Dune
Dune is a 2021 epic science fiction written and directed by Denis Villeneuve.
The movie is part one of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 epic fantasy Dune written by Frank Herbert. Dune: Part One primarily covers the events from the first half of the first book in The Dune Saga Collection…
This ambitious project is a third attempt at bringing Frank Herbet’s universe to cinematic life, the first being a 1984 adaptation by David Lynch which flopped spectacularly and the second a three-part miniseries Frank Herbert’s Dune which won two Emmy Awards in 2001 for Outstanding Cinematography and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a miniseries or movie.
For this iteration of the movie adaptation, the writers took some 21st century liberties into the script and also increased the prominence of female characters. The greenlight to proceed with production of the second part was contractually bound to the success of Dune Part One.
The movie set in the year 10191 follows the story of a family that is tasked with the highly dangerous responsibility of overseeing an inhospitable planet which has a very valuable resource crucial….
The Good
The film has stunning cinematics… I think watching it on a big screen at the theatre would be a visual odyssey; something as plain as a sand dune comes alive…. Oh, wait it’s the danger that lurks beneath.
The storytelling is immersive, but of course, how cannot it not be, the books it is adapted from are hailed as the holy grail of science fiction novels which inspired George Lucas to create the “Star Wars” saga.
Thematically it explores a broad range of topics subtly blended in together, a matriarchal society, colonialists, intergalactic geopolitics, religion and destiny….
The Bad
The movie has a lot going on…. with little explanation, you are immersed into the desert and have to figure out what’s what…. buts it’s to be expected given the world building and societies whose groundwork needs to be put in place… unless of course you have read the book(s)
*side note you don’t need to have read the books and the production assumed you knew nothing…. and the director is in no rush to set the stage and sometimes gets a bit lost in the detailing of the stage curtains… I mean dragonfly helicopters are fascinating but do we have to see them in every other scene?
The Ugly
If you expect to jump feet first into a pool of epic action, look elsewhere… A Michael Bay movie maybe 🤣🤣🤣
With a running time of 2hours and 35 minutes, one can almost be forgiven for falling asleep during some of the slower-paced moments where nothing seems to happen…
…..but there’s nothing without purpose (except maybe some pointless combat training and what the heck was in that box????? ) and you might find you have to rewind back and see what you missed, otherwise you will keep wondering what the heck is going on…
My advice; you don’t have to watch it in one sitting, take a break if you have to.
If you want to watch this movie simply because the marketing team made much ado about Zendaya starring in it… well… news flash… its a gimmick.
How long is Zendaya in Dune? Out of the 2 hours and 35 minutes you get a whooping total of about seven minutes of mostly just smouldering glances…
Final Thoughts
Patience is a word I would use to anyone deciding to watch Dune, patience in letting the story unfold and patience in waiting for the sequel…. After the success of Dune: Part One it has been approved for a Part Two…set to be released in October 2023… more than enough time to pick up the first book in the Dune series and find out for yourself what happens next…
Have you watched it or any of its adaptations? Have you read the book, how do they compare?… Watch this space for my comparison post…
~B
If you need me I will be over here reading the Dune Saga Collection…
Becoming The Muse 
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