Reviewed by Hannah Spencer.
Director: Denis Villeneuve, 2021, Warner Bros. Pictures, 156 mins.
Dune has long been called the unfilmable film. There seems to be a lot of that going around, notably the recent adaptations of Foundation and Wheel of Time, also both supposedly unfilmable novels.
However, Dune has an especially infamous history with previous failed attempts including David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorwsky, even becoming the subject of a documentary (Jodorowsky’s Dune).
So, who would be brave (or foolhardy) enough to again try to adapt Frank Herbet’s epic 1960s Dune novels?
Novels that were wildly successful and inspired generations of SciFi, including Star Wars.
None other than Denis Villeneuve who is familiar with taking on cult fan bases after directing Blade Runner 2049.
Villeneuve works at blockbuster scale but with the sensibility of arthouse film.
It’s exhilarating, big budget, big screen, but does it work?
Dune is impressive.
The reported $165 million budget drips from every scene, the world building is vast, the cinematography and special effects, awe inspiring.
Add the massive ensemble cast and soundtrack by Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer and there is a lot of weight behind this film.
However there is a lack of weight within the film.
Timothee Chalamet, (the internet’s boyfriend and breakout star of Call Me By Your Name) leads as Paul Atreides, a sparse script doesn’t give Chalamet much to work with and he relies heavily on brooding looks and scene stealing head of hair.
The House of Atreides, led by Paul’s father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac, The Card Counter) is tasked with stewardship of the planet Arrakis and its invaluable natural resource ‘spice’.
Although appearing to be a great honour, it is really a ploy to destroy House Atreidies.
Betrayal, carnage and epic fight scenes ensue.
Whilst the film adapts only three quarters of the first (of six) novels it is still thick with back story and political intrigue.
The plot can be confusing and the characters unrelatable.
Villeneuve has filmed Dune as a prologue to the coming sequel.
There is an undeniable premise of a white saviour (Paul), the hero for a colonised people (the native Freman of Arrakis).
The original novel sought to dismantle the idea of the hero so we can only hope that the sequel will deliver on this.
Dune is impressive in so many ways but we will have to wait for the sequel to find out if this adaptation will be a success, or, just doomed as its predecessors.
Hannah’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars
