in his power and cowardly beneath the gangster facade. I really do hope we get more personal time with Vlad in Part 2 because he really is a funny, cunning character in the source material. He’s much more like a Little Finger than a Stannis, to use a GOT analogy.
As a final note, the very last scene of the movie is goofy as hell. Just rewatch it if you disagree. It’s like they weren’t sure how to wrap it up and also needed b-role for trailers. The scene where the worm hovers over Paul and seems to “squeak” at him fondly is also goofy as hell. Sorry, someone had to say it.
Sometimes awkward, sometimes tringle-inducing, Vilaneueve’s Dune nonetheless gets far without needing to say much. Some might argue the more mystical or hyper-sci-fi aspects of Herbert’s original are totally lost in the film, but I disagree. Sure, the Reverend Mother doesn’t go on about genetic bloodlines, and we don’t get to meet any spice smugglers or deal with chapters worth of political intrigue, but there are enough grains of detail to satisfy hungry Dune fans like myself. If we get even a hint of the God Emperor in Part 2 I will lose my fucking mind.
“You inherit too much power”
“What, because I’m a Duke’s son?”
“No, because you are Jessica’s son.”
“You have more than one birthright, boy.”
My question is, will Part 2 live up to the hype? Only thing left to do is go and see! I cannot wait one second longer to see this movie, I must go tonight!