'Dune' Review: Denis Villeneuve's visually stunning sci-fi epic sets stage for Part 2
Contains spoilers for 'Dune'
In one word, 'Dune' is beautiful. It is rich in attention to detail, and most importantly, what it does is introduce itself as one of the movies that will take the 'Star Wars' route. Director Denis Villeneuve's live adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel takes the same route as Apple TV's 'Foundation', another grandiose affair that is greenlit for a new season with five more episodes yet to come from the current installment. Depending on how much he can squeeze out of Herbert's work after an essential Part 2 remains to be seen.
'Dune' is set in the way distant future, 10191 that sees the Galaxy under Imperial rule. And the movie follows three groups - The House Atreides led by Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), his wife Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a Bene Gesserit paramour, and their son, Paul (Timothee Chalamet). The House Harkonnen and the Fremen are the other two in the mix.
The lad is being trained to be the next heir of Atreides, while Jessica also trains him in the Bene Gesserit techniques of mind control and strong persuasion. And all the while, Paul has visions of a young woman with blue eyes (Zendaya) making him eager to visit Arrakis.
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House Atreides form a huge contingent and make their way to Arrakis: Leto, Paul, Rebecca, weapons master Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), swordmaster Duncan Idaho (Momoa) — both serving as mentors to Paul and the idea is to get hold of the Spice, a type of reddish- heavy powder that smells of cinnamon and glows blue. It is described as highly addictive, and long-term users acquire blue-within-blue colored eyes, explaining why Zendaya, belonging to the Fremen has the blue tinge in her eyes. They face a stiff challenge: Fend off Harkonnen led by Baron (Stellan Skarsgård) and his violent nephew Glossu Rabban (Dave Bautista).
The narrative is as detailed as it can be, and in the process, pace takes a major hit. 'Dune' chugs along like a lesson from a textbook that appeals to only the interested. There's a lot of intrigue, but the lack of addressing the issues makes it difficult to hold the attention, despite the rich cinematography. For those who want to simply describe 'Dune' and the characters in the film, it's as simple as the good guys taking on the baddies. Isaac's Duke Leto is the king whose demise is imminent, Ferguson's Rebecca is a woman constantly living in fear and Paul is a work in progress.
Jason Momoa, beardless, but still built like a bull, is that spice that we actually miss while looking at the expansive dunes. He's the closest Paul has to a brother, and the supporting cast plays their role to perfection. The primary challenge when it comes to having a high-profile ensemble cast is the attention you pay, and Villeneuve checks the box by giving each of these players in the movie significant screentime and establishing their roles in the epic.
What 'Dune' does is just set up the world for the audience to experience and know about. If there is a sequel in store (ideally, all the effort that's gone in calls for a string of movies, or at least spin-offs), then the purpose of the first part is fulfilled; else, all it is is a rich movie with Hans Zimmer's soul-stirring score that leads to nowhere.
'Dune' releases October 22 in the US.