Movie adaptations of books tend to be underwhelming and fail to live up to the expectations of fans. However, with “Dune,” this is not the case. The sci-fi space movie is packed with storylines from the source material, and it fully succeeds at executing a truly incredible and stunning film. This is not the first time that “Dune” was made for the big screen. The 1984 adaptation faltered in execution and failed to impress audiences. The 2021 version approached the adaptation differently by making this movie part of a larger series. This “Dune” only covers roughly half of the first book.
The plot of the movie is simple enough. It takes place about 8,000 years into the future. The House of Atreides, a ruling family in the Imperium, is assigned governance over the planet Arrakis, by the known ruler of the universe, Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. The planet is abundant in a material called spice, which is known to extend the youth of humans, as well as being a critical component for interstellar flight. The catch is that the emperor views House Atreides as a threat and assigns them that governance, so that House Harkonnen, the original governor of Arrakis, can destroy Atreides.
The plot of the movie is centered around the heir to House Atreides, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet). In the movie, Paul navigates moving from his home world of Caladan to the planet Arrakis, as well as his relationship to his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and her past, as a Bene Gesseritt. In the world of Dune, the Bene Gesseritt is a religious order in the Imperium. Chalamet and Ferguson do incredible jobs of enacting their characters. They execute their roles flawlessly. Other notable characters, such as Duncan Idaho (Jason Mamoa), Leto II Atreides (Oscar Isaac), and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), are also kept accurate to the book, and their corresponding actors smoothly navigate the roles.
Of course, there is Zendaya, who dons the role of Chani, and does a phenomenal job at adding to the overall mystery of the character. However, her screen time is limited due to the fact that the story of the film is incomplete. While she was a heavily advertised feature of the movie, in actuality, she doesn’t fully appear in the movie until there is about twenty minutes left.
The film is not as action-packed as advertised, but the drama and suspense of what’s to come is present from the start of the film, and that is what director Denis Villenueve’s greatest achievement of the film is. From the beginning, you are made aware that this story will not have a happy ending, and that certain calamity is inevitable for House Atreides. The music composed by Hans Zimmer adds to the overall suspense of the film, and also adds to the world-building aspect of the movie. The planet Arrakis is depicted as a desolate desert wasteland with an ancient past, and the film’s score does justice to that depiction by accompanying it with music that makes the viewer feel the history of the planet.
The cinematography of the movie is absolutely breathtaking, and I highly recommend that if you are to see this movie, you see it on the biggest screen possible, preferably IMAX. While it is available to view on HBO Max, the average TV won’t do the film justice. You can tell just how much care went into creating this movie, and the actors, producers, writers, and director did an absolutely phenomenal job at recreating Frank Herbert’s world, written back in 1965. Part two has since been confirmed by Warner Bros., sending fire to more buzz and reactions online as audiences anticipate the sequel.
“Dune” is available for streaming on HBO Max and for viewing in theaters everywhere now.
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