Dune: It's Long Overdu(n)e

Before I get started with the review, I want to talk about a debate that really kicked off about a year ago. It has do with streaming. In December, it was announced that Warner Bros. would be releasing their entire 2021 film slate on HBOMax and in theaters on the same day. I've talked about this a little bit before. I get why they made the decision: We were in the middle of a pandemic without a vaccine. I was disappointed, but I understood the decision. Not everyone was quite as pleased. Christopher Nolan wrote a scathing statement calling HBOMax the "worst streaming service. Denis Villeneuve wrote a brutal essay for Variety saying that the decision shows "no love for cinema, nor for the audience" and that "Warner Bros. might just have killed the 'Dune' franchise." In other words, he wasn't happy. Like I said before, I understood the decision. That being said I think it's a stupid decision to keep it permanent (luckily Warner Bros. is going to have a 45 day theatrical only release window next year). It doesn't make sense financially. Within seconds of the movie becoming available, there could be an HD-quality bootleg online. This doesn't help the streaming service or the studio. While it may drive subscriber numbers up, I don't see how it's financially viable. I'm also of the opinion that movies belong in theaters. Obviously you have the films made for streaming services, but even some of them are played at the movies. Nothing beats that communal experience of sitting in a room with people and being transported to a different world for a few hours. All petty differences are put aside and there's just one objective: Enjoy a movie. Even when the film is terrible, there is something that you remember. None of this can be replicated by just watching it at home. "But Ben, some of your favorite movies (Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Toy Story, Jaws) you didn't see in theaters." Yes, that's true, but there's just one small problem: I was either A.) Not born yet or B.) Too young to see them. Fun fact, I actually did get to Jurassic Park and Toy Story in theaters, quite a few times actually, thanks to re-releases. That's not the point though. There are movies I absolutely regret not seeing on the big screen and I would do it if I could in a heartbeat. As I've mentioned many times, going to the movies was how I bonded with my dad and I have tons of memories going with family and friends. This could never be done by just sitting at home and watching it on a TV.

I've been looking forward to this movie for a while. I love a good sci-fi epic. A while ago I heard reactions were saying this movie was going to do for sci-fi what Lord of the Rings did for fantasy. I was hooked immediately. The first trailer dropped about a year ago and only made me more excited. Originally it was supposed to come out last December but, like everything last year, the pandemic pushed it around quite a bit. It's now finally here and I can't wait to talk about it with you guys.

Dune is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Josh Brolin, and Stellan Skarsgård. Paul Atreides (Chalamet) was born into a powerful dynasty. His father, Duke Leto (Isaac), is tasked with ruling the desert planet Arrakis, a dangerous sand world. Once there, Paul and his family realize not everything is what it seems, for evil forces threaten to ruin everything. With all of that out of the way, let's dive into the review!

Dune has got to be one of the best looking films I have ever seen. I saw it in IMAX, which, in my opinion, is the best viewing experience for a film like this. It is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Everything is beautifully shot, whether it be a ship, sandworm, or just a shot of the horizon. I was in awe watching it. It's difficult to put into words. The look of this movie is just as important as the characters I think. Arrakis is a presence throughout the whole film and Villneuve does a fantastic job of showing it. I can't imagine watching this movie on a TV screen for the first time. The director said, "Frankly, to watch Dune on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub." This is 100% true, for Dune was designed for a big screen experience. It's absolutely breathtaking, There has been so much work put into every detail of this film. Everything has been meticulously crafted. Even though there are giant worms and ships that move like dragonflies, it is done in a way that seems plausible. I was sort of reminded of the original Star Wars movies, where everything felt used, despite being so advanced. Watching it in IMAX really allowed me to appreciate all of the work that had gone into the film. There were so many shots that I wanted framed because they looked beautiful. That's not to say that the characters aren't interesting either because they are. There was not a single bad performance througout this entire movie. Paul is unsure of whether he wants to be in charge after his father. He's unsure of himself, but doesn't realize the power that he has. The dynamic Paul has between him and his father is really interesting. Duke Leto geuninely cares about his son and it doesn't matter to him whether Paul takes up the mantle or not. It was a nice change of pace from other films where the throne is the only important thing. I also really liked the dynamic between him and his mother, Lady Jessica (Ferguson). She's training him on the more spiritual side of his lineage (I don't want to get into too much detail about that). Paul and her are essentially the main characters of the film, so it was important that the audience buys their relationship. I also loved Duncan Idaho (Momoa). Idaho is one of the Duke's right hand men and is tasked with protecting Paul. I really liked the back-and-forth between them. Idaho is such a ball of charsima and it was a nice change of pace from all the other serious characters in the film (not that that's a bad thing since this is a serious movie). This movie was also one of the loudest I've ever seen and I mean that as a compliment. A movie of this scale should be loud. The music (done by the genius Hans Zimmer) was fantastic. It adds a certain flavor to the movie. It's hard to put into words the effect the score has on this movie (just like most of Zimmer's other work). It is beautiful. The action is also very well done too. It is very gritty and brutal. With that being said, it's also quite graceful and like a dance. Unlike other sci-fi flicks, blasters aren't really used. Daggers and swords are the weapons of choice instead. The costume and set design was also incredible. It added a lot to the world and gave it some personality. It was a perfect mix of realistic and sci-fi.

It's kind of hard to write about the negatives for this because they're more like observations. As I've said in some other reviews, there's a lot of movie in this movie. It's no spoiler that this is a part 1 (at the time of this writing part 2 has already been greenlit). As a result, there's a lot to set up. This film has to establish the lore and the characters, while being a movie at the same time. In my opinion, I think it succeeded, but this movie won't be for everyone. It is a slow burn. The director has stated that the second part will move a little quicker and there will be more action, as he has done most of the world building here. From what I've heard, the book (which is in my drawer, collecting dust) is very dense and was considered difficult to film. I think, overall, Villeneuve was successful though. However, there were a few times where I was kind of lost. An example of this is the Bene Gesserit, the group Lady Jessica belongs to. Watching the movie, I had no idea who this mysterious organization was. After a quick Google search things made a bit more sense. I understand that it's hard to cover all of the bases in a movie like this, but I feel a quick explanation would've been helpful. In all honesty, I'd rather have the movie do what it did (taking it's time) as opposed to cramming everything into one film. People would've complained about that too. Another thing I'd like to mention is Zendaya. The marketing would have you believe that she's the star of this movie, with Paul every step of the way. It lied to you. Zendaya's character Chani only has about seven minutes of screentime. I wasn't really upset about this (movies pull these kinds of stunts all of the time) but other people may be. While the movie is beautifully shot, there are some times when it is kind of hard to see what it going on, mostly in the night sequences. I'm not sure if this is because of the theater I was in though. One final criticism I have is that there were some characters I wanted to see more of. Some will have one major scene and then kind of disappear. One that comes to mind is Josh Brolin's Gurney, who is in charge of training Paul. I wanted to see a little more of him. However, since this is a huge movie, I can understand some of these decisions.

To wrap everything up, Dune is a triumph in filmmaking. The visuals are breathtaking, the characters are interesting, the score is beautiful, and the action is exhilirating. This is somewhat held back by the amount of lore that has to be set up, things being a little confusing at times, and the lack of Zendaya. With that being said, I think these are very minor gripes. Going in, I knew that this movie was going to be in multiple parts. Luckily it was successful enough for the studio to greenlight the second part. If this had not happened, I would've been a bit more critical. If you can and are comfortable with doing so, I highly recommend you see this movie on the big screen. It was made for it. If I were to rate it, I'd give Dune an 8.5-9/10. I'm so excited to see where this series goes!