With an all-star cast and a good scope of action sequences, “Dune” receives a 7/10 rating from this reporter. PHOTO CREDIT: Contributed by forbes.com
“Dune” is considered to be a more faithful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s series that tells approximately 60 percent of the first novel. The Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi epic is a slow, yet engaging, adventure that features enough beautiful cinematography and decent character development to make up for its slightly predictable narrative and long lapses between its interesting action sequences.
The film tells the story of the House Atreides, who are summoned to bring peace to the desert planet of Arrakis by the request of the Emperor. This basic premise brings forth a lot of interesting sets and worlds that are filled with a lot of exposition to explain the convoluted, but still engaging, plot.
The all-star cast, real locations and great computer effects all work towards a story that feels familiar to other science fiction properties because the original 1965 novel has inspired many successful films, including “Star Wars.” The main plot involves Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Issac) attempting to prep his son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) on how to rule as their society adjusts to bring spice production up on Arrakis. This plot remains interesting due to the good performances from its cast and varying levels of great visual storytelling.
What really makes the film stand out from the rest of the science fiction landscape is several odd subplots. They range from Paul learning about his psychic abilities and premonition-based dreams that he inherited from his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), to the underdeveloped villains of House Harkonnen, a brutal army that ruled over Arrakis for many years.
While all of the exposition for worldbuilding does eat up some of the film’s runtime, “Dune” is never truly boring because there is always a brief surprising moment on the horizon.
The film has some really good scope in its action sequences that translates to some well-choreographed battles in the middle of the film. The only problem with some of the action sequences is a reliance on close-up shots that take away from building tension.
The sets and special effects are nothing short of beautiful, whether it involves a giant sand worm eating a mobile spice harvesting plant or Paul talking and testing out his abilities to Gauis Helen Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) and his mother. The only problem with the film’s narrative is its slightly slow pace that causes the film’s action sequences to either have long lapses in between or happen consecutively towards the end.
The entire cast give very good performances with Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin being two key standouts as the charismatic swordmaster Duncan Idaho and stern weapons master Gurney. The only underutilized cast members are Dave Bautista and Stellan Skarsgård as the villains Glossu Rabban and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who are barely given anything to do beyond speaking villainous dialogue intermittently in the film.
Even as some of the cast is underutilized, Dune introduces a lot of interesting elements that could be expanded upon in possible future installments. The brief moments between Chalamet and Zendaya as Chani prove that the pair have good chemistry with one another.
The “chosen one” storyline that encompasses Paul by the end of the film does feel tired in the beginning, but does build to some interesting concepts throughout. Lastly, “Dune” does end with a lot of the plotline remaining open because it is meant to start a franchise, but nothing feels completely underwhelming because the film is so packed with mythology and interesting characters.
Overall, “Dune” is a beautifully filmed and pretty interesting sci-fi epic that utilizes most of its ensemble cast to make a slightly familiar and predictable story told over two-and-a-half hours fly by. 7/10.