Villeneuve’s Dune captures what fans have been clamored for…even if the end result will have you disappointed in the third act’s inevitable pause.
Back in 2016, Denis Villeneuve was starting to drop hints that he wanted to tackle more sci-fi. He was wrapping up Arrival, had been greenlit for Blade Runner 2049, and the nugget that caught my attention most was his love for Dune as a series, even though he doubted he could secure the rights.
Since then, every Villeneuve feature film released after that gave me more and more confidence in his ability to pull off Frank Herbert’s classic. Despite his portfolio becoming stouter and more acclaimed, other fans were still concerned about the major misfires that had occurred with David Lynch’s version (which I’ve covered here) or the infamous incomplete attempt by Alejandro Jodorowsky that would have amounted to a 10-hour epic. Add in the fact that Villeneuve was determined to split the content into two films (which the sequel has been officially greenlit by Warner Bros as of 10/26/2021 for a 10/6/2023 theatrical release), and would inevitably leave one of the films feeling thematically incomplete, and you have a justified reason for concern.
Concerned No Longer
While it took us a while to finally get this first installment into theaters and HBO Max (this was originally scheduled to debut in 2020 and was delayed due to COVID-19), it has certainly been worth the wait. This iteration avoids so many of the pitfalls that hampered previous attempts by demanding the work be split in two and allows the first half of the story to really breathe. Whereas Lynch’s version dove too far into the lore in some aspects, leaving many scenes to feel overly dense, this one shows rather than tells about series staples like “The Voice”, a Bene Gesserit power that allows them to command people to do their will. Plus Villeneuve lays out the basic concept and framework of Paul’s bloodlines and what that means, without confusing the audience.
Hardcore fans will be disappointed that the film didn’t dive into every specific detail, much like the same Lord of the Rings fans who half-jokingly clamor for an experience that would last weeks. This is where I always separate the ideas of the book from the feature film. As long as a film nails the major arc and substance of the book, I will certainly grant it some leeway. There are certainly some plot points that might have been better with more explanation or a deeper dive into how the various houses operate. However, I think the general gist here works better than diving too deep leaving audiences more confused than when they can in. Fans should note, it’s been confirmed that Villeneuve filmed several additional hours so don’t be surprised if an extended version (much like the LOTR extended versions) eventually makes its way to your screens at some point
Ensemble Performance
With a cast this large and well-casted, it would be hard to fail with the acting in this film, and generally, that’s fairly correct. No one stood out as being a weak link and if they did, this felt more about their limited screen time than what they did with the scenes they were in. Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and Doctor Yueh (Chang Chen) were probably the ones most affected by limited time but serviced their roles fine. Zendaya as Chani is an odd case of marketing not reflecting the story well. Her time in the book is definitely more in the second half and would follow that we’ll see her more in the sequel. However, if you weren’t aware of that fact, you would be forgiven for the confusion of her only showing up in the prologue, Paul’s dreams, and the last scene with the Fremen.
The three performances that stood out the most to me were Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, who’s doing a lot of heavy lifting in her moments with the Reverend Mother (Charlotte Rampling), when she teaches Paul about his powers, and as they attempt to survive the Harkonnen attack. I love that she’s given much more to do in this film and that will pay dividends as she’ll be needed to anchor some key moments in the sequel.
Jason Momoa’s moments as the pseudo older brother and trainer, Duncan Idaho were bittersweet fun since his time was also limited. However he does a fantastic job in his moments with Paul, we quickly understand their relationship, why he’s protective of Paul, what’s he imparted onto him, and he’s an ardent believer and supporter of the Fremen as a people. He plays the negotiator role well as Stilgar (Javier Bardem) meets with House Atreides, explaining some key cultural differences that would allow the meeting to go smoothly. On top of that, it’s Jason Momoa exhibiting some of his best physical abilities in the stunt work, so that work didn’t go unnoticed.
What most people will be talking about is Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. And I have mixed feelings about this. For one, we need to call out the harmful trope that Hollywood and frankly art in general likes to default to: showing evil men as overweight, to signal their greed and gluttony. That’s not to say a variety of body types can’t play villains, but when heroes are only seen as muscular peaks of fitness and their antagonists as wearing fat suits, are disfigured with facial scarring (Rami Malek’s recent turn as a Bond villain comes to mind), or insert any historically prejudiced attribute as a villainous feature, it furthers these problems. Would Stellan have been any less physically imposing if he had his normal build? I certainly don’t think so. He’s a fantastic actor and that would have shown regardless of what he was wearing. Dune wasn’t the story that started this idea, it was a problem well before the book or cinema was a medium for art, yet it’s continued to persist due to issues like this.
Hype, Scale, and Spectacle
With the anticipation around this film, an audience member not steeped in the franchise or aware of its history might be underwhelmed for a number of reasons. For one, aside from the massive Harkonnen attack, there are really no other major action set pieces. I personally don’t mind that at all, it makes you focus on the other scenes more and would have forced moments into this screenplay that would have been out of place. However, if you’re looking for a non-stop action ride, this is not the film for you.
The impact of this world and its issues are packed into the visuals. Whether it’s the bull symbolizing Leto Atreides’s fall, Paul’s vision warning him of impending doom, or the harsh environments our characters exist in, all of these work together to create a world full of intrigue. While older sci-fi films could fall into the trap of showing you a 3-5 minute pan around the Enterprise or some other classic spaceship, this movie moves on and allows a ship’s mere presence to suffice. For example, when the Emperor’s messenger arrives on Caladan, even if you have no idea who they represent, it’s abundantly clear from the scale and regal nature of its landing that there’s a lot of weight behind anyone who disembarks.
This doesn’t always neatly come together, and it does lead to a meandering last 20 minutes that doesn’t quite know where it wants to end. I think thematically, it works well because it encompasses the lack of clarity that our protagonist has, about his role, his unclear dreams, whether to try and reach out to space and find help from other powerful houses. And by the end, he decides to head into the desert, but we don’t actually feel why he does that. I mean, we can tell you reasons from the screenplay, and from conversations with his mother, but it seems more like Paul is headed to the desert because that’s what is expected to move the story forward, and not because it was earned in the entire runtime.
Hans Zimmer does a fantastic job adding to the spectacle with a score that has trademark Zimmer cues while still finding a way to make a sound that resonates in different scenes. Some audience members I talked with found the chorus arrangement a bit annoying, but I personally felt that it worked incredibly well. Especially in big moments, like when Paul meets the Reverend Mother, or when Paul and Lady Jessica get closer and closer to meeting the Fremen, it serves as a great auditory sign of their journey and the state of Paul’s visions. In one area, when Paul is having a vision in the tent and he confronts his mother over her manipulations, it can be incredibly hard to hear some important dialogue in that key moment, but that’s certainly not the fault of the score. Hopefully on home release, that spot can be remedied a bit, get those levels adjusted (I haven’t watched the HBO Max version to know if it’s corrected there).
Conclusion
Denis Villeneuve has done an admirable job adapting the first part of Frank Herbert’s series, and while there are some legitimate issues when approaching a project of this scale, this feature is going to satisfy an urge for the hungriest science fiction lover while gaining new fans to the franchise…even if the emotional climax and payoff is held off for the gestating sequel.
Score: 8 out of 10
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