Dune (2021) review thread *spoilers*

[Andreas Lilja]

The cinematography is top notch but the pacing and character development is horrendous. Can someone explain the praise? 

 

The lore kinda seems decent but nothing extraordinary, maybe back then it was. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LAwLz]

2 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

Can someone explain the praise? 

Not sure what you mean. I haven't seen the Dune movie getting that much praise. It is getting good scores but nothing out of the ordinary.

It's a well made movie based on a beloved book that previously had a notoriously bad film adaptation.

 

 

2 hours ago, Andreas Lilja said:

The lore kinda seems decent but nothing extraordinary, maybe back then it was. 

Are you trying to judge the book by the movie? That's not a very good idea. Besides, this was only part 1. 

You wouldn't watch only LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring and then saying "I don't get the big deal. Why are the books getting so much praise for their lore and story?"

[Avocado Diaboli]

It's very faithful to the material, which is what at least I as a fan of the novels wanted. Is it a perfect movie? No, it's a bit too slow and plodding (at least for most modern audiences; my favorite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey, so I have nothing against slow movies per se), it's too fond of showing scenes in an overly meditative way that drags out the runtime and the fact that it basically splits the book in two means there's no satisfying conclusion until the sequel arrives. It would've been better to just cut some stuff (a couple of fight scenes and that entire bit with the ornithopter in the sandstorm that was too long), make the scenes less slow with fewer expository shots and just make something similar to the 3 hour TV version of the David Lynch movie. But I still liked it, it's a pretty unique film all things considered.

 

Granted, I liked the David Lynch version too - both the theatrical and TV cut - for entirely different reasons, even though that was an abysmal adaptation from beginning to end, so my opinion might not be worth much. Even though Dune is my favorite book series, I have no trouble accepting deviations or recognizing that some kind of transformation has to happen in the process of adaptation. I think I'd even love the fabled Jodorowski adaptation, at least from what I've seen and heard of the pre-production stuff that the documentary covered, because I enjoy the setting and themes so much.

[tikker]

3 hours ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

It's very faithful to the material, which is what at least I as a fan of the novels wanted.

I've never read the novels, only played a game of it very briefly as a kid, but I'm glad they stuck to the source material.

 

I thought it was a good movie. At times it was a bit slow maybe, but overall I appreciated the slower pacing. The lack of music literally everywhere was also refreshing. The main thing that surprised me was the very abrupt ending. Somehow it didn't feel like completely the right place to end a first part.

[kasugatei]

TBH when I saw the first trailer I was a bit disappointed. However, seeing the movie in the cinema the other day removed the initial disappointment. IMHO cinematography is the top notch. Being a fan of the series and everything surrounding it I've noticed some details that gave homage to Jodorowsky and Lynch. I would say that costumes have some inspiration from the Lynch movie which IMHO had great costumes and the new Dune also has great costumes. Looking forward to see Navigators and the emperor in the sequel. Speaking of the costumes, the mini series had super awful ones where Sardaukars there looked like f-ing bards. Just awful. Next, the scene of Giedi Prime palace reminded me so much to the Giger's concept art that he made for Jodorowsky. Last, but not the least vehicles look exceptionally good. The only downside for me is that the movie ends up with cliffhanger, but with great box office results so far I think that it is just matter of day when the second part will be green lit (hopefully the third part as well which would cover Dune Messiah).

 

Dune is a special sci-fi series. It is more about philosophy than the action and descriptions like other sci-fi classics. That being said it is not easy to put the material like Dune to the silver screen. Regarding the Lynch's version I watched it when I was kid for the first time and I could not understand anything. However, watching it later after being familiar with the Dune lore a bit better I could not say that the movie was bad, more like misunderstood because it is difficult to put so much things into a single movie. 

 

EDIT: I forgot to add another homage to Jodorowski. In the first trailer there is a version of the Pink Floyd song Eclipse. Jodorowsky had a deal with Pink Floyd to make soundtrack for his version of the movie which was never filmed. Being fan of the DUne and Pink Floyd I could immediately figure that bit out :)

[Radium_Angel]

23 hours ago, Avocado Diaboli said:

David Lynch version too - both the theatrical and TV cut

I assume there exists no "director's cut" of the original 1984 version?

[Avocado Diaboli]

1 hour ago, Niksa said:

Speaking of the costumes, the mini series had super awful ones where Sardaukars there looked like f-ing bards. Just awful.

Those costumes are actually a nod to the Swiss Guard, the armed forces and honor guard of the Vatican.

 

 

1 hour ago, Radium_Angel said:

I assume there exists no "director's cut" of the original 1984 version?

Not that I'm aware of. Lynch reportedly was already not happy with the version shown in theaters, but he outright disowned the TV cut, so that version got attributed to Alan Smithee (a generic pseudonym reserved for directors who disown a film). IMDB lists a few alternate versions beyond that, but they mostly don't seem to meaningfully differ from the theatrical or TV cuts.