Colin Tobin
Chief Copy Editor
“Dune” was directed by Denis Villeneuve and is based on the first half of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel. It stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa and Zendaya, as well as many others. Set in the year 10191, the story follows Paul Atreides, the son of a powerful Duke whose family is ordered to take up residence on the planet Arrakis to oversee the harvest of “spice,” the most powerful and expensive commodity in the universe. Paul is placed in the middle of a centuries-old conflict between houses and must learn to conquer his fears. It’s hard to simplify the plot of this movie, but the best way I can describe it is the setting of “Star Wars” with the aesthetic of “Blade Runner” and the political conflicts of “Game of Thrones”.
Denis Villeneuve has been my favorite working director since I saw “Blade Runner 2049” in 2017. There’s just something about his grand visual style and meticulous, slow-burn storytelling in movies like “Prisoners” and “Arrival” that consistently draws me in. When this movie was announced, my excitement pushed me to read a book for fun, which I don’t think I’ve done since high school. Sitting down in the theater after almost two years of pandemic related delays felt surreal, and it was well worth the wait.
On a visual level, this movie is absolutely incredible. The spectacle that the production design and visual effects create is unbelievably immersive. There’s never really a clear line drawn between CGI and what was built as a set. The insane amount of detail in every prop and costume shows the dedication that this crew had to making something special.
The major action sequence in the middle of the film is beautifully captured by Greg Frasier’s cinematography. Huge fires and shadows are incorporated into the lighting of these scenes which lets the unique fighting techniques described in the book play out in a series of shots that are impossible to look away from. Every casting choice was a perfect match for Herbert’s novel, with Chalamet, Ferguson and Momoa being the highlights, and for the number of big-name actors present, no one’s time on screen is wasted. All of this is tied together by a sweeping, abstract score by Hans Zimmer, which oddly mixes in some bagpipes and somehow, it works.
One of my only real problems with the film was its pacing in the second half. With so much material to cover, the movie didn’t seem to know when it wanted to end. A number of times, I was sure the credits were about to roll but it just kept going. Additionally, the same criticisms that the book has been given over the years can be said for the movie as well. The narrative is formed around the old “white savior” trope. The circumstances of Paul’s arrival match with a local superstition that describes him as a messiah figure while his father hopes to “make peace” with the indigenous people of Arrakis, despite profiting off of and encroaching upon their land.
Villeneuve’s vision of “Dune” is everything I wanted it to be, plus a little more. I don’t think this movie will be for everybody but if you have any interest at all, I urge you to see it in a theater. Not only do you get to see a visual masterpiece on the big screen, but you would also be supporting a creative team who is making something virtually unlike any other big budget movies today.
